A smile of possession.
Trigger lifted his rifle an inch. “Wolf—give the order—”
“NO SHOTS!” I barked, stepping between Nora and the man. “He’s too close to her.”
The stranger didn’t flinch.
Instead, he stepped forward one slow, deliberate pace.
Sheriff Tate growled, “You’re not getting near her.”
But the man just stopped, hands loose at his sides, and said in a voice that felt like gravel dragged across bone:
“Hello, Nora.”
Nora froze behind me.
I felt her fingers curl into my shirt—
not pulling me back,
but anchoring herself.
I kept my gun up, center mass. “Move another inch and you die where you stand.”
The man’s eyes flicked to me with mild amusement.
“Wolf Maddox. Ranger. Tracker. Loyal to a fault.”
He clicked his tongue softly. “Always were predictable.”
Ice washed through my veins.
He knew my name.
Trigger’s eyes widened. “Wolf, you KNOW him?”
“No,” I said, steady but cold. “But he knows us.”
The man took another step—
not toward me.
Toward Nora.
I lunged.
He moved first.
He was fast —
unnaturally fast —
closing the gap with sudden ferocity.
Trigger shouted, “WOLF!”
I shoved Nora sideways, directly into Havoc’s arms—
