Page 226 of Scars of Fate

Lucas shook his head.

“We were told they were missile-guidance components.”

“You were never supposed to learn the truth.”

“Why didn’t they kill me then?”

“Minser argued you could still be useful.”

“For what?”

“Access to the Brave.”

Adam’s gaze sharpened.

“The team didn’t exist eight years ago.”

“No. But Kane knew it would.”

Ghost looked at him.

“He helped create it.”

The words struck every man.

General Kane hadn’t infiltrated the Brave.

He had been there from the beginning.

Approving missions.

Selecting personnel.

Guiding operations.

Learning every man’s strengths and weaknesses.

“He built us,” Boone whispered.

“He built a weapon,” Ghost corrected. “One he believed he could control.”

Lucas’s fingers tightened around mine.

“What changed?”

“Adam.”

Every gaze turned toward the commander.

Ghost continued.

“Kane wanted a team that followed orders without asking questions. He got men who followed Adam. Not him.”

Adam’s expression revealed nothing.

But I saw the betrayal in his eyes.

The Brave wasn’t merely in Meridian’s way.