Free Promises in the Dark by Stephanie Tyler Page A

looking for Zane.
    He leaned against the outside of the locked door and wondered if he should be as worried as he was about Zane.
    His gut told him yes. Definitely yes, if past experience played any role. Zane could find trouble more quickly than anyone he knew—and Cael knew a hell of a lot of troublemakers, present company included.
    He also knew how shitty this trip could be for Zane’s psyche, because as well as his brother hid it with an “I don’t care” attitude, Cael knew differently. Zane wanted to believe in something, wanted to belong so badly and for a long time refused to let it happen.
    Cael believed in God and country and the Army, knew that his parents loved adventure seeking and that it was in his blood.
    So far, he got his adrenaline pumping the legal way, through Delta Force. And then he came home and he acted domestic, tried his best to keep track of his youngest brother because he’d lost that fight with Dylan years earlier.
    “ Leave the boy alone. ”
    “ He’s not a boy and he’s better off working for me than the other trouble you know he’ll find,” Dylan told him. Dylan, who was running some bullshit operation like spies for hire. “I’m not a spy,” Dylan would tell him through gritted teeth, “And you’re just pissed Zane went Navy instead of Army. ”
    Well, sure, he was damned annoyed at that, didn’t understand why Zane had to break the family tradition .
    Bad enough Dylan had gotten out so fast, but at least he’d served. Zane was breaking a tradition of years of service to the Army—dating back to their great-great-grandfather .
    “ Maybe Zane didn’t feel as connected to our traditions,” Dylan reminded Cael. “Or maybe he knew you wanted him close—to keep an eye on him. ”
    “ Someone had to. You were gone,” Cael pointed out, going for the jugular, because that was always most effective .
    “ Yeah, getting a job, dammit. Or else we couldn’t have stayed together. You and Zane rode roughshod over Aunt Lynn. ”
    They had. Their aunt, and only living relative on Dad’s side, had been like one hundred and nine when they’d moved in. She’d nurtured them but never worried about things like homework or curfews.
    It had been up to Caleb to keep Zane in line. And he had, barely. Most of the time it was like balancing a fine tightrope.
    Zane always had a wild streak, coupled with an inherent wariness, because of the way he’d lived until Mom and Dad brought him home.
    For a while, Zane was almost … feral. Living off instincts and fear. Not wanting to hang out with the family. Not trusting. Hoarding food. And it continued for the better part of two years, until Caleb decided to follow him home from school one day instead of hanging out with his friends the way he normally did. He witnessed at least ten boys circling Zane, knocking down his books. Taunting him.
    Zane had done nothing but stand there and take it.
    “Why don’t you fight back?” Cael asked his brother after they’d gotten home.
    Zane had stared down at the ground in their front yard, kicked the dirt and didn’t answer. Cael figured he was embarrassed that his older brother had seen what happened.
    “Zane, I’ll teach you how to fight,” he’d offered, and Zane finally looked him in the eye.
    “You think I don’t know how to fight, asshole? I could kill those motherfuckers. That’s why I don’t fight.” And then he turned and walked away.
    Cael left school early the next day, and he lay in wait for Zane’s bullies. And because Zane wouldn’t touch them, Cael had. Beat them up and told them if they ever touched Zane again, they’d regret it. And then he’d taken the blame, refused to say why he’d done it.
    That night, Zane sat at the dinner table with them for the first time.
    From that day on, Zane and Cael had an uneasy truce. Cael still bugged his brother far too much. Zane pretended to be less annoyed than he really was, and for the most part, it worked. Dylan definitely