My blood simmered. “When was this taken?”
“About an hour before your alert. He’s circling.” Tate’s face hardened. “And he’s getting bold.”
Nora wrapped her arms around herself, the smallest gesture—but I saw it. Felt it.
I stepped closer, brushing my fingers lightly along her elbow. “You’re not alone. Not for one second.”
Her eyes lifted to mine—vulnerable, but fierce underneath. “I know.”
Sheriff Tate cleared his throat. “At sunrise, all of you. My office. We need to coordinate this before he slips through the cracks.”
Trigger nodded. “We’ll be there.”
Havoc added, “Locked and loaded.”
Saint tapped the tablet. “I’ll run analytics. Enhance footage. See if anything was missed.”
Sheriff Tate gave a final heavy look at Nora. “Get some rest if you can. Things are about to get… involved.”
He left with a grim nod, and the door sealed behind him.
The hallway fell into thick silence.
Trigger exhaled. “Sunrise is in four hours.”
Saint murmured, “I’ll pull an all-nighter.”
Havoc cracked his knuckles. “We fortify. No more blind spots.”
They dispersed with military precision.
But I didn’t move.
Neither did Nora.
She swallowed hard. “Wolf… what happens now?”
I reached out, sliding my hand gently to her back, guiding her a fraction closer. “Now we get you somewhere safer.”
She looked up, eyes shining with courage and fear tangled together. “Where’s that?”
I held her gaze.
Unwavering.
Certain.
“With me.”
Her breath caught.
But she didn’t look away.
“Okay,” she whispered.
And everything in me—every instinct, every protective bone—locked into place.
Havoc smirked as he walked by. “Knew this was coming.”
