“I drank some.”
“More.”
A small exhale that could have been a laugh if she had any energy left. “Yes, sir.”
I should have smiled. I couldn’t.
Because I could still hear Cap and Ghost in the hall, low voices carrying through the walls. I didn’t need to hear every word to know what they were saying. I’d already heard enough.
Scout’s burner.
Transfer list.
Two days ago.
Not here now.
I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to Amanda’s forehead. She was warm. Alive.
“I’m going to church,” I told her. “Cap needs me.”
Her fingers tightened. “Don’t go far.”
“I won’t.” I kept my voice calm, kept it steady. “Ranger’s outside your door. Doc’s down the hall. Ghost is in the tech room. You’re not alone.”
She swallowed, then nodded.
“I’ll be right back,” I promised.
When I stood, she caught my wrist.
“Wrecker.”
I looked down. Her eyes were clearer now, even through the exhaustion.
“I heard them,” she said quietly. “About Scout.”
My jaw locked.
“I know,” I said.
She hesitated, then said the thing that mattered.
“I don’t want you to go do something stupid.”
I let out a slow breath and crouched again so we were eye level.
“I’m not dying,” I told her. “Not tonight. Not while you’re here.”
Her throat bobbed. “Okay.”
I held her gaze until I felt her breathing settle again. Then I stood and walked out.
Ranger was leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, expression hard. Smoke sat at his feet, ears pricked, watching everything.
Ranger nodded at me. “She okay?”
“She’s breathing,” I said. “That’s what matters right now.”
