Why would—
“NOW!” Blaze shouts.
Everything explodes at once.
A shot cracks from somewhere behind the truck.
Not Daniel.
Someone else.
Ace moves before I even process it.
He spins, grabbing me, dragging me down as another shot slams into the side of the house.
“SECOND SHOOTER!” Trigger yells.
Gunfire erupts.
Controlled. Precise.
Beast returns fire toward the treeline.
Daniel ducks back toward the truck—but not fast enough.
A bullet grazes his arm and he stumbles, slamming into the door.
Chaos.
Pure chaos.
My ears ring.
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
“Ace—” I start.
“I’ve got you,” he says, his arm tight around me, his body shielding mine completely.
Another shot cracks—
Closer this time.
Too close.
“They’re flanking!” Blaze shouts through the comms. “Two—no—three hostiles moving in from the east side!”
Three?
This wasn’t just him.
This was planned.
Daniel looks up again—
Not at Ace.
At me.
