Page 172 of Rangers Unexpected Return

“I haven’t done anything stupid.”

“You tackled a man in Sheriff Tate’s living room.”

“He reached behind his back.”

“For his phone.”

“He survived.”

She glanced at me. “Is that your standard for good decision-making?”

“Usually.”

Despite everything, she almost smiled.

Then Max stopped.

A cigarette smoldered on the ground near the office window.

Judy crouched beside it. “Fresh.”

“Someone was standing here.”

Through the broken window, we could see the brass cabinet and the place where Rylie had opened Emily’s envelope.

The caller had been telling the truth.

He had watched them find the letter.

Max pulled toward the woods.

Judy raised her radio. “We found an observation point behind the office. Moving toward the lake.”

“Wait for us,” Wolf answered.

But Max had already caught the trail.

I followed him.

Judy grabbed the back of my shirt. “Mace.”

I stopped.

She nearly ran into me.

For one heartbeat, her body pressed against my back. Then she stepped away.

I looked over my shoulder. “You could’ve asked me to stop.”

“Would you have listened?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s why I grabbed you.”

Her fingers were still twisted in my shirt.

Neither of us looked at them.