Chapter 26 Aspen
Aspen
The first shot comes just after dark.
It shatters the silence.
Glass explodes in the kitchen.
I scream.
Dylan grabs Buddy.
Havoc is already moving.
“Down!” he orders.
We drop instantly.
Another shot hits the side of the house.
Then—
Silence.
Thick.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Havoc crouches beside me.
“Stay here,” he says.
“I’m not—”
“Aspen.”
His voice stops me cold.
Command.
Not anger.
“Stay.”
I nod.
Because I trust him.
Because I have to.
Outside, engines roar.
Ace and Blaze take off toward the road.
Wolf is already in position.
The Rangers move like shadows.
Fast.
Precise.
Gone before I can even process it.
Inside, Dylan clings to me. We are on the floor.
I pull Dylan into me so fast he lets out a small gasp.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper, pressing my lips to his hair.
My arms tighten around him.
Too tight.
Like if I let go… something else might be taken from me.
His fingers clutch my shirt.
“Mom…”
“I’m right here,” I say, even though my heart is still racing. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Not again.
Not ever again.
I rock him slightly, like I used to when he was little.
Even though he’s too big for that now.
Even though the world is too dangerous for that now.
I don’t care.
He’s still my baby.
He will always be my baby.
Even though I know…
This isn’t over.
Minutes later, Havoc comes back inside.
“No one hit,” he says.
Relief crashes through me.
“But they wanted us to know they can reach us.”
My stomach drops.
A warning.
Not an attack.
Yet.
Dylan doesn’t let go of me.
And I don’t make him.
My fingers stay in his hair, holding him close.
Feeling every breath.
Every heartbeat.
Because for a second—
I thought I might lose him too.
And I won’t survive that.
I just won’t.