I stepped closer, slipping past Blade and Russ until I stood in front of him. “You sure you’re ready for this?” I teased, just enough to hide the storm in my chest.
His mouth curved faintly, that dangerous smile that made my knees weak. “Been ready since the ridge.”
The others kept moving, the world spinning around us, but for a heartbeat it was only us—two soldiers who had bled and broken and found each other again in the fire.
I reached up, brushing my fingers along his jaw, rough with stubble. “Then let’s finish this. Together.”
His eyes softened, the commander giving way to the man I loved. He caught my hand, kissed my knuckles, and whispered low enough that only I could hear:
“Always.”
The word sank deep, steadier than any promise I’d ever been given.
I turned toward the SUV, my heart pounding, the ache of fear still there but wrapped in something stronger. Resolve.
This wasn’t just Adam’s war anymore.
It was mine too.
And with him beside me, I knew we could walk straight into hell and come out burning brighter.
87
Adam
San Antonio stretched out ahead of us, sunlight bouncing off glass towers and steel bridges, the city alive in a way that made the ridge and the clinic feel like another world. But I knew better. Monsters didn’t hide in jungles or war zones alone. They hid in plain sight, behind logos and clean white coats.
The SUVs rolled in staggered formation, one block apart to keep a low profile. Boone fed us updates from the second vehicle, his voice steady through comms.“Target facility’s five blocks south of the river. Private research lab, heavy perimeter cameras, minimal staff traffic.”
Minimal staff meant the same thing it always did: cover for something bigger.
“Blade, Hawk—outer sweep,” I ordered. “Russ, you and Logan hold the support angle. Raine stays with me.”
No one argued, though I felt Logan’s glare from the rearview mirror. He’d burn holes in me if he could. Didn’t matter. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight.
Raine shifted beside me, her shoulders squared, her hand resting easy on her pistol. She looked steady, but I caught the tension in her jaw. She felt it too—the storm rolling in.
The facility came into view, a squat building of tinted glass and manicured landscaping. Too clean. Too perfect. A lab pretending to be harmless.
Boone’s voice cut through again.“Heads up. Data feeds show a spike in activity over the last thirty minutes. Could be nothing. Could be they know you’re coming.”
“They always know,” I muttered.
I pulled the SUV into a shadowed alley, killed the engine, and turned to my team. “This is recon first. We get eyes, we get proof, we get names. No heat unless we’ve got no choice. Everyone clear?”
Nods all around. Blade’s expression unreadable, Hawk’s grin sharp, Russ calm, Logan bristling. We need to get his chopper back. Raine—steady fire in her eyes.
I scanned their faces, pride and fury burning equal in my chest. This was more than a mission now. This was payback.
I reached for the door handle, my voice low and final.
“Let’s go hunting.”
88
Raine
The air inside the SUV was hot and close, my pulse hammering loud enough that I swore the others could hear it. Adam’s order—Let’s go hunting—still echoed in my ears as the doors opened one by one.
