The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 72

Leonard met Liam’s eyes, his gaze steady and determined.

Liam looked right back at him the same way. The guys in their special ops unit had a bond that ran deep; they were closer than family.

Before the world went to hell, they had been the elite of the elite, handling the toughest missions, border defenses, overseas rescues, and surprise strikes.

Liam had led them through countless life–or–death battles, protecting the country and earning honor after honor.

To his team, he wasn’t just a leader–he was the kind of man you’d follow anywhere, no questions asked. And no matter what happened, he never abandoned one of his own.

But now…

“You sure about this?” Liam asked quietly after a long pause.

Leonard nodded. “Yes.”

Liam didn’t say another word. He took Leonard’s badge from his hand. “I’ll hold onto this for you. If you ever want to come back, it’s waiting.”

Leonard’s expression softened for a second, but he still stood firm. “Take care, Captain Caldwell.”

Hayley had been watching the whole thing.

She gave a lazy smirk and pulled open the door to let them leave.

One by one, the men hugged Leonard before stepping out, as if it might be the last time they’d ever see him. And honestly, in this world, it probably was.

No one knew what tomorrow would bring. A goodbye could easily mean forever.

At the door, Derek turned back to Hayley. “Goodbye, Boss. Go easy on Leonard, okay?“babatowy

“I’ll bully him with steak dinners every night. I’ll stuff him so full that he’ll be begging me to stop,” she said without missing a beat.

Derek froze. “Never mind.”

Ethan came next. “See you never, Your Majesty!”

“Get lost already! One more minute, and I’ll make you

He rolled his eyes.

_time servant!”

Gavin, Caleb, and Logan didn’t say much. They nodded politely to Hayley, then crouched to say goodbye to the dogs.

They’d spent the past few days feeding the dogs, washing them, and cleaning up after them. Somewhere along the way, they’d actually gotten attached.

“Bye, guys. Take care.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Arf, arf!”

“Ruff!”

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Summer and the other dogs circled them, confused about why their new friends were leaving,

Weren’t they part of the pack now? Where were they going?

As the soldiers started down the hill, Summer bolted after them with the rest of the dogs in tow.

“Get back here!” Hayley called out.

The dogs stopped immediately and trotted back, tails wagging.

The sun was setting as the soldiers disappeared down the mountain.

Hayley didn’t hesitate–she shut the door and went back to eat dinner. 1

Everyone had their own path. There was no point in forcing anything.

The next morning, Hayley woke up to her usual routine.

After the special ops team left, life fell back into order. With Leonard now part of her group, things were even smoother.

He woke up two hours earlier than she did every morning, cleaning up the garden and keeping the shelter tidy.

For once, she didn’t have to do everything herself.

And there was good news–her goats had finally matured. After watching them for a few days, it looked like two of them had successfully mated. Soon, she’d have fresh goat milk.

By late morning, Cloudia stopped by with the daily deliveries from her parents.

Hayley’s supplies were piling up fast.

To reward Leonard’s loyalty, she gave him limited access to one of her storage rooms so that he could organize and store everything they collected each day.

At this point, Hayley had three full warehouses, not including her massive inventory system.

Most of the food stayed in her inventory system, while the shelter’s warehouses held materials and spare stock

“Ms. Reid! These are the strawberries my dad grew from the seeds you gave us!” Cloudia said proudly, hand;

her a small box of bright red strawberries.

Hayley’s eyes lit up. She had given Anthony a pack of seeds weeks ago, not really expecting anything. The fact that he’d managed to grow them made her genuinely impressed.

She nodded in approval and handed Cloudia a pack of wheat seeds, along with a bag of sugar as a bonus. “Take these back to your dad. Tell him to keep planting. If he does well, there’ll be more rewards like this.”

“Got it! Thank you, Ms. Reid!”

Cloudia looked healthier and prettier now–her face had color again, clearly showing she was eating well.

She was about to leave when she turned back. “Oh, by the way, my dad wanted to ask if you have any table salt. We’d like to trade for some.”

Hayley nodded and went to grab a bag of salt, along with a handwritten price list.

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