The old logging road disappeared beneath a blanket of fog.
Ryder’s Harley cut through the cold mountain air, its engine growling as he followed Hawk’s truck deeper into the forest. Two more Iron Reapers rode behind them, their headlights slicing through the darkness.
No one spoke.
They didn’t need to.
Willow’s hospital identification badge lay sealed inside an evidence bag on the passenger seat of Hawk’s truck.
Someone had stolen it.
Someone had placed it inside an abandoned SUV.
And someone wanted Ryder to know they could get close enough to touch her life without ever being seen.
Ryder tightened his grip on the handlebars.
The message repeated in his mind.
You can’t protect her forever.
Maybe not.
But he would die trying.
The SUV sat half-hidden behind a row of pine trees.
