Scout: Phoenix Squad, #5

By Dakota Rebel

No one is coming to save you…

 

From childhood, to the military, to special forces, I learned never to put my faith in anyone but myself. Because if you don't let anyone get close to you, then it's less likely that someone can hurt you. Or betray you.

 

But life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. Sometimes someone finds a crack in your armor. Despite your best efforts to protect yourself.

 

Now, the only two men to ever break down the walls I've built around myself have both managed to destroy me in completely different ways.

 

And as the world burns down around me, I can't help but wonder…was it worth it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dakota Rebel
• Release date: Dec 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223534709

Book preview

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Chapter One

~Brian Rhodes~

Codename: Scout

Ten Years Earlier…

You’re leaving, I said, sitting on the bottom bunk and watching Ricky pack his few belongings into a ratty old duffle bag.

Yeah, he agreed, turning to give me a soft smile. It’s not like you didn’t know this was going to happen.

Oh, I knew. He and I had both been counting down the days to his eighteenth birthday…just for different reasons. He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of foster care and start his new life. I was mourning the loss of the only real friend I’d ever had.

You’re going to be fine, Brian, he said, dropping the bag and walking over to kneel on the floor next to me. And I’ll be back to get you as soon as I can.

I could go with you now, I suggested. We could be across the country before old lady Cummings even knew we were gone.

I can’t, he insisted, at least having the decency to look sad as he said it. You’re fourteen years old. You need to finish school. Go to college. Make something of yourself. If you come with me now, neither one of us are going to amount to much more than street urchins.

You really think I’m going to hold you back? I asked him. We’re a team, Ricky. We could rule the world if we wanted to. We could do it together.

He knew I was right, too. We’d spent years learning how to hack, how to skirt the system and take care of ourselves when that system failed us. Which had been at every turn so far.

And now he was leaving me behind. Leaving me in this house with these people who only took kids in to get a fatter check and didn’t give a damn what happened to us in the meantime.

You’re going to be fine, Ricky insisted. And I need to take care of myself for a while. His hands cupped my cheeks and he forced me to meet his gaze. I will come back for you. Soon. Brian, I promise.

Don’t promise me that, I said, shaking free of his grip and getting to my feet. You know better.

You’re right, he said, standing up to face me. I’m sorry. No promises. He shook his head. I have to go.

I know you do, I assured him. Because I did know. If our situation had been reversed, I’d like to think I’d have taken him with me, but I couldn’t be sure.

Ricky was free, and he had to take advantage of that. All I could do was be a good friend and support him. No matter how badly my heart was breaking.

Our rule of no promises encompassed everything. And while we’d never had a single conversation about it, he had to know how much I loved him.

I’d hoped that before he turned eighteen, he’d give me some kind of sign that he felt the same way, but he never had. Maybe I was making it up. Maybe when Ricky looked at me, he didn’t feel the same longing that I did. Maybe he just thought of me as a younger brother, and while he did love me, it was never going to be the way I loved him.

And now, any chance of that conversation was gone. He was legally an adult, and he was right…I was fourteen years old. And it didn’t matter that the system had made me into an adult over a decade before I should have had to be. Didn’t matter that I was smarter than him or more mature than him.

He was eighteen years old and he was leaving.

And that was that.

You hate me, don’t you? Ricky shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor, his toe scuffing at the threadbare carpet.

Of course not, I insisted. You’re my best friend. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make you feel bad for doing what you need to do.

You’re my best friend, too, he insisted, finally looking back to meet my gaze. And I will come back for you.

I know you will. I forced myself to smile at him, to make him think I believed the lie. Because anything else would have felt manipulative, and you just don’t manipulate your friends.

Richard! Ms. Cummings yelled from downstairs. Your taxi is here.

I’ve got to go. Ricky pulled me into a hug and I clung to him for a minute, trying to put everything I felt into the embrace. I left an envelope with a couple hundred dollars in it under that brick in the basement.

You didn’t have to do that, I said, pulling away to glare at him. I can take care of myself.

I know, he said, giving me a wide grin. But I don’t want you to starve before I can get back to take you away with me.

Richard! she called again, impatience clear in her tone. Then again, when did she ever sound anything but impatient or angry?

Stay safe, Ricky said, giving me one last smile before he grabbed his bag and walked out the door.

I sat down on the mattress then flopped onto my back, staring up at the rusted springs on the bunk overhead as I let out a long sigh.

He was gone. And despite his promises, I knew he’d never really come back