Page 180 of Rangers Unexpected Return

The possibility settled coldly inside me.

The Keeper knew where I was.

He knew where Mace was.

And he knew exactly how Mace had reacted when the shooting began.

Judy read the threat.

Her hand tightened around mine.

I looked toward the dark service trail where the killer had disappeared.

He wasn’t only hunting Rylie anymore.

He had chosen Judy too.

16

JUDY

YOU WON’T SAVE HER TWICE.

The words remained on the cracked phone screen while the camp burned behind us.

For several seconds, I couldn’t move.

Smoke rolled through the trees. Flames climbed above the roofline of the old office, throwing orange light across Mace’s face. Men shouted near the clearing. Somewhere closer to the lake, wood cracked as the fire reached another dry section of grass.

But all I saw was the message.

I lifted my gaze.

“How does he know you saved me?”

“He’s watching.”

His hand tightened around mine.

I looked down.

I hadn’t realized I was still holding on to him.

Neither had he.

Or maybe he had.

The fire reflected the scar near his jaw. Smoke had darkened one side of his shirt. A thin line of blood ran from a scratch above his eyebrow.

I reached for it before I thought better of it.

“You’re bleeding.”

“It’s a scratch.”

“You were shot at.”

“And missed.”