Page 24

"Well, someone had to watch your punk ass. Keep you from getting yourself killed."

"Don't think I'll forget that." Cayden's voice goes sober.

He and Jax exchange a meaningful look, and there's a story there.

Those two were always inseparable. But as they talk about their time in the military, the strength of their bond is even more clear. Something happened to them over there, and it made them closer than ever.

A beat passes in silence. Sergio looks around, then offers, "Nothing noble over here. Just needed the money."

It's the most he's said in one burst in the entire time I've been here. I blink, and he shrugs.

Deandre nods. "Lotsa guys get into the service like that."

"How about you?"

"Money sure didn't hurt. Always figured I'd get out and go to college on Uncle Sam's dime, only after…"

I look from one of them to the next. Shadows hang on all their faces, and I suddenly regret ever bringing this up. I was curious, but I didn't mean to kill any cats.

I didn't mean to remind them of anything they didn't want to have to think about.

"A lot of things didn't go according to plan," Adam says. "We did three tours. Active duty. Lost good guys and got into all sorts of messes. We hope we did more good than harm, but you never know."

How can he not know? "I'm sure—"

"Lots of shades of gray out there," Deandre echoes.

Jax's gaze goes far away. "Lots of things you can't ever forget."

Silence hangs for a long moment.

I swallow hard. "But you all came back."

"Yeah," Cayden says. "Banged up as hell and not quite right in the head, but we came back."

"Took a bullet to my leg," Jax says. "Ain't never gonna heal right."

"Shrapnel," Sergio says. He runs his hand over his arm, then the side of his face.

"You come back different," Adam says quietly. "Normal life doesn't make sense the way it used to. I had all these hyper-vigilance problems. Thought everything could be a bomb, everyone could be an enemy."

"I almost pulled a gun on my baby sister," Deandre admits. "Knew I had to get out after that."

"And none of my brothers or sisters wanted this place." Cayden gestures around. "All had other things going on by then, so I came back, but it was too much. Asked Jax if he wanted to move in."

"And then everybody else just started showing up," Jax says.

"Army buddies are like fungus," Deandre says. "Can't get rid of 'em, no matter how hard you try."

Cayden flashes a wry smile. "Wouldn't know. Never tried."

"So here we all are," Adam says.

I look down at my plate, overwhelmed by everything they just shared. "Well, I sure am glad you are."

Cayden removes his hand from my leg and grasps my palm, above the table this time. "So are we."

"So is the world," Jax says, and there's that swagger I expect from him. The seriousness that had darkened his gaze melts away, leaving only his dickish, brash self.