Prologue

PROLOGUE

JACE

U ndisclosed Location in

South America

Christmas Eve

Ten Years Ago

Jace Winterborne’s heart pounded in his ears, the chaos of battle swirling around him like a storm. Gunfire cracked through the humid night air, the jungle thick with the scent of damp earth and gunpowder. He moved on instinct, feet pounding through the underbrush as the shouts of his SEAL team faded beneath the heavy thrum of adrenaline.

Then he saw him—Ryan Murphy, his commanding officer, crumpled behind a fallen tree, clutching his side where blood seeped through his uniform.

“Murph!” Jace hissed, sliding in beside him and yanking his rifle up to scan the tree line. “Stay with me, boss. We’re getting out of here.”

Murphy’s face was pale, his breath shallow and ragged. “They’re closing in, Winterborne... Leave me. Get the rest of the team out. That’s an order.”

Jace snarled under his breath. “Yeah, well, order denied.” His mind raced, calculating the distance to the extraction point and the dwindling minutes before enemy fire would pin them down.

Without hesitation, Jace grabbed Murphy’s arm and hoisted him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Murphy let out a pained grunt, but Jace was already moving, his muscles screaming with the effort. His boots dug into the mud as he sprinted through the dense jungle, gunfire popping just behind them.

“Drop me; you’ll ruin your back,” Murphy groaned.

“Shut up, Murph,” Jace muttered, adjusting his grip. "You always said pain is just weakness leaving the body."

Murphy huffed a weak laugh, but Jace heard the fear beneath it—a fear that made his legs pump harder. He wasn’t losing his commander, not today.

Shots whizzed past, and Jace dove behind a cluster of boulders, dropping to his knees with Murphy still slung across his shoulders. He shifted him down and onto the ground, ripping open a field dressing with his teeth.

“Keep pressure on this,” Jace ordered, slapping the gauze over the wound. His hands worked fast and steady, but inside, he was a knot of fraying nerves. They didn’t have much time.

Murphy’s eyes fluttered open briefly, locking on Jace’s. "You always did know how to make an exit."

Jace gave a crooked grin. "And you always knew how to get shot at the worst possible times."

A low rumble announced the incoming chopper. The sound of salvation. But Jace knew they weren’t out of this yet.

“Hold on, boss," he murmured, lifting Murphy again as the whir of the helicopter blades grew louder. “We’re almost home.”

And with a final burst of strength, Jace Winterborne carried his commander toward the waiting chopper, every step a promise he refused to break.