Page 265 of Rangers Last Promise

The old storm cellar sits beneath portable floodlights.

Part of the roof has collapsed.

A jagged hole cuts through the concrete floor.

Deputies stand behind a line of yellow tape while firefighters lower rescue equipment into the darkness.

Sheriff Tate parks near the entrance.

Mara is out before I turn off the engine.

“Mara.”

She keeps moving.

I catch up and take hold of her vest.

She turns.

“What did I say?”

“That you’d arrest me.”

“I meant it.”

“There’s a twelve-foot hole in front of you.”

“I can see it.”

“It’s dark.”

“There are six floodlights.”

“You’re impossible.”

“So I’ve been told.”

We reach the cellar.

A firefighter lies flat beside the opening, speaking to Carson.

“Stay still. We’re coming down.”

Carson’s voice rises from beneath us.

“I’m fine.”

Mara kneels beside the hole.

“Parker said the same thing after Hampton shot him.”

Carson looks up.

His face is covered in dirt.

“Parker got shot. I fell through a floor.”

“You may have broken something.”