Third person POV
Jasper spun instinctively toward the source of the sound, gun raised, heart hammering.
For a moment, it was chaos.
Wood splintered. A bullet embedded itself in the far wall, inches from where a portrait had once hung. Curtains flew open in the blast of air that followed the shot. The entire place exhaled in shock.
But no scream came.
No body dropped.
Jasper’s eyes scanned the shadows, and that’s when he realized: there was no one inside.
It was a distraction.
One of the men, likely Anthony’s crew, had fired a warning shot into the cabin. Maybe he thought Scarlett was still in there. Maybe he was trying to flush her out. But she was gone.
The house wasn’t just breached.
It had been abandoned.
He cursed under his breath.
They’d probably taken the hidden trail aft
