He nodded once.
No argument now.
No pride.
Just trust arriving late and bleeding.
“When that glass breaks, you go with Maddox through the kitchen. You do not stop. You do not look back. You do not try to help me.”
His face twisted.
“No.”
“Mason.”
“No. I just found out my sister is—whatever this is. I’m not running.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close.
Not gently.
“Do you think courage is standing where you’re useful, or standing where your ego feels better?”
He flinched.
Good.
Truth should sting when it saves your life.
I softened my grip.
“A Marine follows orders.”
His eyes filled.
“Are you giving me one?”
The glass cracked again.
The officer outside shouted something I did not hear over the blood in my ears.
I looked at Maddox.
He was watching me like a man waiting for a ghost to choose the weather.
