Cole McQuade knew something was wrong the moment the tires touched gravel.
It was a Sunday - quiet, windless, the kind of late afternoon that settled over Foster like a worn quilt. His cabin sat alone on 170 wooded acres, inherited from his grandfather, tucked so deep off the road most locals forgot it existed. He didn't mind. The quiet helped. Especially in spring.
But now, that quiet was broken.
A dust trail curled through the trees. A dark SUV crawled up the narrow drive, slow like it didn't belong. Cole stood from his porch chair, the paperback in his lap folding shut without a mark.
He didn't reach for the shotgun inside the door.
Not yet.
The SUV pulled into the clearing beside his truck and stopped. The driver's door opened.
Laken.
His daughter stepped out in jeans and a RI State Police hoodie, badge clipped to her belt, hair tied back, expression tight.
"You're early," he said.
She smiled faintly. "Three minutes. I figured you'd forgive me."
"Maybe."
They hugged - brief, firm. The only kind they knew.
Inside, the cabin smelled of coffee and woodsmoke. Venison stew simmered on the stove. Laken sat at the table and said, without preamble, "You know the bar on Route 94?"
"Used to be Connor's," Cole said.
"It's called the Black Widow now. The Vultures are using it to move meth. Sheriff's trying to figure out who's dirty in her department, but she's got nothing solid. I think it's Deputy Ray Duval."
Cole stirred the pot. "And?"
"I'm telling you to stay out of it."
"You think I will?"
"I think you won't."
Cole nodded. "Okay."
She didn't believe him.
?
Two days later, Cole was walking the property when he found a body - young, bloody, staggering out of the woods like something half-dead.
"Please," the kid rasped. "They're gonna kill me."
His name was Benny Crowley. He'd tried to quit the Crimson Vultures, said he wanted clean days, fresh starts. They took his patch, beat him bloody, and dumped him near the woods as a warning.
Cole didn't hesitate. He took him in.
?
That night, he watched the Widow from a distance. Bikers moved in and out like clockwork. No fear. No rush. Just routine. Control.
Cole called someone he hadn't spoken to in years - Nate Bishop, an ex-State Police narcotics investigator turned private fixer. They met at a deserted grain silo on Winsor Road.
Nate owed Cole. Years ago, during a prison riot, Cole had dragged him out from under a pile of inmates. No questions. Just instinct. Ever since, they shared a quiet understanding.
Nate confirmed what Laken suspected - Duval was dirty, the Widow was the hub, and the Vultures were building something bigger than Foster could handle.
"They'll make a move soon," Nate warned. "Rooster's their enforcer. You see him, things get loud."
?
Laken pulled strings at the State Police barracks. Pulled phone records. Cross-referenced patrol logs. It was all there - Duval's cruiser, parked behind the Widow at odd hours, burner pings near the edge of Cole's land.
She called Sheriff Granger.
"I want access to Duval's vehicle," she said. "He's not just protecting the Widow. He's part of it."
Granger agreed - reluctantly. "You get your proof, we'll move."
But the Vultures moved first.
That night, a lone bike rolled into the clearing. Rooster.
He didn't sneak. He didn't threaten.
He offered.
"Hand over Benny," he said. "No trouble."
Cole stepped out of the dark.
"You come here again," he said, "you don't leave."
Rooster smirked, but left without another word.
?
The next day, a controlled fire sparked near the edge of Cole's land. A warning. A line drawn.
Cole gave Benny a map and a choice: leave at dawn, meet a contact, vanish.
"What about you?" Benny asked.
"I stay."
Laken arrived at the cabin that evening. She'd seen the fire from the road. She didn't need to ask.
"They'll come tonight," Cole said.
"I can call for backup."
"No time."
She stared at him.
"You're really going to stand alone?"
"I've done it before."
She left just before sunset.
But she wouldn't be gone long.
?
They came just after midnight.
Three men. Rooster in front. Shotguns. A crowbar. Quiet steps through leaves. Confidence in every motion.
Cole waited inside, lights off, guns loaded.
Rooster shouted from the yard. "You think this is worth dying for?"
Cole didn't respond.
He saw movement behind the cabin - another figure. Gun raised. Not a biker.
Duval.
His weapon aimed toward the clearing.
Laken's SUV pulled in, high beams flaring.
Duval raised his pistol - toward her.
Then -
BOOM.
A shotgun cracked from the trees. Duval dropped like a stone.
Sheriff Granger stepped out of the dark, smoking barrel still hot in her hands.
Inside the clearing, Rooster reached for his waistband.
Cole fired.
Laken fired.
Rooster hit the ground in a heap.
The others ran.
State Police swarmed in behind them.
And just like that, it was over.
?
Three days later, Laken brought coffee to the cabin.
They sat on the porch.
"Duval got a full-dress funeral," she said.
"Doesn't change what he did."
"No."
"Sheriff okay?"
"She's bruised, but standing."
Cole nodded.
"Benny made it?" he asked.
She smiled. "Yeah. He's safe. Started writing in a notebook. Said he wants to tell his story."
Cole stared out over the lake.
Laken hesitated. "They offered me a promotion. Task Force lead."
"You want it?"
"I don't know. I'm tired of chasing shadows."
He sipped his coffee. "Then stop. Find something real."
She looked at him. "You ever think about leaving?"
"No," he said. "I think about staying until I stop needing to."
She smiled. "See you Sunday?"
"I'll make stew."
She left.
And the wind returned, gentle this time.
Cole sat alone on the porch, firewood stacked beside the door, the lake glass-still under a quiet sky.
He didn't know if peace was real.
But he knew what it took to make it.
And tonight, it was his.
