“They think they did.” I lowered my voice. “But they’re not getting through this door.”
A second explosion rattled the building — smaller this time, like a controlled breach.
Saint looked up from his tablet, eyes wide. “They’re not using force to get in. They’re testing weak points.”
Trigger’s lip curled. “Like a trained recon team.”
Havoc added, “Like the kind that used to break into compounds overseas.”
Sheriff Tate checked his sidearm, jaw clenched. “We’ve got deputies converging. They’re coming.”
But something in the way he said it made my stomach tighten.
He wasn’t confident.
He was stalling.
Trying to reassure us while knowing the truth:
Whoever broke into the sheriff’s office tonight wasn’t stopped by deputies.
They slipped past them.
On purpose.
Nora
The room felt like it was shrinking.
Each boom from upstairs vibrated through my ribs.
Every shout echoed like someone was standing right behind me.
I pressed a hand to the wall to steady myself. “Wolf… what if they get down here?”
He turned immediately, crowding into my space, lowering himself so his eyes met mine.
“Look at me.”
I did.
“You’re with me,” he said. “That’s the safest place in this entire building.”
My breath hitched. “I’m not afraid of being hurt. I’m afraid of them taking me.”
His jaw flexed. “Over my dead body.”
Trigger muttered, “They’d have to go through Havoc first.”
Havoc cracked his neck. “They can try.”
Saint cleared his throat. “Actually — they might not need brute force.”
All heads snapped toward him.
“What?” Wolf demanded.
Saint tapped the screen with an expression that made my heart drop. “They had inside help.”
