Page 159 of Hymns of the Broken

I slip outside, hoodie tugged over my head, feeling the sharp morning air hit my skin as I cross the gravel drive. Jasper’s family has so much land out here—old barns, the tree line hugging the horizon, the private shooting range tucked way out where even the wind feels secret.

My phone vibrates again as I pass the gate:

“I’m already out by the range. Just come straight out, Trouble.”

I feel off, a little voice in my head asking if Jasper wouldreallytext me like that. But I shake it off, walking faster, boots crunching over the dirt path leading out behind the barn. I’m alone. Too alone.

The wind picks up. I reach for my phone, about to text Jasper back, just to be sure—

That’s when I hear footsteps.

Too close.

Too fast.

A heavy arm slams around my waist. Another hand grabs my hair, yanking my head back. My phone drops to the ground, screen lighting up with Jasper’s contact photo as I’m dragged backward, feet scraping for purchase in the gravel.

A chemical scent fills my lungs—sweet, dizzying, wrong. A gloved hand swallows my scream. The sky tilts and blurs. My last thought before everything goes black is Jasper, and a single, useless question:

Why didn’t I listen to my gut?

JASPER

Micah’s hunched over his laptop at the dining table, eyes bloodshot, fingers flying over the keys. The screen glows with maps, call records, and image grids—he’s been at it for hours, chasing digital ghosts. Riot paces behind him, boots thumping out his nerves. Silas sits in the window, jaw set, a phone pressed to his ear as he checks in with their security team.

I’m restless, running my thumb over my phone, skimming old messages from Sawyer. Every few minutes, I check the time, wondering when she’ll wander in with Macee, grumbling about bacon thieves or Ash’s latest disaster.

Jace swings in through the kitchen, grinning, a banana in one hand, phone in the other. “Hey! So who won at the range? Bet Sawyer kicked your ass, Reign. She’s got that silent assassin energy.”

The words barely register. I blink. “What?”

Jace laughs, tossing the banana peel in the trash. “The range, man. I just passed her in the hallway—she said you wanted to run drills out on the land.”

Micah looks up, frowning. Riot stops dead in his tracks.

“I… I didn’t askherto meet me at the range,” I say, voice going cold. “What are you talking about?”

Jace’s smile slips, confusion setting in. “She got a text, dude. Just a few minutes ago. Said it was from you.”

Silas lowers his phone, eyes narrowing. “Are you sure she left?”

Jace nods. “Yeah, she was pulling on her hoodie, looked all business.”

A beat of silence.

Micah’s hands fly to his keyboard, his face pale as he mutters, “Send me her number. Right now.”

I’m already running for the door, Riot on my heels, panic rising in my throat like bile.

“She’s not answering,” I say, dialing her number, listening to it ring and ring into nothing.

Silas curses, following us. “Check the yard. The garage. The damn range—move!”

In an instant, everything shifts from normal to nightmare. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. My girl is gone.

And every second that ticks by is a second too late.

RIOT