Page 7 of Holding the Line
The gravel crunchedbeneath the tires of Eli’s Buick as he rolled through the gates and followed the winding drive deeper into the facility.What he’d expected was a makeshift compound, maybe some trailers and tents—the usual backwoods retreat aesthetic.
What he got instead was sleek, high-tech infrastructure humming with quiet efficiency.Buildings with clean lines, brushed steel panels, and smart glass.Training yards embedded with shock-absorbing turf.Antennae and satellite dishes bristling like thorns from one of the forward buildings.
It was the Ridge all right—Obsidian Ridge—but it wasn’t just military.It was precision.Design.Intent.
And nestled right at the base of a hulking, sheer rock face stood a massive house.An older structure, three stories tall, all warm timber and aged stone, looking every bit like a mansion transplanted from an upscale Colorado ski town.It anchored the facility, clearly the heart of the operation.
As he coasted past other buildings on site, Eli caught glimpses of people in uniform, some sparring on mats, others running drills with gear he’d only seen on black-ops reports.No one stopped to stare, but everyone noticed him.Like they were trained to.
The road curved and split near a large rectangular building.A faint smile tugged at his lips as he recognized the wide vents, dehumidifiers, and UV skylights built into the roof.
A pool.There was a pool.
Water meant control.Weightlessness.Breathing without pain.Escape.
He felt his shoulders drop half an inch, feeling a little less tense.
Ezra met him in front of a long nondescript building just past the Ridge House.“You’ll be staying here,” he said, waving him into a clean, steel-and-wood structure withTrainer’s Barrackswritten above the door.
Eli parked and slid out and followed Ezra into the building.They stopped at the first door on the left and Ezra opened it to reveal a compact but sleek studio—kitchenette, queen bed, built-in desk, wall-mounted TV, and a clean line of storage drawers.The lighting was soft, the furniture modern.
“Fifteen rooms in this block,” Ezra explained.“Trainers and specialty staff.Quiet.Close to Marsh’s lab in the innovation wing of the comms building.Or ‘lair,’ as some call it.”
Eli blinked.“Lair?”
Ezra smirked.“You’ll see.”He handed over a keycard.“You’re not the first therapist we’ve brought in.But you’re the first Marsh hasn’t actively run off in the first five minutes—win!”
Eli snorted.“So far.”
Ezra leaned against the doorframe, expression softening.“Dinner’s in a couple hours.My place.Me, Ricky, and Sophia are making pasta, garlic bread, and a kick ass salad.I want to introduce you to the rest of the Pathfinders.”
“Who are they?”Eli asked.
“Family.Pains in the ass sometimes.But they’d take a bullet for each other and have on more than one occasion.If they like you, you’ll find yourself on that list ...they will protect you.”Ezra paused, tilted his head to the side and leveled a calculating look in Eli’s direction.“But only if you deserve it.”
Eli hesitated.“Sounds like you’re not entirely sure if I would.”
Ezra’s smile was all teeth.“Oh, I’m sure of you.It’s Marsh who isn’t.Yet.”
He turned to leave, then called back over his shoulder, “Just follow the path behind the Ridge House.You can’t miss it.White stone patio, raised garden beds, wind chimes shaped like butterflies Sophia insisted on.”
Eli stepped back into the room, exhaled, then turned toward the door.
“Hey,” he called.Ezra paused.“That pool...?”
Ezra grinned.“Help yourself.Just don’t drown before dinner.”
Alone again, Eli stood for a moment in the room that, for now, was his.Then he grabbed his swim gear from one of his bags and quickly got changed.
Water.A quick swim.Something to loosen the knots in his spine.
As he walked toward the building with the pool, his thoughts drifted back—uninvited—to Marsh.
That jaw.That mouth.That attitude.
God help him, this was going to be complicated.
The pool was just as pristine as he’d imagined.Olympic length, with underwater lights casting a shimmering lattice across the tiled floor.No one else was inside.The silence felt sacred.