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I can’t take uard, that is bad Really fucking bad And I’m about to lean down and kiss her

But Akara glances up at the sky “Hey, we’re going to have to jog back to make it to caear “I don’t want us to be on the trail in the dark”

I drop le-eye the path

She nods

“Banks, you go out front,” Akara orders

Usually I don’t question a superior At least not to their face I’ve learned to shutBut I point out, “I’m slower than you and her Shouldn’t you two be out front and I’ll take the rear?”

“That’s why you should set the pace”

I nod, realizing he wants us to stick together So I just go on ahead The trail is riddled with fallen logs and tall grass

Sulli is on

“This is nice,” she says, barely breaking a sweat “Leisurely and scenic I fucking like it”

I laugh “Good because I’ any faster”

“Yeah, don’t do that I like your ass how it is, Banks”

Blood pumps harder

I wish I could spin around and just take her face inthe hell out of Sulli is on my brain when I know I should be more alert

“Watch for snakes,” Akara calls to us

Facing forward, I run as fast as I can Having the longest legs of the three of uswhen I’m two-hundred-plus pounds of muscle I’m not slow, but I lack the speed that Sulli could clock

Wind whips around us, and my shoes crunch fallen leaves and rocks Akara and Sulli crack a few jokes for a couplenature sink in

Even with the wind, the air feels still Strangely calm

The thus a sense of comfort I’ve run miles upon miles in the military, a rucksack strapped to my back I’ve run after Sulli in Italy

Now I’ in front of her in Yellowstone

I stay in the moment

I’aze sweeps every meter ahead The trail widens, woods on the left, and the endless view of sky on the right It shouldn’t—and I don’t knohy—but Skylar pops into my head

His face

The one I remember

He was fifteen He’ll always be fifteen to h he was my older brother, and that fact settles heavy on my chest for a split-second

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling sound rips through the air Violent, like a cross between a screech and a growl The second sound comes quicker, faster than I can even turn around

It’s a loud thump

I turn to look at Sulli’s six

At Akara’s six