27. Blaze
BLAZE
Eric Vaughn saw my smile?—
and finally understood how bad this situation really was for him.
Not because I yelled.
Not because I threatened him.
Because every bit of restraint disappeared.
The tavern had gone deadly quiet behind me while Flick cried softly against my chest.
And Vaughn?
Vaughn had just called a murdered girl collateral damage.
No coming back from that.
I brushed one hand gently through Flick’s hair.
“Stay here a second, baby.”
The endearment slipped out naturally.
Real naturally.
Her breath hitched softly against my shirt.
But she nodded.
Trusting me.
That trust felt sacred after everything she’d survived.
I stepped away from her slowly.
And turned toward Vaughn.
The bastard actually tried shifting backward across the floor.
Fear now.
Good.
Wolf moved out of the way completely.
Trigger did too.
Interesting how nobody seemed eager to protect the corrupt federal agent anymore.
Tate crossed his arms near the door.
“You kill him in front of me,” he warned mildly, “I’m gonna have paperwork.”
Trigger pointed at him immediately.
“See? Sheriff’s thinking practically.”
Ava pinched the bridge of her nose like she regretted every career decision leading to this room.
I stopped directly in front of Vaughn.
He looked up at me from the floor bleeding and breathing hard.
Still arrogant.
Still stupid.
“You think you scare me?” he rasped.
No.
That wasn’t what terrified him.
I crouched slowly in front of him.
Calm.
Controlled.
The kind of calm that made soldiers nervous.
“You know what the problem is with men like you?” I asked quietly.
Vaughn swallowed once but said nothing.
“You mistake kindness for weakness.”
My eyes flicked briefly toward Flick behind me.
Curled into Isabel’s side now while the younger girl quietly held onto her hand.
Two terrified women comforting each other after surviving monsters.
Rage slid cold through my veins.
“You watched what they did to her,” I said softly.
Vaughn smirked weakly. “She survived.”
Wrong answer.
I grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him backward hard enough the chair legs snapped beneath him.
The crack exploded through the tavern.
Flick gasped softly behind me.
Trigger muttered, “Damn.”
Vaughn groaned in pain.
I leaned down close enough he could hear every word clearly.
“She survived despite you.”
His breathing turned uneven now.
Good.
“You sold witness locations.”
Silence.
“You let innocent people die.”
Silence again.
Then finally?—
“You don’t understand how much money was involved.”
The tavern went still.
Not guilt.
Not regret.
Money.
Wolf looked disgusted.
Tate’s jaw tightened.
Ava looked ready to personally bury this man in the woods.
I smiled again.
Cold this time.
“You know what?” I said quietly. “That actually makes this easier.”
Vaughn frowned slightly.
“How?”
“Means you were always garbage.”
The insult landed harder than I expected because his face twisted instantly.
Interesting.
Still had an ego.
Still thought he mattered.
I stood slowly.
Looked toward Ava.
“You want him alive?”
She hesitated.
Too long.
Very interesting.
Finally:
“Yes.”
Trigger sighed dramatically.
“Federal agencies ruin everything.”
Even Flick laughed softly through tears behind me.
That sound hit me hard enough to almost smile.
Almost.
Then Vaughn made one final mistake.
He looked straight at Flick.
“You think he can save you?” Blood streaked his teeth when he smiled. “The senator already ordered your death.”
The room froze.
Every Ranger.
Every officer.
Every breath.
Flick went pale instantly.
And something dangerous clicked into place inside my head.
Because now we had a name.
A real enemy.
Not just cartel ghosts hiding in shadows.
A senator.
Powerful enough to bury witnesses.
Corrupt enough to kill them.
And stupid enough to threaten her where I could hear it.
Tate straightened slowly.
“You got proof of that?”
Vaughn laughed weakly.
“Check the senator’s son’s offshore accounts.”
Ava’s expression changed immediately.
Oh.
She knew something.
Wolf caught it too.
“You already suspected somebody political.”
Ava stayed silent.
That was answer enough.
Flick looked overwhelmed now.
Like the entire world just became too big and too dangerous all at once.
I crossed back to her instantly.
Her hands grabbed my shirt the second I got close again.
Automatic.
Instinctive.
Mine.
“Hersh…”
Fear shook through her voice now.
Real fear.
Not for herself.
For all of us.
I cupped her face gently.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes lifted slowly.
Beautiful.
Terrified.
“You remember what you told Isabel earlier?”
Her brow furrowed slightly.
“You don’t leave people alone with monsters,” I whispered.
Emotion cracked across her face instantly.
“Yeah.”
I rested my forehead lightly against hers.
“Well, sweetheart…”
My eyes lifted toward Vaughn.
Then toward the storm outside.
Toward the war coming straight for Eagle River.
“Looks like the monsters finally picked the wrong town.”