His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing. “Then we’ll find out who made it so wrong.”
I leaned into him, knowing deep down that whatever storm was coming, it was only just beginning.
50
Adam
The motel walls were thin, the kind of cheap plaster that couldn’t muffle the weight of a team breathing the same air. Hawk was stretched out on one bed, his arm freshly stitched and wrapped, pale but stubbornly awake.
Russ leaned against the window, bandages up his side, his calm face betraying nothing but exhaustion. He had two bullet holes in him. Blade was in the corner, silent, sharpening a knife like the storm hadn’t touched him. They weren’t Army Rangers for nothing.
I stood in the center, my ribs screaming every time I shifted, but I refused to sit. A leader didn’t sit while his men looked broken.
“They held us back,” I said, my voice low but certain.
Russ’s eyes flicked to mine. He didn’t ask how I knew. He’d heard the whispers too.
Hawk swore under his breath. “Damn suits. Somebody up the chain wanted us bled out on that ridge.”
Blade’s knife scraped against steel, the sound sharp, deliberate. He didn’t look up. “Or dead.”
The words sat heavy in the room.
I raked a hand through my hair, forcing myself to breathe past the anger building in my chest. “We need to know who. And why. Because this wasn’t just bad comms. This was a decision.”
The door creaked open.
Every head turned.
Logan Carter stepped inside, jaw bruised, one eye darkening, knuckles raw. He looked like he’d been chewed up and spit out—but his spine was straight, his eyes sharp.
Hawk shifted on the bed, like he’d been expecting him.
I felt my fists clench. The last thing I wanted was Raine’s brother storming into my circle. But I also knew Hawk didn’t let anyone in unless he saw something worth the trouble.
Logan’s gaze swept the room, then landed on me. “You’re right. Someone wanted you hung out to dry. And I’ve still got a badge that can get into doors yours can’t.”
I stepped forward, close enough that he had to tip his head to meet my eyes. “One chance, Carter. You screw it, you’re done. You put my men at risk, you’ll answer to me.”
The silence stretched, heavy as thunder.
Finally, Logan nodded once. “Fair.” Logan had become a deputy after leaving the SEALs.
Russ exhaled slow, Hawk smirked faintly, Blade just kept sharpening his blade.
For the first time since the ridge, I felt the stirrings of something more than anger.
Not relief. Not yet.
But maybe—just maybe—momentum.
51
Raine
By the time the sun dipped behind the hills, the motel had gone quiet. Troopers had pulled out, the rescued families were sent to safer ground, and Adam’s men had retreated to their own rooms to try and get some sleep.
I sat on the edge of the bed, pulling a clean shirt over bruised ribs, watching Adam pace. He’d been restless since Logan barged in. Restless and tense, his shoulders rigid, his jaw tight.
