Page 420 of Broken Oath

Dad laughed.

“You once refused to eat Mom’s meatloaf because she used the wrong kind of onions.”

“That was a different man.”

“You also said ketchup was an insult to beef.”

“It is.”

Sarah smiled through her tears.

“There he is.”

Wade ate slowly.

Across the cargo bay, Jackson took his first bite and groaned loudly.

Cobra looked over.

“You need a moment alone with that?”

Jackson pointed his fork at him.

“I spent five years eating gray paste. Interrupt me again and I’ll kill you.”

Cobra nodded solemnly.

“Understood.”

Grant laughed.

Then Dawson.

Wade joined them.

The sound filled the aircraft.

Five survivors laughing over scrambled eggs while Shadow Division pretended not to watch.

For the first time, home felt possible.

Hours later, Wade woke with Sarah still beside him.

The aircraft had gone quiet.

Most of Shadow Division slept.

Across the cargo bay, Alan Madow and Jonathan Reeves remained restrained under guard.

Wade looked at Reeves.

His former commander was awake.

Watching him.

Wade stood and crossed the aircraft.

Reeves lifted his head.