Liam jumped up from the ground and took steps toward him, but paused, as if a barrier halted him in his tracks. “Simon, you…” He swallowed, but the ache in his voice remained.
“Can walk?” Simon joked, as always, though his responses were clipped, containing an unspoken warning. “Sure can.”
“Of course… of course you can,” Liam added, his eyes softening with every unspoken word.
“Something more you need,General?” Thorne quipped from behind me, causing me to drive my nails deeper into my palms.
“No. I think I’ve collected enough information about the currentdisreputablestate of this squad.”
“Sir, I apologize if?—”
“Apologize?” he cut in, eyes sharpening like a blade directed at me. “You’re a fuckingcommander.”
The general smiled, and before anyone could react, he grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my head back with enough force to nearly crack my neck. A pitiful cry left my lips, tears instantly forming as my nails dug into his arms for leverage. Leverage to keep me standing, a near impossible feat.
Thorne’s warning came between clenched teeth.“Get. Your. Fucking. Hands. Off. Him.”
“Thorne. Shut up,” I spat, glowering to keep up appearances. “I don’t need your protection or want it. I think you’re forgetting you ruined my life.”
“FUCK THE LIES!” Thorne screamed, his timbre echoing across the field. The sound of a safety release followed, his gun raised and positioned at my father. “Let him go.Now.”
I swallowed. “Thorne, for fuck’s sake, put the gun?—”
“Orwhat? You shoot me here with everyone watching?” My father narrowed his eyes. “You’re not fucking crazy enough to do something as baseless?—”
A round fired, a bullet whizzing past my father’s head with precision, the closeness of its path carving a cut across his cheek. “I believe that proves a fucking point. And next time, I won’t fucking miss. You know my stats,General,so I suggest responding accordingly.”
My father snarled, but his grip lessened. A small sigh of physical relief washed over me as I took a step back, but emotionally I was terrified.
Thorne was committingtreason.
I stepped forward, placing a hand on Thorne’s arm. “Put the gun down, recruit.” At his resistance, I moved in front of my father. “I said to put thefuckinggun down. You’ve done enough.”
His eyes met mine, but their usual honeyed hue was gone, nothing but a void of black remaining. “For what good fucking reason?”
“Because I’m your fucking commander. I don’t need a goddamn reason for you to listen to me!” I turned to face my father. “And you! I’m in the middle of trainingmyfucking squad. If you want to jerk your dick on my men, do it another time.”
“He’d enjoy that far too much,” Thorne muttered from behind me.
“God, shut the fuckup, Graves,” I said, twisting to observe the composure still leaking from him before spewing the rest of my wrath at my father. “If you’re just going to stand, might as well piss. At least you’d be productive.”
I’d never stood up to my father like this, ever. Sure, I’d defied his rules but to hit at his ego? To tear him down farther than Thorne already had? Fuck, Andrew was getting into my head.
“This isn’t over,” Andrew spat. “Your gun won’t save him. Not now, or when the time comes, Thorne. I hope you fucking know that.”
“Oh, go get off somewhere else.” Thorne glided his thumb across the safety, slipping the gun back into the holster on his thigh.
God, I should’ve never had them dress in full uniform.
“You know, threats are more powerful when anticipated,” my father snarled. “Youknowit’s coming, and you’re powerless to do anything to stop it. So, I’d watch your lover’s back, Thorne Graves.”
Thorne opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off. “As you should watch yours, General.”
I paced in my room,my hands running through my hair, trying to resolve the tension in my body. It wasn’t fucking working. Especially when Thorne sat on the couch with a smug look on his face.
“What thefuckis wrong with you? Do you enjoy causing me panic? Do you enjoy watching me sweat, because you can’t learn to shut your mouth? God, I swear I don’t know what to do with you. You’re a fucking idiot, Thorne. You think with your dick first, and most of the time it gets you in trouble.”
Folding his arms over his chest, he slouched back into the cushions, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. “Are you done?”
