Sheriff Tate pressed his palms to the table. “Alright. We need to piece this together. Two men—maybe three or four, trained, strategic, former military or something like it. They’re escalating fast.”
Trigger muttered, “And they’re playing with us.”
“And with her,” Havoc added, nodding toward me.
Wolf’s jaw tightened.
I swallowed hard. “Why me?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Soft.
Small.
Honest.
Wolf turned to me—slowly—his eyes shifting into something raw, something protective and hurting at the same time.
“We’ll find out,” he murmured. “And when we do—”
“They’ll regret everything,” Havoc finished.
But that wasn’t enough.
I wrapped my arms around myself. “This feels personal. But I don’t know anyone like that. I don’t know anyone trained or dangerous. I don’t…” My voice faltered. “I don’t know anyone who would want me.”
Wolf’s head snapped toward me. “Don’t say that.”
Heat flooded my face. “I mean… who would want to hurt me.”
He stepped closer—close enough that his breath brushedmy forehead. “Nora. You have no idea how wrong you are about your impact on people.”
Trigger let out a low whistle. “Okay, Romeo—”
Wolf glared, and Trigger immediately turned away, hands up. “Shutting up.”
Saint cleared his throat and brought up footage from earlier. Two silhouettes disappearing into the woods. One staring into the camera.
Sheriff Tate frowned. “Let’s go backward. Nora, we need to dig. What did these guys want before tonight? Before the library incident?”
My heart hammered. “I don’t know. I—”
But Wolf interrupted softly.
“You said something earlier. About two voices.”
I nodded. “Yes. I’m sure of that.”
Tate rubbed his jaw. “And the first break-in attempt—nothing was stolen. No vandalism. Just a window cracked open.”
Trigger muttered, “Like someone testing the perimeter.”
Saint typed quickly. “I’m pulling up records of known ex-military individuals in the state. If these guys are who Wolf thinks—”
“They would not be on any public list,” Wolf said. “Not easily.”
Something cold twisted in my gut.
