Bound By Thorns (Squad Six #2)

ELEVEN

? Brother by Kodaline ?

Logan

It took me just ten minutes to drive from the airport to Port Everglades. I rented a car, blending into the local scene. When I arrived at the port, the area was bustling with activity; large cruise ships dominated the docks. I donned a white t-shirt, a blue checkered shirt, and jeans over my bulletproof vest, looking every bit the casual American with a baseball cap.

The ocean breeze tugged at my shirt as I sipped a non-alcoholic beer, keeping up appearances while I scoped out the area. A large ship caught my eye, laden with shipping containers and strangely quiet despite having docked at 11 AM according to Sebastian’s last update. Something was off. My squad had to be on board.

Approaching the ship, I noticed three guards by the entrance, seemingly unarmed and visibly agitated, as if they’d been thrown off by recent events.

I sauntered over, feigning ignorance, and one guard subtly reached for his handgun, not yet threatening. Seizing the moment, I disarmed him, and using his own weapon, knocked him out cold. His comrades, alerted by the commotion, began to draw their weapons, but I was quicker. My shots, muted by the silencer, took them down before they could react.

Tossing the borrowed gun into the ocean, I made my way into the bowels of the ship.

As soon as I arrived inside the ship, the plan Sebastian had outlined became clear. The objective was to incapacitate the vessel, neutralize all resistance, and secure the area until backup could extract the shipment to a secure location outside the city. I figured the backup had already arrived but was lying low, waiting for Zarek’s signal to move in.

The need to see my squad was overwhelming—Zarek, Leora, Dylan, Amelia, Kabir. Were they all right?

The ship’s interior was a grim testament to the skirmish that had taken place. Fallen mercenaries littered the corridors, and distant sounds of struggle still echoed through the steel structure. My heart raced as I moved stealthily towards the stern, where the cargo was held. The massive crane loomed overhead.

Suddenly, a figure cloaked in black darted across the deck below the crane. My own attire must have mistaken me for one of the mercenaries because, without warning, a shot rang out towards me.

Instinct took over. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet, and retreated back into the relative safety of the ship’s interior.

The stern was connected to the port with a ramp, and in the distance, the sounds of cars approaching grew louder. Suddenly, gunfire erupted. I saw three figures in black gear engaged in a standoff with a dozen mercenaries who must have been hiding in the hull of the ship. It was my squad.

I circled around through the deck, making my way toward the sound of the firefight. Now, the mercenaries were sandwiched between my squad and me. With the element of surprise on my side, I fired from the back, taking down four mercenaries before I had to duck once my location was revealed.

My squad had spotted me, but I doubted they recognized me in the chaos. To them, I was probably just another helpful citizen. My baseball cap hung low as I kept circling, slowly returning fire, until I was almost thirty feet away from my squad. They were taking cover behind a container.

What they hadn’t realized was that a jeep had approached from the port and was now directly behind them. Now my squad was sandwiched between the mercenaries on the ship and those in the jeep.

Two of my squad members—Leora and Dylan—spotted the approaching jeep and took cover, but Zarek continued firing at the mercenaries on the ship. Between his gunfire and mine, we managed to hold them at bay until only one was left.

Just then, the mercenary on the jeep bent down to retrieve a precision rifle, abandoning his handgun. I knew he had Zarek in his sights. Zarek’s head was poking out the side of the container, making him an easy target.

I willed Zarek to look behind him, but he was consumed with eliminating the threat from one direction. He finally glanced back just in time to fire twice before ducking back into cover. One of the mercenaries jumped down from the jeep and tried to approach on foot. All this time, I was hidden behind another container, out of sight from everyone. My location was so bizarre that no one thought to check my way.

When the mercenary on foot tried to sneak up on Zarek, I ran full speed to intercept him, my cap flying off as I sprinted. Zarek briefly aimed his gun at me, but I lunged just in time to push him down as the merc’s shot rang out.

We both hit the ground with me on top of Zarek. He finally saw my face. I felt him stiffen beneath me, but there was no time for reunions. I looked to my right, raised my gun, and fired twice at the approaching mercenary, once in the chest and once between his eyes, while awkwardly pinning down my best friend.

More car engines roared to life and mercenaries started yelling; our backup had finally arrived. As silence settled, I dared to look at Zarek. He was frozen.

Hastily, he removed his goggles and helmet, then pulled off his balaclava. There he was—my friend, my comrade, my brother. His eyes widened as he studied my face with an intensity that pierced through the chaos, realizing who I was. A thousand emotions flickered through his eyes in a fraction of a second.

I gave him a small smile. “That’s twenty-one, Ghost.”

Before I knew it, his arms were around me, pulling me into a strong, unrelenting hug. He held me so tightly, as if he feared I might vanish if he let go. I rolled under his heavy weight, and soon we were lying side by side in a tight embrace.

“Logan,” he whispered, his voice cracking with raw emotion.

“Miss me?” I teased, my voice wavering.

“Fucker,” he muttered, his laughter breaking through his tears.

Suddenly, we both erupted into uncontrollable laughter. It rolled out loud and free, so hearty that my cheeks ached from the stretch. Finally, I was back with my squad—back with my family.

Tears streaked down my cheeks as our laughter mingled in the air.

Then Dylan was there, larger than life, grabbing the back of my shirt and hauling me up like a rag doll. He pulled me into a crushing embrace, pressing his forehead to mine, his massive hands gripping my shoulders tightly.

“Damn it, Logan,” he said, his voice shaking. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“Loud and clear, Titan,” I said, my grin breaking through the tears.

Zarek, still lying on the ground, clutched his chest dramatically. “You’re giving me a heart attack over here. I’m too young for this.”

I snorted, glancing down at him. “Yeah, you look real fragile, Ghost.”

“Don’t push it,” he shot back, though his smirk betrayed his relief.

Our reunion was pierced by a sudden, heart-wrenching wail. I turned to see Leora, her face crumpled with tears, her knees buckling under the weight of her emotions. She collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. In every sense, she was my sister.

I rushed to her, dropping to my knees in front of her. My hands gently lifted her face, her tear-streaked cheeks trembling under my touch. I leaned in, kissed her forehead softly, and pulled her into a tight embrace as she shook with sobs against me.

“You reckless, self-sacrificing, moronic ass ,” she mumbled through her tears. With a hint of wariness, she added, “are you real?”

“I’m here,” I whispered, stroking her hair. “I’m here, Leo. I promise.”

Gradually, her sobs subsided, and she leaned back, her fingers roaming over my face, tracing each feature as if to confirm I was real.

I gave her a lazy grin and wiggled my eyebrows playfully. “You missed me too much.”

Her response came swiftly—a hard flick to my forehead that left me wincing in surprise. “Ow?”

“Shut up, I didn’t even flick you that hard,” she said, bursting into laughter.

I feigned a frown for a moment, rubbing my forehead, but soon joined her in laughter. Dylan and Zarek joined us, and Zarek bent down to kiss Leora on the temple. Suddenly, Zarek stiffened and pressed a finger to his earpiece, calling in, “Squad Six, report status.”

Dylan responded first, “Desmond 39900 clear, unhit.”

Handing me his earpiece, I listened in as Leora reported next, her voice steady, “Mateez 41556, clear, unhit.” She gave me a knowing smirk, aware of the surprise about to unfold for Kabir and Amelia, who were probably stationed at the rally point and unaware of my survival.

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 eyes were 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.