42. Blaze
BLAZE
The headlights cut through the rain like knives.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Coming straight toward the house.
Every instinct inside me locked tight instantly.
Wolf killed the flashlight.
Darkness swallowed the bedroom again except for the lightning flashing through the shattered window.
“Downstairs,” he ordered quietly.
They already had their weapons up.
Ava moved toward the hallway fast.
“What kind of vehicle?” she whispered.
I stepped closer to the broken window carefully.
Black SUV.
Large.
Government-style.
No visible plates from this angle.
My stomach turned cold.
“Same type from earlier.”
Flick inhaled sharply beside me.
Not good.
Not good at all.
The SUV rolled to a stop directly in front of the porch.
Engine still running.
Nobody got out immediately.
That bothered me more than if they had.
Because men who sat calmly in storms outside dark houses?
Usually knew exactly what they were doing.
Trigger crouched near the stairwell.
“If Mercer sent people, why only one vehicle?”
“Could be recon,” Wolf answered quietly.
“Could be cleanup,” Ava muttered.
My jaw tightened hard at that word.
Cleanup.
Meaning:
recover evidence,
eliminate witnesses,
burn the rest.
No chance in hell.
Flick stepped closer beside me.
Close enough I could feel her trembling now.
“Hersh…”
I turned toward her instantly.
Fear filled her eyes.
Real fear.
“They know we’re here.”
I framed her face gently with one hand.
“Then they picked the wrong damn house.”
Lightning exploded outside.
And finally?—
the driver’s door opened.
Everybody in the room tightened instantly.
A man stepped out slowly into the rain.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark jacket.
No visible weapon.
But something about the way he moved made every Ranger instinct inside me sharpen harder.
Not cartel.
Military.
Wolf saw it too.
“That’s not a hired thug.”
No.
It wasn’t.
The man stopped beside the SUV and looked directly toward the broken upstairs window.
Like he knew exactly where we were standing.
Then—
he slowly lifted both hands away from his sides.
Non-threatening.
Interesting.
Trigger frowned.
“Well now I’m suspicious.”
The man’s voice carried through the storm.
Deep.
Calm.
“Blaze McDougal.”
Every muscle in my body locked instantly.
Because almost nobody used that name anymore.
Not outside Ranger circles.
The man looked toward the house again.
Then said:
“Your brother told me you’d probably point a gun at me first.”
Silence slammed through the room.
Wolf blinked once.
“…what?”
My pulse spiked instantly.
Brother.
Not brothers.
Brother.
Singular.
Caleb.
Ava went completely still beside the hallway.
And suddenly?—
I knew she recognized him too.
The stranger slowly reached inside his jacket.
Trigger raised his weapon instantly.
“Oh that’s a terrible idea.”
But the man only pulled out a soaked leather wallet.
Then held up an old military challenge coin.
Even from upstairs?—
I recognized it.
McDougal family crest burned into black steel.
My blood ran cold.
Because Caleb only gave those coins to people he trusted with his life.
The stranger looked directly at me through the storm.
Then quietly said:
“My name is Commander James Callahan.”
Lightning flashed violently across the yard.
And the man added:
“But your brother calls me Rook.”