Chapter 71 Havoc
Havoc
The last shot echoes—
Then silence.
Not real silence.
Just the kind that comes after chaos.
Heavy.
Ringing.
“Clear,” Wolf calls.
Blaze moves past me, sweeping the perimeter.
Ace drags one of the attackers forward, zip-tying his hands behind his back.
Alive.
Barely.
“Got one,” Ace says.
Good.
We’ll need answers.
I lower my weapon.
Slowly.
And that’s when it hits.
The adrenaline drops.
The pain floods in.
My vision dips.
Just for a second.
Then—
“Aspen.”
Her voice is right there.
Too close.
Too sharp.
Her hands are on me again.
Checking.
Pressing.
Holding.
“You’re bleeding through this,” she says.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Her voice cracks.
Just slightly.
And that—
That gets my attention more than anything else.
I look at her.
Really look.
And she’s not calm anymore.
Not controlled.
She’s scared.
Because of me.
“Hey,” I say, quieter now.
Her hands don’t stop moving.
“Sit down.”
“Havoc.”
That tone again.
But different now.
Less command.
More… plea.
And I don’t fight it.
I sit.
Because she needs me to.