Page 35 of Holding the Line
Eli blinked, caught off guard.“Seriously?It got that right?”
Marsh chuckled.“Right down to the sentiment.”
Eli crossed his arms and pouted.“Great.So, now I don’t even get to have my little secret language anymore.”
Marsh stepped in, brushing his lips to Eli’s ear.“Much better now that we can share it.And trust me—we’re going to share a lot more things in our future.”
Eli shivered and smiled, the pout fading entirely from his lips.
When he walked in, the conference room was quiet, save for Bateman, who stood at the front, arms crossed.
“Just got off a call with Admiral Flannagan,” he said, voice grim.“White’s gone AWOL.Walked off his base in Virginia two weeks ago.No word to anyone.No orders.Just vanished.”
Marsh’s gut tightened.
“He’s spiraling,” Bateman continued.“And that makes him ten times more dangerous.We need eyes everywhere, and we need to be ready.”
Dale leaned forward from his spot against the wall, arms folded.“You think he’ll come here?”
Bateman nodded.“He’s got nowhere else to go.Every contact he had in the system’s gone silent.Which means he’s gone rogue.He’ll come for Eli because Eli is the last piece he thinks he can still control.”
Marsh clenched his jaw.“Then we don’t wait.We set up watch rotations.Double the perimeter sweeps.Pull in extra security.”
“And if he brings others?”Dale asked.
Marsh smiled, one that had nothing to do with humor.“Then we remind all of them why no one fucks with the Pathfinders.”
****
Eli stood beside theothers, his hand gesturing toward the detailed plans of the therapy wing they were constructing at the Ridge.“This whole wing,” he explained, “is designed for recovery—both physical and mental.It’s for guys like Marsh who’ve seen too much, lost more than anyone should have to.”
Ty frowned.“What do you mean, ‘guys like Marsh’?”
Ezra took up the story when Eli paused, the memory clearly weighing on him.“Ricky was taken a while back by some Albanian assholes who cared more about trafficking children and guns than anything else.Marsh saw them as they drove out of the Ridge, and before he could stop or pursue them, they threw a grenade that blew up beside his truck, causing significant injury to him, including the fact that it took his left leg from mid-thigh down.”
Oren let out a low whistle.“Jesus.I didn’t know that.”
Ty blinked.“I’ve seen him around.I couldn’t even tell ...he walks fine.”
“Exactly,” Eli nodded.“That’s the point.The prosthetic’s good.But it’s not just about walking.It’s about healing up here.”He tapped his temple.
Before the others could respond, the sharp crack of an explosion split the air, followed by distant shouts, cries for help—panicked, raw.
“What the hell, was that?”Ty asked incredulously.
“Gate,” Oren snapped.“That was up by the main gate.”
The four of them were already running.Ty and Oren leaped into one of their trucks, and Eli jumped in behind them with Ezra.The Ridge disappeared behind them in a blur of dust and adrenaline.
As they skidded to a stop at the outer perimeter, the screaming had stopped.But it was too quiet.Eli’s heart thudded painfully as he stepped out, staying close behind Ty and Oren—Oren somehow had a weapon raised—while Ezra, flanked to the right, also had a weapon drawn.Shit.He was going to have to talk to Marsh about getting a gun.And some lessons on how to use one would probably be a good idea, too.
Four men emerged from the tree line, guns drawn.Black tactical gear, the kind that didn’t belong to any branch Eli recognized.They looked like they’d walked straight out of a war zone.They approached with stealth and purpose.
The one in the center locked eyes with Eli.“You need to come home, son.The Colonel wants you back.”
Eli stiffened.“I’m not your son.And I don’t take orders from assholes who draw weapons on my friends.”
“You should rethink that,” the same man said.“Because things will get worse.People you care about could get caught in the crossfire.”