Page 232 of Rangers Last Promise

My brother.

Alive.

Breathing.

Scared.

“If Doc finds this, tell him I’m sorry.”

Doc closes his eyes.

The recording crackles.

“I should’ve told him before we entered the valley. Kane knows who the Colonel is, but he won’t give him up unless he has a way out.”

Grant pauses.

A sound echoes behind him.

Boots.

Maybe gunfire in the distance.

“I found the list. Twenty-three names. None of them officially exist. Vance is bringing the Colonel to Site Seventeen.”

My heart pounds.

Grant’s breathing grows faster.

“If I don’t come back, the proof is in⁠—”

The message cuts off.

“No,” Doc whispers.

Lieutenant Ross checks the screen.

“That’s the end.”

“It can’t be.”

“The recording stopped.”

Doc stares at the phone.

Grant was about to tell us where he hid the proof.

One more word.

That’s all we needed.

One word Grant never got to say.

The station phone rings.

Everyone turns.

Sheriff Tate answers.