Page 36 of Ranger's Oath
The atmosphere is thick with focus, each of us leaning closer to our screens as though the answers might jump out if we stare long enough. The lamps cast warm halos over our work, shadows stretching across the walls like they’re listening too.
Cassidy leans over, scrolling fast. “I’ll take PAC donors. Political money always leaves crumbs. Kari, you said you can handle the staff rotations?”
Kari nods, hair falling forward as she types. “Already cross-referencing with immigration records. If anyone’s shuffling in and out under a fake name, I’ll find it.”
That leaves me. Logistics invoices. Not my specialty, but I’ve wrangled budgets for galas where egos cost more than caviar. I know how to track where money bleeds, and there’s a ruthlesssatisfaction in catching the hidden lines others try to bury. I tap my nails against the keyboard in rhythm with my thoughts, forcing myself not to look at the clock.
Hours stretch, broken by muttered curses and quick discoveries. Cassidy grumbles about a donor trying to hide contributions through a shell. Kari snorts when she finds a staff member listed twice under two different IDs. I scan invoice after invoice until my stomach knots. The monotony frays my nerves, but the thrill of the hunt keeps me anchored.
One name jumps out. Briggs Foundation. Listed as a donor to my own Gulf Coast Heritage Foundation. And also tied to Falcon Shield Security—the same vendor linked to the island network. My blood chills. A man who smiled at luncheons and praised preservation projects also funnels money into the same company hunting me. The betrayal bites deeper because he’d clapped me on the shoulder once and called me 'the pride of Galveston.'
Cassidy notices the change in my breathing. “What is it?”
I turn the screen so she can see. “Briggs. He backed one of my gala campaigns. If this is the same Briggs who funds Falcon Shield, then I’ve been shaking hands with the enemy.”
Her lips press thin. “That doesn’t mean you knew. Donors hide their games all the time.”
“It means I let him get close. It means he saw me, saw everything I cared about. And maybe that’s how they knew where to cut deepest.”
Cassidy reaches for my hand. “Sadie...”
“I’m not stopping.” My voice is flat, final. “If he’s in this, I’ll trace every dollar until it leads me to the island’s doorstep.”
The scrape of a chair pulls me back. Gage stands in the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His shadow fills the frame before he does. “That’s enough for today.”
I arch an eyebrow. “You handing out curfews now?”
“You’ve been at it for hours. Get off the laptop. Go to bed.”
I glance at the screen. “I’m not finished.”
He strides in, presence filling the room. “Sadie.” One word, heavy with command, wrapping around me like a tether.
My pulse quickens, but I lean back in my chair, cool as I can manage. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were scared of me finding something.”
His jaw tightens. “I’m not scared of you. I’m worried you’ll drive yourself into the ground.”
“Sweet,” I say. “But I’ve handled forty-eight-hour gala builds with less coffee than this. I can manage a few more invoices.”
Cassidy coughs into her hand, wisely gathering her laptop. “I think I'll finish checking the rotations in our room. Night all.”
Kari follows, grinning on her way out. Their departure strips the room of its background noise, leaving me and Gage alone in a silence so weighted it presses down on my chest.
He leans closer. “Bed. Now.”
I tilt my head, lips curving. “Yours or mine?”
“Knock it off, Sadie. It’s advice. If you don't give the body and mind the rest it needs, they may fail you when you need them the most.”
I stand, pushing the chair back slowly. “Isn't that where my she-wolf comes in?" I wave him off, not really caring what his answer might be. "No matter, but I'll make you a deal: let me finish this board, and maybe I’ll think about listening to you.”
For a heartbeat, sparks crackle in the space between us, so fierce I forget to breathe. His eyes darken, not just with irritation but with something heavier, something that makes my stomach flip. He steps back before I can push further, voice low.
“You test me too much.”
I smile, cool and cutting. “And yet here you are.”
He exhales hard, raking a hand through his hair. “You make everything harder than it has to be.”
