Chapter 86 Raine
Raine
The SUVs idled in the lot, sunlight glinting off their hoods, the smell of fuel and gun oil sharp in the air.
The men moved like they’d been born for this—Hawk joking under his breath as he checked his rifle, Russ scribbling neat lines across a fresh page, Blade silent and watchful with steel flashing in his hand.
And Adam—my Adam—stood at the center, gray-blue eyes hard as stone, commanding every inch of the space. He wasn’t just leading them. He was holding them together, the anchor that made them all sharper, stronger.
God help me, it was sexy as hell.
I tightened the strap on my holster and caught him watching me. Not as a captain, not as his equal in the field—but as the woman he’d held last night, the one he’d loved long before all this. Heat curled low in my belly, my breath catching under that look.
But beneath it was steel. For both of us.
I stepped closer, slipping past Blade and Russ until I stood in front of him. “You sure you’re ready for this?” I teased, just enough to hide the storm in my chest.
His mouth curved faintly, that dangerous smile that made my knees weak. “Been ready since the ridge.”
The others kept moving, the world spinning around us, but for a heartbeat it was only us—two soldiers who had bled and broken and found each other again in the fire.
I reached up, brushing my fingers along his jaw, rough with stubble. “Then let’s finish this. Together.”
His eyes softened, the commander giving way to the man I loved. He caught my hand, kissed my knuckles, and whispered low enough that only I could hear:
“Always.”
The word sank deep, steadier than any promise I’d ever been given.
I turned toward the SUV, my heart pounding, the ache of fear still there but wrapped in something stronger. Resolve.
This wasn’t just Adam’s war anymore.
It was mine too.
And with him beside me, I knew we could walk straight into hell and come out burning brighter.