Page 55 of Scars of Fate

Smoke climbed into the night sky.

I couldn’t see Lucas.

Hadn’t seen him since he and Boone disappeared into the ravine.

Boone was ahead of us now.

He had returned.

Lucas hadn’t.

Neither had Adam or Hawk.

My heart beat harder.

Boone turned and caught me looking behind us.

“They’re coming.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know those men.”

“So do I.”

His expression changed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

He understood what I hadn’t said.

I knew Lucas.

Or at least, I used to.

“He won’t leave anyone behind,” Boone said.

“That’s what scares me.”

Farid leaned more heavily against me.

I forced myself to face forward.

Lucas had spent most of our marriage running toward people who needed him.

Hostages.

Soldiers.

Children.

Strangers trapped in places most of the world had forgotten.

I’d never asked him to stop.

Not once.