Page 390 of Rangers Unexpected Return

The click echoes through the tavern.

Then I turn around.

“The Rangers.”

Claire stares at me.

I look at Nathan’s little girl.

Then at the blood on Claire's arm.

Whatever guilt I've carried for the last two years can wait.

Whatever is inside this envelope can wait another five minutes.

Right now, Nathan's family needs me.

And this time I'm answering the damn call.

47

CLAIRE

Ihaven't slept in thirty-one hours.

Maybe that's why none of this feels real.

Maybe that's why I'm standing in a locked tavern in a tiny Texas town watching Cole Barrett hold an envelope my husband gave me two years ago.

Or maybe nothing has felt real since Nathan died.

“Mommy?”

I look down.

My daughter is pressed against my side, her stuffed rabbit tucked beneath one arm. Her hair is tangled from sleeping in the car, and there are shadows beneath her eyes that no six-year-old should have.

I crouch in front of her.

“I'm right here, Sophie.”

“Are the bad men coming?”

My heart squeezes.

“No, baby.”

It's a lie.

I don't know if they're coming.

I don't know who they are.

I don't know why they tore through my house.

I don't know what they wanted.

All I know is Nathan told me what to do if I was ever afraid.