Chapter 26
Ace
Idon’t relax when the road clears.
Not after a hit like that.
“Keep going,” I tell Blaze.
He nods, eyes locked ahead. “Ten more minutes and we’re off anything they can track easy.”
Good.
Trigger’s still scanning mirrors. Beast hasn’t moved from the back, solid as a wall. Tessa’s beside me—quiet, steady, breathing a little easier now.
But I can still feel the tremor in her hand.
I don’t let go.
“Talk to me,” I say.
Blaze glances at the screen mounted near the dash. “I’ve got traffic cams picking us up three intersections back. That sedan clipped our rear panel—paint transfer.”
“Plate?” I ask.
“Partial,” he says. “But I’ve got enough.”
“Run it.”
“Already am.”
We roll through a turn, then another. Houses thin out. Road opens.
My phone buzzes.
Blaze’s tone changes a second later. “Got it.”
“Say it.”
“Sedan is registered to a shell LLC. Surprise.” He types faster. “Tracing ownership… there we go.”
He exhales.
“Connected to a county fleet maintenance account.”
My jaw tightens. “Gable Ridge?”
“Yeah.”
Trigger glances back. “You’re saying they used county resources for a hit?”
“I’m saying someone inside the system is dirty enough to try,” I reply. “That means there are others helping Reynolds.”
Tessa shifts beside me. “Daniel.”
“Most likely,” I say. “Or someone doing it for him.”
Beast’s voice cuts in, calm and heavy. “Either way, that ties the attempt to the county.”
“Which makes it evidence,” Blaze adds. “Big, ugly evidence.”
“Save everything,” I say. “Copies in three places.”
“Already mirrored,” he says.
Good.
I look at Tessa. “You good to keep pushing?”
She meets my eyes. No hesitation. “Yeah.”
That lands.
“Alright,” I say. “Then we don’t slow down.”
My phone buzzes again.
Unknown number.
I answer.
“Mercer.”
A different voice this time. Male. Tense.
“This is Deputy Aaron Cole, Gable Ridge Sheriff’s Department.”
I go still.
“Talk.”
“We’ve got a situation,” he says. “And I don’t think you’re the problem.”
I exchange a look with Blaze.
“Explain.”
“I saw the footage,” he says quietly. “Not the official version. The real one.”
My grip tightens.
“And?”
“And it doesn’t match the report I signed off on back then,” he says. “I was a rookie. I trusted what I was given.”
“You’re saying you were fed bad evidence,” I say.
“Yes.”
“And now?”
A breath on the line. “Now I think my boss is involved in something he shouldn’t be.”
Tessa leans closer, listening.
“Why call me?” I ask.
“Because if this blows up—and it will—I’m not going down for it.”
Honest.
I can work with that.
“What do you have?” I ask.
“Internal logs,” he says. “Access records. Dispatch timestamps. Reynolds logged in near the crash before the call came in.”
I glance at Blaze. He nods—matches what we saw.
“Bring it,” I say.
“Can’t do it at the station,” Cole replies. “Everything’s being watched.”
“Then you don’t go to the station,” I say. “We’ll set a meet.”
A pause.
“Alright.”
I look out the windshield, calculating.
“Old Mill Road,” I say. “South turnout. In two hours, we’ll meet you there.”
“I know it.”
“Come alone.”
“You too.”
“No,” I say. “But we’ll keep it clean.”
Another breath.
“Fine.”
The line clicks dead.
Blaze exhales. “That’s a risk.”
“Yeah,” I say. “But it’s also a crack.”
Trigger nods once. “We can control the meet.”
“Do it,” I say.
I look at Tessa.
“This is how we lock him in.”
Her jaw sets. “Then let’s lock him in.”