“Copy,” Law said.
Winter came in hard from the left and vaulted the low concrete barrier without breaking stride. Black flanked wide, silent and precise. Micah stayed just off Sage’s shoulder, moving with that quiet, dancer-like precision Sage had noticed the first day he arrived at the ranch, matching pace and cutting off retreat angles without needing to be told.
The suspect’s head snapped right—toward the narrow service corridor between buildings.
Sage shifted to follow—
—but Law was already moving. The man cut inside, shaving distance, taking a tighter line along the brick façade. For a split second, Sage saw nothing but Law’s broad shoulders as the older man blew past him. Show-off.
The suspect hit the corridor.
That was a mistake.
Law met him three strides in and drove him hard into the brick.
Winter took the legs. Black stepped in with power and locked down the arms.
The fight lasted three seconds. Four at most.
Concrete scraped. A sharp grunt.
The efficient sound of zip-ties cinching around wrists.
Done.
The quad behind them was already settling—confused students backing away, phones half-raised, unsure what they’d just witnessed.
Students always defaulted to confusion before fear. Their brains needed a second to decide if this was real life or something they’d just watched on TikTok. A few were already laughing too loudly, pretending it had been a prank. Someone filmed. Someone swore they’d seen a badge. Someone would post about it before sunrise.
By noon, it would be rewritten as a campus rumor.
By evening, there would be nothing to witness.
Sage slowed, breath steady but elevated, adrenaline buzzing under his skin with nowhere to land. He bounced once on the balls of his feet, burning off the leftover charge.
Law straightened, rolling one shoulder, drawing in a breath. Not winded—just worked.
“What are you doing for the Fourth?” Law asked.
He blinked at Law. “Huh?”
The soldier shot him a sideways glance, that grin flashing suddenly and recklessly in the floodlit courtyard. “Fourth of July?”
The grin had no business being that sinful with a man face-down at their feet.
It caught Sage off guard.
A short laugh slipped out before he could stop it.
“You planning something?”
“Maybe.”
Micah snorted. “If this involves sparklers, I’m in.”
Black didn’t look at him. “You lit your jacket on fire last time.”
“Was so worth it.”
