Bonus Chapter
BLAZE
The first snow of the season hit Eagle River two days before Christmas.
Flick loved it.
Absolutely loved it.
She stood outside the Last Stand Tavern bundled in my coat and gloves while snowflakes drifted through her blonde hair.
Beautiful.
Happy.
Safe.
Exactly how she was supposed to look.
I leaned against the porch rail drinking coffee while she laughed with Grandma Dot and Mabel near the Christmas lights Wolf had nearly fallen off the roof hanging.
Twice.
Trigger still had the video saved on his phone.
The entire mountain finally felt peaceful again.
Until three black SUVs rolled slowly into the tavern parking lot.
Every Ranger on the porch went still instantly.
Wolf lowered his coffee.
Trigger’s expression hardened.
Sheriff Tate reached for the pistol beneath his jacket automatically.
And me?
Every instinct inside me snapped tight.
Because those vehicles didn’t belong here.
Matte black.
Blacked-out windows.
Government plates.
Danger.
The lead SUV stopped near the porch.
The driver’s door opened slowly.
And a man stepped out.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark jacket.
Black gloves.
His cold gray eyes scanned the tavern once before locking directly onto me.
The breath left my lungs.
No.
No damn way.
Flick looked between us immediately.
“Hersh?”
But I couldn’t answer.
Because the ghost standing twenty feet away was supposed to be dead. If Rook hadn’t told us he was with Shadow Division, I would still think he was dead.
My brother.
Caleb McDougal.
Older by four years.
Meaner by twenty.
The last time I saw him, blood covered half his body while military police dragged him into a black transport vehicle overseas.
Then he vanished.
No calls.
No body.
Nothing.
Wolf looked at me slowly.
“You know this guy?”
I stared at Caleb.
“Yeah.”
Caleb removed his gloves one finger at a time.
Still watching me.
“Been a long time, little brother.”
Flick looked completely confused now.
“You were supposed to be dead?”
“Sorry about that. It was better that I stayed dead. As soon as I realized who Shepherd was after I resurfaced.”
I shook my head.
Caleb’s mouth almost twitched at that.
Almost.
Then three more men stepped from the SUVs behind him.
Every single one looked lethal.
Not soldiers.
Not Rangers.
Something colder.
More controlled.
Matching dark tactical jackets carried the same silver emblem over the chest.
A raven gripping a dagger.
Shadow Division.
Trigger muttered quietly?—
“Oh hell.”
Sheriff Tate stepped forward immediately.
“You wanna explain why a damn black-ops team just rolled into my town?”
Caleb finally looked away from me.
Barely.
“We’re not here for Eagle River.”
His eyes shifted back to mine.
“We’re here for Shepherd.”
Silence hit the parking lot hard.
Snow drifted quietly around us.
Flick moved closer to me automatically.
Caleb noticed.
Of course he did.
Men like him noticed everything.
“Shepherd crossed lines he shouldn’t have crossed,” Caleb continued calmly. “The Hollow Men just became Shadow Division business.”
Wolf folded his arms.
“And who exactly does Shadow Division take care of?”
One of the men behind Caleb laughed once.
Darkly.
“Nightmares,” he answered.
Caleb ignored him.
“Shepherd disappears people. Funds trafficking routes. Runs mercenary channels through half the western states.” His jaw tightened slightly. “We’ve been hunting him a long time.”
I stepped off the porch slowly.
Snow crunched beneath my boots.
“You could’ve mentioned you were alive. I had to hear it from Rook.”
Something dangerous flickered behind Caleb’s eyes.
“Couldn’t.”
“That’s convenient.”
“No.” His voice lowered. “It’s the truth.”
For a second…
something passed between us.
Old history.
Pain.
Blood.
Family.
Then Caleb looked past me toward Flick standing on the porch.
His expression changed instantly.
Softer somehow.
“You kept her alive.”
The statement hit me square in the chest.
“Yeah,” I answered quietly. “I did.”
Caleb nodded once like that mattered more than anything else.
Then he reached into his jacket slowly.
Every Ranger on the porch tensed.
He pulled out a photograph and handed it to me.
The second I looked down?—
rage crawled through my bloodstream.
Security footage.
Grainy.
Dark.
But unmistakable.
Shepherd.
Alive.
Standing beside a cargo container.
And spray-painted across the metal behind him?—
the Hollow Men symbol.
Caleb’s voice turned ice cold beside me.
“He’s building something bigger.”
Snow drifted silently around us.
“Bigger how?” Wolf asked.
Caleb’s gaze darkened.
“Big enough Shadow Division finally came out of the dark to stop it.”
Then his eyes locked onto mine one last time.
“You protected your family, Blaze.” His voice lowered slightly. “Now let us protect ours.”
And somehow…
that sentence felt like the beginning of something far more dangerous than any of us realized.