“She just pinged you,” Havoc said.
I stared at the screen.
Not a plea.
Not a warning.
Alocation adjustment.
“She changed the meet,” I said.
Havoc’s voice sharpened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I agreed. “He must have changed the places.”
My chest tightened—not with fear this time, but something close to pride.
She wasn’t bait. She knows I’m following her.
She wasforcing Thomas to move his pieces early.
“Trigger,” Havoc said quietly. “You know what that means.”
“Yes,” I replied. “He’ll adapt.”
“And so will we.”
I started moving again, faster now.
Because Rylie wasn’t just buying time.
She wascounting on me to read her correctly.
And Thomas?
He thought this was about control.
He was wrong.
This was about partnership.
And when I reached her—
Thomas would learn exactly what happened when you underestimated the woman a Ranger loved.
49
Rylie
The clearing wasn’t right.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Too open. Too clean. The kind of place someone chose because it looked neutral—because itfeltsafe at a glance. That alone told me it was wrong.
I didn’t step into it.
Instead, I stopped just inside the tree line and let my breathing slow. Let my pulse settle. Panic would make me sloppy, and sloppy was how people like Thomas won.
