Page 220 of Rangers Unexpected Return

“If it was a nickname, we’ve been searching the wrong missing-child reports.”

Sheriff Tate looked at me.

“How many girls disappeared in Texas that summer?”

“I don’t know.”

He reached for his phone.

Before he could place the call, the tavern lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then everything went dark.

Complete silence filled the dining room.

Near the staircase, Max began growling.

Not toward the front door.

Toward the second floor.

Every Ranger reached for a weapon.

Mace’s hand found mine in the darkness.

Not because he believed I needed saving.

Because neither of us intended to face whatever was upstairs alone.

A single flashlight clicked on.

Not one of ours.

Someone else’s.

Its beam shone from the far end of the upstairs hallway.

22

MACE

The tavern was dark.

Only emergency lanterns lit the downstairs dining room.

Max stood motionless at the foot of the staircase.

His ears were forward.

His eyes never left the second floor.

Nobody breathed.

The flashlight upstairs moved once.