The fire trucks are still spraying the blackened remains of Miller’s Hardware. Smoke drifts through the street in slow gray clouds. Broken glass glitters on the pavement under the flashing lights.
People are shaken.
But they’re alive.
Damaged.
But standing.
Just like we will be.
This wasn’t the end.
This was a warning.
And now the war has a direction.
I key my comm again.
“Marco.”
A beat of static.
“I’m here.”
I scan the rooftops one more time, every instinct in my body still humming from the sniper’s rounds.
“This ends now.”
For the first time tonight, Marco’s voice carries something heavier than tension.
Something final.
“Yes,” he says quietly.
“It does.”
21
Laney
The safehouse doesn’t feel safe.
I know that’s irrational.
I know the men protecting us are the best in the world. I’ve watched them move, watched them plan, watched them turn chaos into strategy in seconds.
But after seeing the fire lighting up the sky over town…
After hearing what she’s willing to do?
I can’t stop shaking.
The cabin is small.
Isolated.
Tucked deep into the trees, where the road disappears into the mountains. The wind brushes against the wooden walls, making the whole place creak softly.
