She shrugged. “What? Schedule’s clear, Hemsworth.”
“Hemsworth? Really?”
She offered a shrug. “You have to admit you have the whole Ragnarok transformation thing going on.”
“I’m off duty.” Meg seemed to be biting back a smile as she scrolled through her phone. “If Nimue reopened those stitches, she’ll need medical attention.”
Noah blew out a breath, lifted his hand to rake it through his hair—grabbed nothing but air.Right. Short now.“Am I the only one who remembers the storm that’s still tearing through as we speak? High winds, unstable trails—you really think we can outrun rising water? We’d end up needing SAR ourselves.”
“Water’s flowing toward the Colorado.” Teague straightened. “Satellite footage says it will be past us within the hour. If we wait until it stops, it’ll be ahead of us, not behind. If they’re fine, it’s just a day hike. We’re all strong hikers. And with the flooding, there could be other people in trouble.”
“We’re rangers, not tactical units.” Noah’s pulse hammered. The weight of his team’s eagerness clashed against every instinct screaming danger. Liam was solid, but Nimue? Wild card. That blood in her camper had the alarm in his head clanging. “What if we’re underestimating what they’re up against?”
“Exactly.” Teague stepped closer. “Which means you’re underestimating how much they might need us. If we can’t handle it, we call for backup. Liam doesn’t have a phone. He’sflying blind out there.” Teague’s jaw set. “You want to stay here? The three of us can handle it.”
Noah’s eyes found Meg. Her unwavering gaze anchored him despite the chaos in his head. No way was he letting her—letting any of them—head into the canyon without him. Not with blood evidence. Not with Liam’s cryptic message echoing in his head.
“Fine.” The word came out low, resolute. “We’re going.”
“If you’ve got three, I’ll stay.” Eden was already moving, pulling a sat phone from the charger. “Be your communications hub.”
She handed him the phone and Noah nodded. At least one of them was thinking clearly.
“Twenty minutes. Pack light—layers, water, protein.”
As the group scattered, Noah caught Meg’s eye. Her smile was small. Knowing. Warm.
Oh boy.Maybe Liam wasn’t the only ranger in trouble.
They’d been here too long.
Over two hours since they’d been trapped in this glorified rock shelter, and only now was the rain finally starting to ease. Nimue pressed her back against the rough sandstone, knees drawn up, damp clothes plastered to her skin like a second layer of misery.
Liam was unraveling.
She watched him rifle through his pack, movements rough and agitated. A water bottle flew aside, clattering against the cave wall loud enough to make her wince. Caged-animal energy radiated off him—all coiled tension and barely contained frustration.
“We need to move.” He growled. “This rain needs tostop.”
He’d been incredible through all of this. Patient. Protective. And he didn’t even understand half of what they were running from.
Maybe it was time to give him more pieces. Tell him the story.
“Liam. Sit down. We’re not going anywhere yet. And…I think you should know what’s really going on.”
He frowned but obeyed, sliding down to sit opposite her.
She sighed. Then, “My sister, Emberly…” The words turned rusty in her throat. “When I went into foster care, she joined the Black Swans. Back then, I had no clue what that meant. I just knew she was gone.”
Liam said nothing, simply listened.
“Last year I helped her uncover a plan by the Bratva to kidnap the president’s daughter. It involved some high-tech AI and…people were hurt. Bratva players arrested. And while we saved the president’s daughter, one of the players—a woman named Teresa—came after us. She tracked us to the parents’ home of my sister’s boyfriend, a place called the King’s Inn, in Minnesota.”
“The place that got blown up?” Liam’s voice snapped. “Where someone held a gun to your head?”
She nodded, her chest tightening at the memory. “Yeah. Emberly was taken too, but Stein and his family rescued us. Teresa escaped. We grabbed this guy named Tomas—he was a big honcho, apparently, and I got ahold of his cell phone. I used it to dig deeper into their operation, download files, and gain access to their bank account. I turned everything over to the Caleb Group.”
His eyebrow climbed.