Page 230 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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84

Havoc

Ihear them before I see them.

Engines.

Multiple.

Low. Controlled. Expensive.

Not local.

Not random.

My head turns toward the front windows.

The team feels it too.

Conversation dies instantly.

Every man in the room goes still.

Listening.

Watching.

Waiting.

Headlights cut across the Tavern windows.

Bright. Blinding.

Too deliberate.

Too confident.

I step forward slowly.

Already knowing—

This isn’t backup.

This is something else.

Aspen looks at me from across the room, her grandfather resting in the chair behind her.

“Who is it?” she asks quietly.

I don’t answer right away.

Because I already know what I’m going to say.

And I don’t like it.

“Not friends,” I mutter.

The vehicles roll to a stop outside.

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