KEEGAN POV
We walked in silence toward the helicopter.
Not the tense kind of silence, the one that scrapes down your spine like claws across old wood. No, this one was heavier. Thicker. Like breathing through smoke after the fire's gone out, and everything smells of scorched earth and too many memories.
My brothers flanked her—Kyle on the left, Kingsley on the right, Kendrick walking just a step behind on her other side—and I took the rear, eyes sweeping the edges like a soldier too burned to stop checking for something to kill. Or someone.
Kat walked in the middle, barefoot and quiet, her hand interlaced with Kyle’s, her steps sure despite the ashes still clinging to her skin. The faint scent of burnt ozone and blood still hung in the air, like the ruins of Jonas’ packhouse refused to
