Page 25 of Bound By Thorns

The realization hit me like a truck, and for a long moment, I couldn’t move, frozen by a cocktail of shock and residual fear.

Sebastian, in all his infuriating glory, started peeling off his helmet, goggles, and balaclava. Each layer he discarded revealed more him. When his face was finally bare, I was ready to throw a snarky comment his way, something that would slice through the tension. But then, I caught sight of his expression.

His eyes—those dark, intense eyes—were rimmed with red. He looked utterly wrecked, and when he dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palm, my planned retort died on my lips.

He looked up again, managing a shaky smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I can’t,” he choked out, his voice cracking like thin ice underfoot. “I can’t believe you’re alive, Logan.”

His words, laden with genuine relief, hit me harder than I expected. I knew that despite everything, despite the anger and the bitter history, he cared. Sebastian had been the closest thing to a big brother when we were kids. But then there was Eli—sweet, doomed Eli whose death hung like a dark cloud overeverything. I blamed Sebastian for not telling me about Eli’s drug problem, for not saving him when he could have. That guilt, that blame had festered into a deep, unyielding animosity.

I held his gaze. “Do you have a T-shirt?” I asked, voice flat. I wasn’t about to have this conversation, not here, not now.

He chuckled—a sound that held more sorrow than humor.

I couldn’t deal with this now, not with the enemy of my past showing such vulnerability.

“Here,” he finally said, pulling a shirt from his bag and tossing it to me.

The ride in the back of the SUV, with the landscape blurring past us and the quiet hum of the engine, felt surreal. Here I was, with the person I had loathed for so long, yet who had just saved my life.

I wasn’t ready for reconciliation in the back of an SUV taking me away from weeks of hell. I wasn’t ready.

“How’d you find me?” I asked, completely ignoring Kaylan sitting beside me, her breathing slow and labored.

Sebastian glanced at her and grabbed another t-shirt from his bag to tie it on her arm. She winced in pain and drifted off to sleep.

Sebastian’s brows furrowed with concern, “Healer?”

He tightened his grip slightly on Kaylan’s hand, monitoring her pulse. His face was etched with concern. “Fuck. I think she’s lost a lot of blood,” he murmured, then turned to the co-driver. “Head to Safe House 56, the one with the clinic. And get Dr. Stacey on the line.”

The co-driver nodded, “Copy, Ranger.”

I finally looked at Kaylan. She was going pale and an uneasy tightness gripped my chest, much like the worry I had before. But this time, it was tenfold. I could see her, fighting for her life in front of me, due to a bullet I could’ve prevented from hittingher had I dragged her from the gunfire instead of running by myself.

I was confused when Sebastian finally responded to my question earlier. I was so consumed in guilt that I had forgotten about it.

“We didn’t. We have been surveilling the property for a week. So when today we saw the lights go out, we knew something was going down. We didn’t intend to engage. I switched the mission objective as soon as I saw you and Kaylan.”

Sebastian’s voice was steady, his attention fully on Kaylan. His hand firmly gripped her hand to feel her pulse.

“Squad Six?” I asked cautiously.

I had been afraid that Garret had maybe found something. Maybe they were no longer alive.

“They were staying at the Blackthorn building. They’re off the grid, on an assignment. They’re unaware of your… status.”

I nodded, taking in the information. “Where are they?”

“Florida, dealing with a shipment. But we’re having trouble with the Crazon network interfering with our communications. Zane’s still trying to get our comms back online.”

“I need to go to Florida,” I stated, my voice carrying a firm resolve.

Sebastian exhaled slowly, his mind clearly shifting through strategies before he nodded in agreement. “Once we’ve got Kaylan safely at the safe house, I’ll arrange for you to fly to Florida.”

A sudden thought hit me. “Wait, where are we exactly right now?”

Sebastian’s lips tightened slightly. “We’re in northern Mississippi, near the forest. It’s unbelievable how close you were. Were…uh…Riley and Kyle from Squad Two also there?”

I shook my head, not knowing their status, and glanced towards Kaylan, wondering if she knew more.

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