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Then—

“HEY!”

Callie.

I’d know her voice anywhere.

My entire body turns toward the sound.

East. Maybe two hundred yards. Maybe less.

I run.

“McConnell!”

Bishop follows.

Branches whip across my face. I don't feel them.

A gunshot cracks through the woods.

Everything inside me goes cold.

“CALLIE!”

No answer.

I run faster.

Another gunshot.

My heart lurches inside my chest.

I keep running.

The trees thin.

And then I hear it.

“ROMAN!”

A dirt access road appears ahead.

There’s movement.

Blonde hair.

And then, Callie stumbles out of the brush.

For one second, the world stops.

She's filthy.

Blood on her face.

Her clothes are torn.

One knee of her pants is ripped.