Page 17 of Broken Oath

Rook grabbed the front of his vest.

“You hear me?” Tex asked.

“I hear you.”

“Promise.”

“I promise.”

Tex nodded.

Satisfied.

Like he trusted Rook with the most important thing he would ever leave behind.

His eyes drifted toward the sky.

Toward home.

Toward a little girl waiting beside a lake with a fishing pole.

Then the light left them.

Rook froze.

Tex was gone.

“ROOK!”

Sniper’s shout snapped him back.

Enemy fighters were pouring down the mountainside.

Not dozens.

Hundreds.

Rook reached for Tex’s rifle, but Ridge shoved it into his hands first.

“I’ll cover you.”

Rook looked at him. “We move together.”

Ridge shook his head. Blood darkened the side of his uniform.

Rook hadn’t seen the wound.

“Ridge—”

“They’ve got the lower path blocked.” Ridge pointed toward a narrow ledge cutting across the mountainside. “Take the ravine. It’ll give you cover.”

“You’re coming with us.”

“Not fast enough.”

The words were calm.

Too calm.