Page 217 of Scars of Fate

Ghost glanced into the mirror.

“Seat belts.”

Boone stared at him.

“You’re worried about traffic safety now?”

The road curved sharply along the mountainside.

Ghost never slowed.

The vehicle tilted.

My shoulder slammed against Lucas’s chest.

He lowered his rifle long enough to wrap one arm around me.

“I’ve got you.”

“I know.”

The words came without hesitation.

Lucas looked down at me.

Something passed between us.

Something new.

Not the desperate trust of the battlefield.

Something steadier.

A beginning.

The vehicle struck another turn.

Boone flew sideways.

Russ caught his vest and dragged him back into his seat.

“I told you to buckle up,” Ghost said.

Boone fastened the belt.

“I liked you better dead.”

“I was quieter.”

“That’s true.”

A bullet punched through the rear door.

Lucas shoved me lower.

“Boone, front wheel!”

Boone steadied his rifle against the broken window.