Page 76 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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Truth-filled silence.

I hate that he’s right.

I hate it.

“What happens to Dylan?” I ask quietly.

Havoc’s expression shifts.

Softer.

“We keep him safe.”

“How?”

No hesitation.

“By ending this.”

My chest tightens.

Joseph used to sound like that.

So sure.

So steady.

So willing to walk into danger for the sake of others.

And look where that got him.

I shake my head.

“I already lost one man to this kind of life,” I whisper.

“I’m not—”

I stop.

Because I almost said something I can’t take back.

Havoc goes very still.

“Not what?” he asks quietly.

I look away.

“Nothing.”

But it’s not nothing.

And we both know it.

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