And then I saw them.
Five figures cutting through the smoke like it was nothing. Tall, hard, fast—moving with the kind of precision you don’t mistake for anything but military.
“Who the hell—” I started, then blinked as recognition hit. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Forest followed my gaze, jaw tightening until I recognized my SEAL Team.”
They came in hard. Fraiser at the point, barking orders to deputies like he already owned the scene. Max right behind him, calm under fire, dragging a wounded teenager into cover without missing a beat. Axel’s rifle swept the rooftops as he moved, Nate covered his flank, and Jack Raider—of course—grinned like a man who lived for chaos, shotgun slung across his chest.
Fraiser spotted us first. “Forest!” His deep voice boomed across the square. “You look like hell.”
“Feel like it too,” Forest called back, dry as stone.
Jack Raider gave me a once-over, smirk curling. “And who’s this? You finally brought company to your bonfires?”
I narrowed my eyes, Glock still hot in my hand. “Detective Zoe Brewer. Try not to get in my way, cowboy.”
He barked a laugh. “Oh, I like her.”
Forest stepped forward, jaw tight, all business. “North set the stage here. The bomb was his opener. He’s not done.”
Nate’s gaze swept the wreckage, sharp and certain. “Then we don’t let him set the curtain call.”
Fraiser nodded, turning to his men. “Form a line. Civilians out, perimeter locked. If North wants a war, he just got one. No one burns Fraiser Mountain and gets by with it.”
I holstered my Glock, meeting Forest’s eyes. For once, he didn’t argue, didn’t push me back. He just gave a sharp nod, silent promise burning between us.
We weren’t alone anymore.
And if North thought he could break us?
He was about to find out what happened when you cornered wolves.
30
Forest
We crammed into the gutted café on the corner, its front window blown out, glass crunching under our boots. The smell of smoke and burned coffee lingered, but it was the only place big enough to hold us all.
Fraiser spread a rough street map across the counter, weighting the corners with coffee mugs. His voice cut through the din outside. “We lock this town down tight, or North turns it into his playground.”
Max leaned against the wall, arms folded. “Main road in and out is here.” He jabbed a finger at the map. “We set a roadblock—he won’t slip past it without a fight.”
Nate shook his head. “That’s not enough. He’s already proved he can stage bombs in plain sight. We need eyes on rooftops, on alleys, on every damn shadow. Otherwise we’re blind.”
Jason muttered under his breath, flipping through a notebook of intel. “Blind is exactly how he wants us.”
“Then we cut the power,” Axel said, tone flat but eyes alive. “No lights, no cover. Force him to move in the dark where we own it.”
“That’ll spook civilians worse than the bomb,” Lane snapped. She was pacing tight circles, hands on her hips. “We can’t just black out a town and hope people stay calm.”
“They’ll be calmer than if another truck explodes under their kids’ feet,” Zoe cut in, sharp as a blade.
The room went quiet. Every head turned her way. She didn’t flinch.
“North feeds on panic,” she said. “We starve him. Lock this place down, no cars in or out, eyes everywhere. And we put every warm body who can hold a rifle on that perimeter. If he wants a show, he’ll have to stand center stage.”
Jack Raider grinned, leaning on the doorframe with his shotgun. “Damn. Brewer here’s got more bite than half the brass I ever worked under.”
