Page 70 of Ranger's Justice

She opens her mouth, but I shake her lightly. “You don’t get to fight me on this.”

Cassidy glares up at me, pissed as hell. “I don’t need to be coddled, Rush,” she snaps.

“This isn’t coddling,” I snarl back. “This is keeping you alive. Besides, we’ll need someone with the SUV ready to get us out of there. Think about it, all five of us have been wolves since the day we were born. It’s natural to us, and we have more experience with guns and other munitions.”

Her pulse is thrumming against my fingertips. I know what this means to her. I know she wants to be in the thick of it. And I hate myself for this, but I have to say it, anyway.

“I don’t trust myself if something happens to you,” I admit, voice low, raw. “I won’t finish the mission. I won’t put the job first. I’ll drop everything and come for you.” Her breath catches. I push forward, my grip tightening. “And that means I’m putting everyone in danger, not just you.”

Her lips press into a thin line, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt. “You think I don’t feel the same way?” she whispers.

She swallows, something like frustration flickering in her eyes. “If you go down, I’ll come for you. If you bleed, I’ll feel it. You don’t get to ask me to sit on my hands and pretend I’m not connected to you, Rush. That’s not how this works.”

I close my eyes for a second, trying to control the wildfire roaring through my veins. She’s right.

I take her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheekbones. “Swear it,” I murmur, voice barely above a whisper. “Swear to me that if something goes wrong, if this turns into a bloodbath, you’ll turn your back and get the hell out of there.”

Cassidy stares at me for a long moment, something unreadable flickering across her face.

Then, slowly, she nods. “I swear,” she says.

But we both know it’s a lie.

I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in, committing this moment to memory. This is the calm before the storm. And when the fighting starts? Cassidy is going to do exactly what she always does. She’s going to run straight into the fire.

The darkness stretches over the abandoned estate, thick and absolute, the heavy clouds blotting out the moon like a shroud. Dawn is a couple of hours away. Perfect cover. The trees surrounding the property sway in the cool pre-morning air, and beyond them, the desert sprawls, vast and endless.

We are exactly where we need to be.

I crouch at the tree line with Gideon, Cassidy, and Deacon, my eyes locked on the massive, two-story structure in the distance. The estate is old, but heavily fortified—security cameras, reinforced gates, and at least twenty armed men that we’ve counted so far. More than expected, but not enough to save Hollister.

Dalton’s voice crackles through the comms. “We’re in position at the western perimeter. Gage and I have eyes on three snipers on the balcony.”

“Take them out quietly,” Gideon murmurs back.

“On it.”

Cassidy is beside me, adjusting her weight, her fingers wrapped around the grip of her sidearm. She’s calm, focused, but I feel the tension radiating off her, the electric hum of adrenaline that has her coiled tight.

I should send her back. I should have made her stay behind. But it’s too late for that. She’s here, and no amount of growling or orders would have changed it. I exhale slowly, keeping my focus on the estate.

“Confirmed,” Gage mutters over comms. “Hollister is inside. He arrived twenty minutes ago with two Del Toro enforcers. Deal is still on.”

I nod. Good. Let him think he’s in control. Let him think he’s safe.

Because in a few minutes, we’re going to rip his world apart.

Gideon glances at me. “We’re outnumbered.”

“We’ve been outnumbered before.”

Deacon smiles. “Didn’t end well for them last time.”

Gideon grunts but doesn’t argue. “Dalton, you good?”

“Snipers down.” Dalton’s voice is sharp, lethal. “It’s showtime, boys.”

I move slightly, motioning to Cassidy to stay close. “Once we breach, you stay behind cover,” I murmur, voice low.

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