That moment stayed with Scarlett, unsettling something deep inside her.

She drifted through the next stretch of time half-present, half-somewhere else.

When the car finally pulled up to Orric's unit assembly point, he unclipped his seatbelt and looked at her with quiet warmth. "I'm heading out. I'll see you when I'm back. Don't forget to call."

"Be safe," she said, noding.

He grabbed his bag and walked toward the bus. One of his buddies ...