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Nick gave another nod. “I guess.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. But just in case, you should go check on Matt at the cave entrance. Make sure he hasn’t heard anything or fallen asleep.”

Nick pushed himself up. “He better not have. Falling asleep at bad times is my thing.”

Aidan shook his head with a light chuckle, watching as Nick strolled around the corner and out of sight. With a slow sigh, Aidan let his shoulders sag as he heard Nick’s footsteps fade. They were deep enough underground that hearing the conversation between the two men was impossible, but Aidan knew it would be better if Nick were around Matt for a bit.

“You got them figured out.”

The soft voice jerked Aidan from his thoughts and down to Sean, who was staring up at him. His green eyes caught the flickering light of the nearby fire, and a slight smirk was drawn across his features as he lay bundled up in the blankets.

“Holy shit,” Aidan sputtered, pushing away from Sean in surprise.

Sean winced. “Ow.”

Aidan cringed, realizing he’d pushed against Sean’s bruised side. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”

“I was going to compliment you on your bedside manner, but I’m glad I didn’t,” Sean said with a pained expression.

Aidan snorted. “You were going to compliment me?”

“I think anyone who manages to wrangle this team together and find me in the middle of nowhere deserves a compliment or two,” Sean said.

Aidan shook his head, not thinking it was much of an accomplishment. It had been hard to keep the three other members of their team from diving over the side of the cliff to find Sean immediately. It had taken all his persuasive abilities and a little manipulation to keep them in line.

“Naw, just had to get through to Ricardo, and with his help, we got Matt and Nick in line too. I already had a good idea where you’d fallen, even with the snowstorm. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure whether we’d find you...or your body.”

“That’s a pleasant thought.”

“Yeah, everyone else was thinking the same. Though Nick was?—”

Sean’s amused expression softened. “He was there.”

“We were all there, Sean,” Aidan said with a snort.

Sean shook his head. “No. I mean when Clint died. Matt and Ricardo were covering our flanks, so they weren’t there when Clint got hit. No one but me and Nick. I saw Clint after he washit, laying there and...I think Nick saw the hit happen, but he’s never said.”

Aidan frowned. “Jesus, why?”

“Why didn’t he say anything? I guess some things are too hard to say out loud.”

Aidan snorted softly, rubbing his wrist unconsciously. “I can understand that a bit.”

“I think you understand it a lot.”

Aidan looked up, brow creasing. “Not as much as you guys. I’ve never lost a teammate. Hell, I’ve never had a team before now. So I can’t really say I’ve gone through the shit you guys have.”

“You grew up in the system. That can be bad enough.”

Aidan blinked. “Umm.”

“Got into the military the minute you could and always worked where you had to. Never stayed in one place for too long, never really had a team to be dedicated to.”

“Sean.”

“Sounds kind of lonely to me.”

“Where did you hear all this?”