“You gave up your dream.”
“It’s worth it if I can get answers.” I gave him a half-smile. “I considered trying to hack into the army’s computer system to find out the truth but wasn’t willing to risk jail time if caught.”
His expression was troubled as his gaze locked onto me. He didn’t speak, but the silence was heavy. Like a thundercloud ready to release a torrent of rain.
A chill ran down my spine, some instinct telling me I might not like what he was holding back. But I was so close I refused to give up. Even if the truth broke me.
FOUR
Mason
I threw myself onto my bed, exhaustion dragging me down. I’d stayed up late adjusting cameras again, not wanting to change the habit, in case it tipped off Vince that we knew he was watching our system. Brooke had planted her program and told me it would sound an alert once it located him.
A weight settled on my chest, and my mind whirred. My talk with Brooke about Aaron had stirred up feelings I’d tried hard to push down. My breath came shorter and quicker as bangs and crashes echoed through my head. I reached for my control. Desperate to hold the memories back. But everything was crowded close and pushing at the surface.
My bedroom faded away as the image of Aaron signaling me to move in rose. It was so hauntingly real that I felt everything. Calm on the surface but checking everything. My awareness of the building we were approaching dialed in. Aaron confirmed it was clear before motioning for me to run across the opening between the rocks and the bunker.
I slipped inside and did a sweep but found nothing. A feeling twisted my gut and told me something was wrong. There shouldbe people here. Our intel had revealed the hostages were held in the basement, but there was nothing.
I clicked my radio to signal Aaron I was retreating, but a loud bang, followed by an explosion covered anything I might have said.
Walls crashed around me, blocking my exit. Another explosion rocked what remained, and I staggered to the side to avoid falling debris. I tripped, falling over a steel rod that jutted from pieces of the building. It pierced through my uniform, through my skin, and out the other side of my thigh. I roared, my bear rising, instinct urging him to shift, to protect me. But I couldn’t. Not with the rod running through me. If I did, I’d tear my leg apart.
I forced away the pain, focusing on getting the rod out of my leg. The injury would be slow to repair itself, even for a shifter, but eventually it would fully heal. I just needed to get loose.
I screamed as I pushed against the debris to slide myself off the rod, pain slicing through me. But I was blocked from clearing it. A piece of debris had fallen near the end of the rod, leaving too little space for me to fit.
“Mason!” Aaron’s voice sounded far away, barely audible over the rushing in my ears. The wall that slanted over me creaked, threatening to fall. “Mason, where are you? Call out if you can hear me.”
“Here.” I croaked out the word, barely hearing it myself. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Here!”
“I hear you.” A minute later he was by my side, swearing as he took in my position. “I need to lift this debris. Be ready to move. I won’t be able to hold it long.”
He grunted, straining against the piece blocking me, but it wouldn’t move. The wall above us creaked ominously. My voice was raspy as I forced out the words I needed to say. “Leave me. Get out before the wall collapses.”
“Don’t be an idiot. I’m not leaving you behind.” He turned, bracing his back against the debris. He yelled as he pushed with everything he had. “Now!”
I shoved myself backwards, screaming in pain as my skin ripped where it had closed around the rod when my body had tried to heal itself. I flopped onto the floor as Aaron’s feet slid out from under him, the piece of debris crashing back down. He slid his arm around me, helping me stand.
“We need to move,” he said. “Come on, Mason. You can do it.”
An alarm sounded; the beeping burst through the memory, which faded, slipping from me just as the wall creaked one last time.
I shot up in bed, sweat pouring off of me as my chest heaved with frantic breaths. My alarm clock blared its annoying beep over and over, clearing the last of the nightmare away. Except it hadn’t been a nightmare, because nightmares weren’t real.
I dropped my head into my hands, scrubbing my face, as if trying to wipe the memory away. But nothing would ever do that. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, stumbling to the shower and turning it on. My thigh ached, reminding me that the dream was real. I stepped beneath the water fully clothed, letting the pounding cold wake me and take me further away from the memory that had plagued my sleep.
When my body started shivering, I shut off the water and dragged off my wet clothes, leaving them in the bottom of the tub. After a quick swipe with the towel, I grabbed the first clothes my hands landed on in my closet.
Someone knocked on my front door. I frowned as I went to answer it, wondering which of my brothers it was. Something must be wrong if they were at my cabin instead of waiting for me to arrive at my workshop. I opened the door and froze when I saw Brooke standing there.
“Hope I didn’t wake you. When I was in your system yesterday, I noticed you usually log in around this time.”
“No, I was up already.” I stayed in the doorway staring at her. She looked fresh and well-rested. “Why are you here?”
“I’m your shadow, remember.” She tilted her head, eyes squinting as she studied me. “Are you okay? You look kind of rough.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well.”
