Page 24 of Forest Reed
Forest
We regrouped at the overlook above the ridge, headlights from Lane’s cruiser cutting through the smoke. The station below was nothing but a skeleton, fire chewing through the last of the roof. Deputies cordoned off the area, radios hissing, the smell of ash sinking into my skin.
Zoe stood at the hood of the truck, her hair wild and face streaked with soot, taking photos of the scorch-mark message with her phone. MIRROR LAKE – AGAIN. Her jaw was clenched like stone.
Lane stormed toward her, badge gleaming in the firelight. “You could’ve died in there!”
Zoe didn’t even look up. “Could’ve, didn’t. You’re welcome.”
Jason hung back, calm but sharp-eyed. He studied the ground, the fire, then Zoe—like he was putting puzzle pieces together and didn’t like the picture.
Lane turned to me next. “And you—what the hell were you thinking dragging her into that death trap?”
I met her eyes, steady. “Keeping her alive.”
She scoffed, furious. “By lighting a match in a powder keg?”
Zoe finally looked up. “Lane, he saved me. You can yell at him later. Right now, North is circling us like we’re his favorite toys, and I’m not in the mood to be played with.”
That shut everyone up for a second. Even the radios seemed to go quiet.
Jason broke it first, low and certain. “He’s escalating. Mirror Lake isn’t just bait. It’s staging. That many vans, that much product? He’s planning a distribution bigger than anything this county’s seen.” He flicked his gaze at me. “You know it. I know it.”
I nodded once. “And he wants an audience. That’s why he left the message.”
Lane swore under her breath, pacing. “So what—he’s setting up another ambush? At the same damn lake?”
“Not an ambush,” Zoe said, sliding her phone into her jacket. Her eyes found mine, fierce and sharp. “A show.”
I understood instantly. “Demonstration.”
Jason’s mouth tightened. “For buyers.”
The word hung heavy in the night. Buyers. Guns. North is turning my mountain into a marketplace.
Lane’s fists clenched. “Over my dead body.”
“Not just yours,” Zoe muttered. She stepped closer, eyes locking on mine. “We stop him. Tonight.”
I searched her face, ash-streaked and firelit, equal parts cop, sister, and the woman who’d just risked everything inside that station. She wasn’t backing down. Not from North. Not from me.
Jason crossed his arms, voice cool but edged with something protective. “Then you need a plan smarter than walking in loud.
I exhaled slowly. “We set the lake. We use his own staging ground against him.”
Lane’s eyes narrowed. “You’re talking a sting.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But bigger. He thinks he’s watching us run his trail? Fine. Let him. We flip it.”
Zoe tilted her chin, a spark of satisfaction in her eyes. “You're finally speaking my language, Mountain Man.”
I didn’t smile, but something loosened in my chest. Together. Always together.
Jason pulled a map from his coat, spreading it across the hood. “Then let’s tighten the noose before North tightens his.”
The flames behind us crackled, throwing sparks into the sky. I knew then: Mirror Lake wasn’t the end. It was just the start of something bigger.
And if North wanted a show?
