It reminded me of Colombia.
The memory hit me like a fist to the gut. Another jungle. Another mission. Twenty years ago, when I'd been young and stupid and thought I was invincible. We'd gone in after anAmerican aid worker taken by a local cartel—three days in that green hell, moving through terrain that wanted to kill us, hunting men who knew every inch of it.
We'd found her. Found what was left of her.
I could still see her face. Still hear the sound Corporal Martinez had made when he'd found the body. Still feel the weight of failure pressing down on my chest as we'd carried the pieces we could find in a body bag.
I'd sworn then that I'd never let it happen again. Never let someone die on my watch because I wasn't fast enough, wasn't smart enough, wasn't good enough.
I looked back at Serna, still unconscious on the deck, and something fierce and protective surged through me.
Not her. Not this woman who carried the weight of an entire Alliance on her shoulders. Not this woman who'd let me see past the Prime to the person beneath. Not this woman who'd made me feel something I hadn't felt since Catherine died—something I had no right to feel.
I wouldn't let her die. Not here. Not in this jungle. Not ever.
Even if it cost me everything.
I moved back to her side and checked her pulse again. Still strong. Still steady. I brushed a strand of dark hair from her face, my fingers lingering longer than they should have.
"I've got you," I said quietly. "I promise. I've got you."
The truth settled in my chest like a stone. I cared about her. More than I should. More than was wise or professional or remotely appropriate. She was the Alliance Prime. I was a soldier.
But right now, in this moment, none of that mattered. Right now, she needed me. And I would be damned if I let her down.
I heard a sound from the cockpit—a wet, dripping sound. Kalipuk.
I moved forward carefully, already knowing what I'd find. The pilot was still strapped in his seat, but his chest wasn't moving right. Blood pooled beneath him. When I checked for a pulse, there was nothing.
He'd gotten us down. Gotten us down alive. And it had killed him.
I closed his large eyes and stepped back. I'd have to deal with his body later. Right now, Serna was my priority.
I returned to her side and settled in to wait. To watch. To make sure she kept breathing.
And to prepare for whatever came next.
Because if someone had orchestrated this crash, if someone had driven us here deliberately, then we weren't just stranded.
We were being hunted.
Chapter 5
Serna
Pain woke me.
A deep, throbbing ache that radiated from my skull down through my neck and shoulders. My head felt like it had been split open and poorly reassembled. Every heartbeat sent a fresh wave of agony pulsing behind my eyes.
I tried to open them and immediately regretted it. The emergency lighting—dim red, pulsing—felt like knives driving into my brain. I squeezed my eyes shut again and focused on breathing. In. Out. Steady. Controlled.
The training I'd received as a warrior on Vaktaire, decades before I'd ever become Prime, kicked in automatically. I took inventory: head wound, obviously. Bruised ribs. But nothing broken. Nothing that would kill me.
I was alive.
Cullen.
The realization struck—sharp and immediate—and suddenly the pain didn't matter. I forced my eyes open despite the agony and pushed myself upright, ignoring the way the world tilted and spun around me.
