Page 25 of Knox

“Years,” Knox said, settling into the chair beside me. “We met during our second deployment. These idiots got themselves pinned down in a valley, and I had to go extract them.”

“Again with the lies,” Archer said. “You were the one who got lost trying to find the LZ.”

“I wasn’t lost. I was creating a diversion.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?”

I sipped my coffee, enjoying the easy rhythm of their conversation. This was a side of Knox I hadn’t seen yet. Relaxed, playful, surrounded by people who knew him before his mother’s loss had broken his heart.

“Truth is,” Colton said, his tone shifting to something more serious, “Knox saved our lives more times than we can count. He’s the kind of leader who always puts his team first. Even when it meant putting himself in danger.”

“That’s the job,” Knox said, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team. And, for the record, I haven’t done anything these two haven’t done as well.”

Archer looked at me directly. “When we heard about Claire, we put in for leave the same day. Got here as fast as the Corps allowed. Knox is our brother, and brothers show up.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest at the fierce loyalty in Archer’s voice. I didn’t have siblings or friends this close, not since college, and that was more than five years ago now. I appreciated the way these men had chosen a family that chose them back. I was even a little envious.

Colton offered Knox a fist bump across the table. “Losing someone you love isn’t something anyone should have to do alone.”

Knox sipped from his mug, lines of tension forming around his eyes.

Archer cleared his throat, elbows on the table as he turned to me. “How are you really doing? That wasn’t something small you went through last night.”

The directness caught me off guard again, but I appreciated it. “Honestly? I’m terrified. But I’m also angry. And determined to make some sort of good come from all this tragedy.”

“Fear is good,” Colton said. “It’s a natural response to trauma. But it doesn’t have to be permanent.”

“Are you speaking from experience?” I asked.

He and Archer exchanged a look, and an unspoken knowing passed between them.

“Yeah,” Archer said quietly. “Combat changes how you see the world. We’ve all got our demons to wrestle.”

“Some of us wrestle them better than others,” Knox added, his gaze flickering warmly to me.

“Either way,” Colton said, “you’re not alone in this. Whatever you need, you can count us in.”

“Knox needs help, we help.” Archer said. “That’s how this works.”

“And it works both ways,” Knox pointed out. “Hard stop.”

Colton grinned. “I’ve got a month, and Shaw’s got six weeks to decide if we’re re-enlisting. Might as well make our trip to the islands interesting with a civilian mission.”

“You’re both getting out?” I looked between them.

“Maybe,” Archer said. “I plan to visit my hometown, see the family, before I make any permanent decisions. But once the contracts are up, we have to choose. Sign on for another tour or see what life looks like outside the Corps.”

“The decision’s harder than it sounds,” Colton admitted. “The military has been our whole adult lives. We know how to be Marines. We’re excellent Marines. Adult civilians?” He shook his head. “That’s uncharted territory.”

“What would you do?” I asked. “If you got out?”

Archer considered this. “My dad runs a construction company in a small town out west called Fairytale. He wants me to take it over eventually. Good money, steady work. But it’s also...” He trailed off.

“Not what you want to do with your life,” Knox supplied.

I tilted my head at Archer’s mention of the familiar town. “Fairytale, Colorado?”

His brows lifted. “You know it?”