Wolf walked toward me, slow and careful, like approaching something fragile and dangerous at the same time. “Nora… is there anything from your past—anything—that could link to these men?”
“No,” I whispered. “I don’t have enemies, Wolf. I barely have acquaintances.”
Sheriff Tate crossed his arms. “Let’s go back to your childhood. Before you came here.”
My breath hitched.
Wolf noticed instantly. “What?”
I looked at the floor. “I don’t like talking about that.”
He took a step closer. “I’m not asking you to like it.”
Trigger leaned forward. “Nora, this could matter.”
Tate nodded. “Anything you remember. Anyone strange. Anyone who watched you too closely.”
My throat felt tight. “Sheriff… I moved a lot as a kid. Foster homes. Temporary placements. I don’t remember names or faces, not clearly. People blur together.”
Wolf’s expression softened, his brows drawing together in pain. “Nora…”
“But—” I forced myself to breathe, “—there was one home. One place I stayed longer.”
The room went silent.
Havoc straightened. “Who was there?”
“A man,” I said slowly. “He was older. Strict. Cold. He barely spoke to the kids. He kept to himself. He wasn’t violent… but he was unsettling.”
“What was his name?” Tate asked.
I shook my head helplessly. “I don’t remember. It was so long ago.”
Trigger paused. “What about what he looked like?”
“Tall,” I whispered. “Broad shoulders. Dark hair. And he had a scar on his temple. A small one. Like a nick.”
Wolf’s eyes sharpened. “Left side or right?”
I blinked. “Left.”
Havoc muttered, “Holy hell.”
Saint started typing faster than I’d ever seen. “Description matches five possible profiles of ex-military personnel discharged around the time Nora would’ve been in foster care.”
Trigger raised a brow. “Wolf… there’s more to this, isn’t there?”
Wolf clenched his fists. “Yes.”
I looked at him, heart pounding. “What?”
He held my gaze, steady and unblinking. “That unit patch we found? It belonged to a recon team that occasionally worked state-side.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“Meaning,” Wolf said quietly, “it’s possible one of them took a foster placement as a cover identity.”
My blood went cold. “To… what? Hide?”
