Page 39 of Forest Reed (Seals on Fraiser Mountain #8)

Zoe

Iran the last stretch of the ridge, lungs burning, boots slipping on loose gravel. The echoes of gunfire still clung to the air, sharp and bitter. And then I saw him.

Forest stood in the clearing, rifle lowered, smoke curling from the barrel. North’s body sprawled in the dirt at his feet—still, bloody, no smile left.

It was over.

Relief cracked through me so hard my knees almost buckled. “Forest.” My voice came out hoarse, ragged.

He turned, and for a heartbeat he didn’t look like the man I knew—just a soldier still wired for war, eyes sharp, jaw locked. Then he saw me, really saw me, and the steel cracked.

“I told you,” he said, voice raw, “it ends tonight.”

I closed the space between us, hands gripping his shirt, pulling him down into me like I had to feel him alive to believe it. His arms wrapped around me, crushing, grounding, his heartbeat pounding against mine.

“It’s over,” I whispered into his chest. “It’s really over.”

His lips brushed my hair. “Yeah. But not for us. Never for us.”

Forest

The SEALs arrived minutes later, fanning out across the ridge. Fraiser bent over North’s body, checking the pulse he already knew wasn’t there. He looked up at me, gave one sharp nod. “Dead. For good.”

It’s a damn good thing you found out about this, or it would have been the end for every town around here and a lot of lives. Thank you for saving our Mountain and our valley and the folks that live here.”

Max exhaled hard, his rifle dropping to his side. “Whole town’s gonna breathe easier tonight.”

Axel gave a short laugh, shaking his head. “About damn time someone put this bastard in the ground.”

Jack Raider grinned, shotgun slung casually across his shoulder. “Betting pool’s over. Drinks are on me when this is wrapped.”

Nate’s gaze swept the treeline, then landed on me. His eyes were steady. “You did what had to be done.”

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. My arms were still around Zoe, her face buried in my chest, and for the first time in too long, I let myself breathe.

The mountain was ours again.

But as I looked down at North’s blood soaking into the dirt, I knew the scars he left would linger—on the town, on Zoe, on me.

Still… he was gone.

And I wasn’t letting her go.