“We know why you love the Springs,” Sugar said. “You ain’t foolin’ no one.” His voice was deep enough to match his size. His arms were as big as my head, his chest equaling two of mine. He joined the Alpines because he couldn’t pass the float test for the Coast Guard. Muscles don’t float.

Watts was the last to load up, and the engine rattled as we pulled away from the barracks.

Watts reached up and grabbed the radio, yelling, “Colorado Springs!”

The rest of the squad celebrated with him. Everyone but me. The Colorado Springs Hotel was the last place I saw Becca, the last time I felt true happiness, and it was the last place in the world I ever wanted to return to, even for a fire. I wanted the whole town to burn.

chapter six

albatross

Naomi

T

he Complex was twice as old as I was, but I had to hand it to the cafeteria, it was better than a lot of restaurants in the Springs and an exponential improvement on the typical military-grade slop. Peter may have been a junior senator and the executive representative at the Complex, but he controlled the budget and had always been a foodie. He was likely behind the impressive menu. I wondered what else he was behind. The furnishings of my new house, the turn down service the first night, the roses—all slightly creepy if he’d requested it and stage five clinger creepy if he’d done it himself. Peter hadn’t tried to contact me since I’d arrived, even after he’d seen me upstairs the day before, so either his wife was in town, he was back in D.C., or he was giving me space.

The guys were still in the cafeteria stuffing their faces. I was changing, getting ready to use the hell out of the Complex’s gym. Sports bra, t-shirt, shorts, socks, sneakers, badge. I pulled my hair back and jogged down Charlie corridor to the last door on the right before the second elevator bay. Colorado Springs was dry, but the Complex air had a humidity that was hard to explain. The air was thick, settling on my skin, and it made me sweat more than usual. By the time I reached the gym, the hair at the base of my neck was already damp.

Trex had joined a gym downtown, making little sense since the Complex’s state-of-the-art facilities were free. It had been almost a week since I’d worked out, so I hit the weights hard, my sweat dripping on the floor after the first set. A wall of mirrors made my isolation even more obvious. The gym was large, and my every movement, breath, and grunt echoed, bouncing off the white walls and cracked ceiling.

So much for giving me space.

“Naomi,” Peter called from the doorway.