Page 65 of Bound By Thorns

Dr. Mendoza nodded thoughtfully. “So, you started trusting her when you learned that she had suffered too. Logan, I think you’re keeping a score. You suffered, she suffered, check. She saved you, check. But you haven’t saved her, yet.”

“So you think I need to save her?” I asked, my voice edged with defensiveness.

“I am saying that you think you do,” she corrected gently. “Which is why you have that guilt. Which is why I’m seeing self-destructive tendencies in you.”

“She said that what we have is a trauma bond,” I blurted out, the words tasting like ash.

“It’s probable,” Dr. Mendoza agreed.

“So, what I’m feeling isn’t real?” I asked, a sudden panic clawing at my chest.

“I’m saying that whatever you’re feeling is real toyou, Logan,” she assured me, her voice soft yet firm.

“Dr. Mendoza, did you just invalidate my love for her?” The question erupted from me, laced with a terrifying relief as soon as the words left my mouth.

Love. I love her?

“Did you say love? Do you love her, Logan?” Her question was simple yet loaded with the weight of reality.

“Fuck! I think I do,” I muttered, then corrected myself with more conviction, “I do.”

“Do you think you do, or you do?”

“I love her,” I said firmly, the words solidifying something within me.

Dr. Mendoza smiled slightly, her eyes warm. “Then that’s where we start, Logan. With what you do know and what you feel. Let’s work from there.”

As I nodded, a sense of clarity began to seep through the confusion.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Logan

An abrupt buzzing sound forced me awake, and I untangled myself from Kaylan’s arms. She mumbled something sleepily and shifted but didn’t fully wake. Checking my phone, I noticed it was still early, but Zarek’s name flashed on the screen—enough to make me sit up alert.

“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as I answered, a sense of foreboding settling in.

“There’s been a development. It’s not good. Get Kaylan and come to the command center,” Zarek’s voice was terse, carrying an edge of frustration.

Kaylan was already stirring, wiping sleep from her eyes. “Hey baby, Zarek needs us at the command center,” I murmured to her. After planting a quick kiss on her temple, we quickly got dressed.

The command center was alive with activity by the time we arrived. Kabir handed us cups of coffee as we made our way into the conference room. The usual crowd was there, looking grave as Zane brought up a list on the screen. The new President of the United States, George Aiden, had won the majority electoral votes and was selecting his cabinet. The screen displayed a list of names for roles like Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense, among others. The name of the new Secretary of Defense, Robert Romano, was prominently highlighted.

A ripple of confusion spread through Squad Six; only Zarek’s face showed outright anger.

“What’s happening?” I demanded, looking around the room.

Sebastian responded with a heavy tone, “Robert Romano—the newly appointed Secretary of Defense. The man’s a ghost. No digital footprint at all.”

Zarek exhaled sharply, clearly annoyed.

Zane added, “We finally found his official headshot in the Oval Office’s system.” The screen switched to an image of a man in his sixties, with graying hair and a beard thick enough to cover his double chin—Robert Callahan, our boss, head of the Alpha Program. Bridgewood’s second in command.

The room went silent, the shock palpable in the air.

“What—Callahan?” Kaylan managed to say, her voice quivering.

“His real name is Robert Sanchez Romano. He’s the first maternal cousin to Garret Tyson. Now, he’s in charge of all military operations,” Sebastian continued, his voice steady and serious, “including you, Alpha Squad Six.”

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