Page 28 of Bound By Thorns
Amelia’s voice crackled through the earpiece next, clear and composed, “Desmond 39901 clear, unhit, rally point safe.”
Kabir followed, his tone brisk, “Gill 34249 clear, unhit.”
Zarek gave me a nod and a soft chuckle, his face a canvas of relief tinged with melancholy. Taking a deep breath, I spoke into the earpiece, “Carlton 35543.” I, then, paused for dramatic affect and continued, “clear…alive.”
The silence that followed was palpable, charged with unspoken emotions, until a small, shaky whisper broke through, “Logan?” It was Amelia, her voice cracking with disbelief and relief. A muffled‘What the fuck?’followed, probably courtesy of Kabir.
Knowing they couldn’t wait, we made our way to the rally point. As we walked, a drone buzzed overhead, following our progress—I waved, guessing Amelia was at the controls. Arriving at the Escalade, the doors slid open with a loud bang, heralding Amelia’s impatience as she sprinted towards me and launched into my arms, her weight a familiar comfort.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god!” she chanted over and over, her relief palpable.
I laughed softly, setting her gently on her feet but keeping my arms around her as she sobbed, her tears wetting my shirt.
“You gotta be shitting me!” Kabir’s voice broke through the emotional reunion. His face was lit with a smile, yet his eyeswere rimmed with the weight of what we had endured. I walked up and pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Well, I heard my funeral wasn’t lavish enough, had to come back and complain.”
Laughter erupted again as the squad closed in around me. Their smiles carried a bittersweet weight, a fragile blend of sorrow and relief. At that moment, I knew I was truly home—not Florida, but wherever my squad was.
???
After relinquishing their duties to the Blackthorn backup team, the squad geared up to head back to the hotel, planning to collect their belongings and jet off to New York on the same day. Our conversation bubbled around their recent missions and personal milestones. I soaked up the updates: Leora had aced her mock mission and officially joined Alpha Squad Six; Zarek had proposed to Leora just last week—a moment I wished I’d witnessed to pass him the ring I’d safeguarded for so long. He probably saw the note that I thought nothing of at the time.
I hope the fucker bawled.
Amelia and Dylan had revisited their hometown to reconnect with their sister, Iris. Kabir was knee-deep in tech, mastering Sentrix v5.5 with Zane to outmaneuver Crazon. Everyone seemed to have thrived in my absence, which left a bittersweet pang in my chest. They had moved on, thinking I was gone forever. I knew I was missed but a part of me had wanted them to look for me. I didn’t blame them, they thought I was dead. But it stung regardless.
As we settled into our seats on the plane, Zarek caught the shadow that flickered across my face. His gaze lingered on the burn scar at my neck, his expression folding into one of remorse. I clapped him on the shoulder, forcing a smile. “It’s fine. I’m back,” I reassured him, but his nod was tight, unconvincing.
Breaking the heavy silence, I blurted out, “Oh by the way, Kaylan ‘Healer’ Bennett is alive.” The cabin stirred, heads whipping my way, a flurry of questions bombarding the air.
“From Squad Two? She was with you?” Kabir fired off, his brows knotted in confusion.
“Where were you guys this whole time?” Amelia asked.
“It’s a long story,” I sighed. “Let’s just say she’s also come back from the dead.” I paused, the image of Kaylan, frail and wounded in Mississippi, clouding my thoughts. “Actually… I’m not sure if she made it. She was shot during our escape.”
A heavy silence fell over us. The squad’s faces were a mix of concern and curiosity. “It’s okay, Lo,” Leora reassured gently, her eyes glistening. “We’ll figure it out. No need to dive into it now.”
Nodding, I sank back into my seat, my gaze lost in the clouds whisking past us. The chatter around me felt distant as my mind wandered back to Kaylan. Was she safe? Had she survived?
Upon landing in New York, I asked Zarek to check on her, discreetly. I wasn’t ready to confront Sebastian or reveal my deep-seated worries to the squad. It wasn’t concern; it was guilt gnawing at me.
Guilt. Yes. It was mostly my guilt, I concluded.
TWELVE
Kaylan
Not here. Not now. Not yet.
As I lay back in the room Sebastian set up for me here in Brooklyn, my mind couldn’t stop spinning around a problem I never thought I’d have to face right now. Turns out, it wasn’t just the gunshot to my arm causing me all this trouble. No, it was an infection, thanks to the filthy surgical tools and all the hits I had taken to the abdomen resulting in internal lacerations. The doctors were straight with me: it’s either a hysterectomy or try saving what’s left of my fallopian tubes and one ovary.
Here I was, thirty-one years old, suddenly having to think about whether I ever want kids. This wasn’t how I pictured tackling this topic—lying in a makeshift hospital bed, deciding on surgeries that could end my chances before I had even made up my mind about children.
Lying here, the room quiet around me, I kept turning over my options. Surgery sounded daunting, but so did making a choice about kids under these circumstances. It was a lot to think about when all you’d been focusing on was just making it through each day. Now, I had to think of a potential future.
I trudged down to the command center nestled deep on the fourth basement level, dragging my worries about my parents with me. Since getting back, I hadn’t heard a peep from themdespite bombarding them with calls. I figured they were spooked by the unknown number flashing on their screen, but something in my gut screamed that something was off.
