The kitchen went silent except for the tick of the old clock above the stove. Each second felt heavy, counting down to something inevitable.
"He's coming," Joy said. "Sunday, during dinner, when we're all together. When we're distracted by family and food and?—"
"He's not taking this land." Buck's voice cut through her spiral. He was already standing, moving to the old rotary phone on the wall. "Not from my father. Not from me. Not from my children."
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The cold morningair burned Andre's lungs as he swept his rifle scope across the ridge line. Five-fifteen AM on Friday, and his world had narrowed to this moment. The weight of the weapon felt familiar in his hands, an extension of his body after three years with Portland PD. But this was different. This was personal.
His bear prowled beneath his skin. The animal wanted to hunt, to tear apart anyone who threatened his mate. Andre forced it down, maintaining control.
"Northwest sector clear." Rollo's voice crackled through his earpiece, steady as granite.
"Eastern approach quiet." That was Rafe, somewhere in the tree line below.
"Nothing moving on the access road." Magnus, watching the main approach.
Andre keyed his radio. "Northeast sector clear."
The waiting was worse than any action he'd faced in Portland. Each minute stretched like an hour, every shadow a potential threat. His muscles cramped from holding position, but he didn't move. Couldn't move. Not when Joy was down there in the ranch house, vulnerable despite all their preparations.
Three days since they'd discovered Prescott's plan. Three days of quiet phone calls and careful preparations. Three days of pretending everything was normal while they prepared for war.
The sun crept higher, painting the mountains gold. Time to rotate positions. Andre eased back from his overlook, joints protesting the movement. The forest floor was soft beneath his boots, pine needles muffling his steps as he worked his way down toward the ranch house.
The command center had taken over Leland's office. Andre ducked through the doorway to find Heath Reynolds bent over a topographical map spread across the scarred oak desk.
Tyler sat at a folding table, three laptops arranged in front of him. His fingers flew across the keyboards, monitoring camera feeds and communication channels. The harsh light from the screens painted shadows beneath his eyes.
"Anything?" Andre asked.
"Radio chatter picked up around three AM," Tyler said without looking up. "Professional stuff. Encrypted, but the patterns match military contractors."
Heath straightened from the map. "They're out there. Question is when they move."
The office door opened. Ash Bright entered first, his firefighter's build filling the doorframe. Behind him came Theo Keenan withSerena at his side, then Max Bock and Henry Kincaid. Each face carried the same expression. Controlled rage. Shared violation.
"Thanks for coming," Heath said simply.
"They burned my wife’s orchard." Ash's voice was flat. "Took her apprentice. You think I'd be anywhere else?"
"They tried to destroy the academy," Serena said, holding Theo’s hand. "Tried to frame my mate for attempted murder."
"Poisoned our water." Max's jaw clenched. "Tried to bankrupt us with contamination."
Henry just nodded. The quiet forest ranger didn't need words. They'd attacked the nature center and threatened the forest he loved.
"Positions," Heath said, turning to the map. "Ash, your firefighters know the eastern terrain from wildfire training. That's yours. Theo and Henry, S&R and forest rangers take the northern approach. Serena, we need medical stations here, here, and here."
Serena leaned over the map, her paramedic training evident in how quickly she assessed the positions. "I'll need supply caches at each point. If this goes bad, we won't have time to run back to main medical."
"Whatever you need," Heath promised.
Andre watched them transform from victims into an army. The previous violations had isolated each of them, made them feel alone. Now they stood together, united by shared loss and determination.
The Bear Patrol veterans claimed their sectors with the current officers. Rollo took overall tactical command with Gunnar, his decades of experience invaluable. Gage would coordinate communications with Tyler. Damien Fellows handled surveillance with Rafe. Knox managed supply lines with Gabriel.
