34. Blaze
BLAZE
The letters.
Jesus Christ.
I stared at Flick while thunder rattled the tavern windows hard enough to shake the bottles behind the bar.
And all I could think was:
I was glad she kept them.
Her father hid every damn one from her for sixteen years…
and still didn’t throw them away.
That meant something.
Flick stood wrapped around herself now like she was cold clear through to the bone.
I moved toward her without thinking.
Always toward her.
My hand slid along the back of her neck gently.
Warm.
Soft.
Mine.
“You sure?” I asked quietly.
Her eyes lifted to mine instantly.
Glass-bright with tears.
“No,” she whispered. “But I think so.”
Wolf folded his arms. “Box still at the house?”
Flick nodded slowly.
“I think it’s still there as far as I know.” Her throat worked hard. “After Dad died… I just couldn’t go through all his things after I found the letters.”
Pain hit her face immediately after saying it.
Guilt.
God, she still loved him.
Even after everything.
Ava noticed too.
“This isn’t your fault,” she said softly.
Flick looked unconvinced.
Trigger pushed away from the bar again.
“Well, congratulations, everybody. We officially have a creepy mystery box.”
Tate pointed toward Vaughn on the floor.
“And an infected rat.”
“Appreciate that, Sheriff.”
“No problem.”
Normally, Trigger would’ve laughed.
Nobody laughed now.
Because my head kept replaying one part.
Dark SUV.
Three days before her father died.
I looked toward Vaughn slowly.
“You know about the house?”
Vaughn smirked weakly again.
Too confident.
Too calm.
“I know lots of things.”
I crouched in front of him before anybody could stop me.
The tavern went silent instantly.
“You need to start making smarter choices.”
Vaughn tilted his head slightly. “Or what?”
I smiled.
Bad move on his part.
Because Trigger muttered quietly behind me:
“Oh, he’s got the murder smile again.”
Wolf sighed heavily. “Yep.”
I kept my eyes on Vaughn.
“You know what happens when Rangers lose people?”
His smirk faded slightly.
Good.
“See, normal men panic.” I leaned closer. “Normal men break.”
The room had gone deadly still now.
“But Rangers?”
I could feel Flick watching me.
Feel her heartbeat from six feet away.
“We hunt.”
Vaughn swallowed hard.
“There’s a box in that house,” I continued quietly. “And something tells me you’re suddenly very interested in whether we find it.”
Nothing.
But his eyes flickered.
Tiny movement.
Enough.
Wolf saw it too.
“So there’s something in the box.”
Vaughn realized too late he’d reacted.
Trigger grinned darkly. “Well that’s unfortunate for you.”
Flick stepped closer beside me now.
Braver than she realized.
“What was my father afraid of?” she whispered.
For the first time all night?—
Vaughn hesitated.
And that scared me more than the smirking.
Because hesitation meant truth.
“He started asking questions,” Vaughn muttered finally.
Cold rolled straight through my chest.
“What questions?”
Vaughn looked toward Flick.
“He wanted to know why people were watching his house.”
Silence slammed through the tavern.
Flick physically recoiled.
“No…”
Ava’s expression hardened instantly.
“How long?”
Vaughn laughed bitterly.
“Longer than you think.”
Trigger swore viciously under his breath.
Wolf’s jaw flexed hard.
Tate looked ready to start digging graves behind the tavern.
But me?
I couldn’t stop staring at Flick.
Because suddenly all the pieces were shifting again.
Her father hiding the letters.
The paranoia.
The locks.
The curtains.
The vehicle driving past her house.
And now this.
Someone had been watching her long before she witnessed that murder.
“Hersh…”
Her voice cracked softly.
I turned toward her immediately.
Fear filled her eyes now.
Real fear.
“What if my father died because of me?”
Absolutely not.
I stepped in front of her fast enough she startled slightly.
“Don’t.”
“But—”
“Don’t put that on yourself.”
My hands framed her face gently.
Firm enough she couldn’t look away.
“Whatever happened to your father,” I said quietly, “belongs to the people who caused it.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks instantly.
And God help me?—
something vicious woke up inside my chest, watching her cry.
Because she’d spent sixteen years hurting over lies.
And now she was trying to carry this too.
Not happening.
Behind us, Wolf spoke quietly.
“We need that box.”
Trigger nodded once.
“Tonight.”
Thunder exploded overhead.
Rain hammered the tavern roof.
And Vaughn finally smiled again.
Slow.
Ugly.
“You’re already too late.”