Page 274 of Rangers Last Promise

She looks up at me.

“Doing what?”

“Scaring ten years off my life.”

“You’re still irritating. I think you have plenty left.”

I pull her against me.

Hard.

She makes a small sound.

Then her arms come around me.

“I’m okay,” she whispers.

“I know.”

“You don’t look like you know.”

“I’m working on it.”

Behind us, firefighters surround the truck.

The flames shrink beneath white foam.

The containers remain beneath the cellar.

Still protected by concrete and earth.

Vance failed.

Sirens rise along McKinley Road as more fire crews arrive.

Sheriff Tate walks toward us.

His face is black with smoke.

“We found something inside the pickup.”

“What?” I ask.

“A remote steering device.”

Mara looks toward the wreck.

“Vance didn’t have to stay nearby.”

“No.”

21

MARA

Twenty-three men are coming out of the ground.

One at a time.