Page 142 of Ranger's Wildflower

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My stomach twists.

“No,” I say, my voice steady even though my pulse is racing. “I don’t.”

His jaw tightens.

“You don’t understand,” he snaps. “They’ve twisted everything. They’ve got you believing—”

“Stop,” I cut him off.

That surprises him.

Good.

“You don’t get to rewrite what you did,” I say. “Not to me.”

For a second—

Something flickers in his eyes.

Pain.

Regret.

Then it’s gone.

Replaced by something darker.

Something that makes my skin go cold.

Ace feels it too.

I know he does.

Because his entire body goes still.

“Tessa,” he murmurs, low enough that only I hear it. “Stay behind me. No matter what happens.”

Something in his tone—

It’s different.

Final.

Like he already knows this isn’t going the way we want it to.

Daniel takes another step forward.

Beast shifts to the left.

Trigger adjusts behind cover.

Blaze’s voice crackles through the comms from inside.

“Hold—hold—hold…”

I frown slightly.

Hold?

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