Page 120 of What Remains

"Don't move," Seth said, his voice a flat, cold line. Calm. Cold. Controlled. The rifle never wavered from the man's head.

The stranger gave a breathless laugh. “Don’t be a hero.” He pressed the blade tighter against Josie's throat until a tiny bead of blood welled beneath the edge.

Seth's finger settled against the trigger. "Easy."

"Drop the gun."

"No."

The man blinked, clearly expecting a different answer. "I'll fucking gut her."

"No, you won't."

"You think I'm kidding?"

"I think you want to live."

The man barked a wild laugh, his arm tightening around Josie. "Go on and try. You'll hit her before you ever hit me."

Seth didn't answer. Through the optic he could see everything—the sweat beading at the man's temple despite the cold, the blood dried beneath his broken nose, the slight tremor in the hand holding the knife. And Josie, whose eyes never left his.

"You hear me?" The man's breathing quickened when Seth's silence stretched on. "Put the fucking rifle down!"

Nothing.

"More are coming anyway."

That caught Seth's attention—not enough to move the rifle, just enough to listen. The man's grin widened when he sensed the shift.

"Yeah. You thought I came alone?" His words tumbled out now, desperate and fast. "We've been watching you. More of us—way more. We know everything. The ranch, your trucks, all of it."

A cold dread settled deep in Seth's stomach as Josie's eyes widened, her focus shifting from their captor to a memory. A flicker of understanding passed between them. The stranger from the trees. The watcher. He hadn't stumbled upon them.

"Don't do something stupid." The man's voice cracked, pressing the knife harder. "Shoot, you might hit her. You want that?"

Seth's breathing slowed. In. Out. The world narrowed to essentials: wind through pine needles, snow drifting between them, the man's pulse jumping in his neck, and Josie's face. Nothing else mattered.

"You don't want her blood on your hands."

Seth ignored him, eyes locked onto Josie's. Her fear gave way to a sudden stillness. She'd seen this look on him—that absolute, unwavering focus that shut out everything but the target. She understood this was no longer a negotiation. It was a countdown.

Seth adjusted his aim a fraction. Josie's gaze flickered toward the rifle, then back to his face. He gave the smallest, barely perceptible nod. Her expression shifted—she understood—and then something else moved through her expression that still hit him hard to think about.

She was ready.

The man noticed none of it, still talking. "Put it down. I'm warning you⁠—"

Josie inhaled. Seth watched her shoulders rise. One breath. Two.

Then she went completely limp, her knees buckling, her entire weight dropping without warning.

"What the⁠—"

The man's arm jerked downward instinctively as she slipped from his grip. For one fraction of a second, his head hung completely exposed.

Seth squeezed the trigger.

The rifle cracked through the forest. The man collapsed. Josie hit the snow beneath him and immediately rolled clear.