Page 192 of Scars of Fate

“Yes, sir.”

Despite the pain burning through my thigh, I smiled.

The last six years seemed impossible here.

The Brave talked to me as though I had never left.

Boone still teased me.

Russ still pretended he didn’t.

Hawk quietly noticed everything.

Adam still sounded like an exhausted father trying to keep all of us alive.

And Lucas…

Lucas still made me feel protected and infuriated in equal measure.

Only now, I understood the fear behind his control.

He loved me.

I had heard the words.

Said them back.

Yet they felt fragile.

Too new.

As though the mountain might swallow them if we didn’t hold on tightly enough.

The trail opened suddenly.

A concrete structure sat between two cliffs.

Half buried.

Almost invisible beneath moss and tangled vines.

The windows had been covered with metal shutters.

A rusted antenna leaned against the roof.

The observation post looked abandoned.

Lucas stopped.

“What?” Adam asked.

“The antenna.”

“What about it?”

“It was down when I left.”

Hawk studied the structure.