Chapter 19 Havoc
Havoc
The farm looks peaceful at night.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
The moon hangs low over the farm, silver light stretching across the pasture.
Ace sits on the hood of his Jeep, scanning the tree line with binoculars.
Blaze leans against the fence, arms folded.
Wolf’s truck is parked halfway down the road, watching the highway.
Nobody says much.
We don’t need to.
The air has that feeling.
The one that says something is coming.
Buddy suddenly lifts his head.
The dog was asleep five seconds ago.
Now his ears are forward.
Alert.
I straighten in my chair on the porch.
“What is it, Buddy?”
Buddy growls.
Low.
Quiet.
Ace lowers the binoculars.
“You hear that?”
I do.
A faint crunch of gravel.
Not the road.
Closer.
Behind the barn.
I’m already moving.
Blaze falls in beside me.
Ace circles wide toward the pasture.
Buddy bolts ahead.
The barn door creaks slightly in the wind.
Then—
A shadow moves.
“Stop!” I bark.
The figure runs.
Boots pounding through dirt.
Blaze takes off after him.
Ace cuts across the field like a linebacker.
The man reaches the fence—
And Buddy slams into him.
The dog hits like a furry missile.
The stranger crashes to the ground with a curse.
Blaze tackles him a second later.
Ace arrives and flips the man onto his stomach.
I stand beside him.
Black hoodie.
Gloves.
Cheap mask.
Professional enough to try.
Not professional enough to succeed.
“What are you doing on this property?” I ask.
The man laughs.
“You think this is your land?”
Wrong answer.
Buddy growls louder.
Blaze tightens his grip.
“Talk,” Ace says calmly.
The man spits in the dirt.
“You don’t even know what you’re protecting.”
I lean closer.
“Try me.”
The man smiles.
Cold.
“Tank stole something.”
The words hit like a grenade.
“And we’re here to get it back.”
“Tank’s been dead for seven years,” I say.
“So what. He still stole something that belongs to us.”