Ethan Coates—the middle brother.
I know his shape. I know his gait. I’ve seen him too many times in places he doesn’t belong.
My rage detonates, and I hit him like a freight train.
It’s pure momentum—my shoulder slamming into his ribs, the two of us crashing sideways through the snow and brush. We roll, hard and ugly, bodies colliding with frozen ground.
His head snaps back.
There’s a sound.
Not a crack.
Athud.
I’m on him instantly, straddling his chest, fist already cocked back, breath coming in savage bursts.
“Get the fuck away from her!” I snarl, vision red, every instinct screaming to finish it.
But he doesn’t fight back.
He doesn’t struggle.
He doesn’tbreathe.
My fist freezes midair.
Ethan’s eyes are open. But they’re empty. Blood stains the snow beneath his head, dark and spreading where it met rock hidden under the drift he landed on.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I press two fingers to his throat, checking his pulse.
Nothing.
“We’ve gotta move, Law,” Beau says from behind me as Lincoln sprints past me toward the river.
For one suspended second, the world goes eerily quiet. No engines. No shouting. Just the river rushing and my pulse roaring in my ears.
Then an engine revs sharply to the left.
“Caleb!” Jasper yells. “He’s running!”
I look up just in time to see the youngest Coates brother backing away, eyes wide, face ashen as he takes in the scene—Ethan’s body, all of us, the horses looming behind.
Fear overtakes him, and he bolts. Because he knows what we’ll do if he stays.
“Let him go!” Beau snaps, already following Lincoln. “There’s another ATV. We’ll deal with them later.”
“There’s no time, Jas,” I say as I climb off Ethan before sprinting toward the river.
She’s half in the water near the bank, her hair tangled in low-hanging branches, her body terrifyingly still as the current tugs at her legs.
“No. No, no—” Lincoln’s on his knees at the water’s edge in seconds, plunging his arms in without hesitation. I’m right behind him, already grabbing at her shoulders. The cold is instant and brutal, like knives slicing into my skin.
“On three,” he says, voice tight. “One—two—”
We haul her small frame out of the water together.
She’s limp as I pull her against my chest, my heart shattering as I feel how cold she is. Howwrongit feels to hold her like this.
