“Wait…what? He’d actually—” Fly wheezed, struggling.
“He’s a SEAL, you idiot. He’ll find her.”
Fly froze. “Oh.” He coughed. “I didn’t think of that.”
“Clearly.”
Bear just stood there, arms crossed, watching them wrestle. The fury had cooled into something steadier now, a bone-deep protectiveness that never really left him. He exhaled once, a long, controlled breath, and muttered, “You two better pray I don’t find out where.”
Flint huffed in agreement, tail thumping once against the floor.
Bear sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, torn between murder and amusement. “You two done?”
Fly pointed up from the floor, gasping. “Not yet.”
Than elbowed him lightly. “He’s done.”
Fly sprawled flat, breathless laughter spilling out. “You’re gonna make a great officer, Locklear. Ruthless.”
Than snorted, still half-pinning him. “You’re gonna get killed one of these days with your smart mouth.”
Bear shook his head, a faint smile breaking through. “God help the Navy,” he muttered, sitting back down.
Flint flopped beside the two of them with a contented huff.
Fly glanced up at Bear from the floor. “You’re not actually gonna stake out that supermarket, are you?”
Bear arched a brow. “Depends. You gonna tell me which one?”
“Uh…” Fly’s grin faltered. “Nope.”
Bear’s mouth curved, menacing and amused. “Didn’t think so.”
Bailee stood in the doorway like a question that already had the answer. The light behind her carved her silhouette soft and sure, and for half a heartbeat, Bear thought of all the quiet, small things that had become true because she was in his life.
“Oh, Fly,” she said, deadpan and dangerous, “you are going to tell me what supermarket, and I am going to have you point her out. I am going to flash my CIA credentials, and I will ask her if she wants me to bury her in a dark hole somewhere no one will find her if she even thinks about another underage boy.”
Fly laughed, first soft, then stopped when Bailee’s face didn’t change. He cleared his throat and glanced at Than, who looked back at Bear with a new, sheepish respect. “Shit,” Than said. “She’s scarier than my brother.”
Bailee crossed the room without hurry. She wrapped him in a hug so fierce it made his shoulders fold, and her voice softened into something like apology and armor all at once. “I apologize in advance for my gender,” she said, “because I am sure this isn’t the last time you’ll be propositioned. But hopefully it will be by girls your own age.”
Then she turned to Bear, slid her hand into his hair, and kissed him, direct and sound and utterly grounding. When she pulled back, she smiled, private and wide. “They’re my baby SEALs too,” she said.
Bear felt the words settle in him like a promise. Flint thumped his tail. The papers lay scattered around the room, a small chaos, and the three of them stood in the center of it, family by choice, legacy by intention, the future already forming in the gold light outside.
Later, after he’d dropped off Fly and they entered Sleeping Wind, Bear grasped Than’s shoulder and turned him around.
“You said back there, it was nothing. It’s something, Than. Who knows…if Ayla had…” He cleared his throat. “We lost her to some animal who took her away from us. Please, don’t hold this information back from me again. I’m responsible for you until you turn eighteen, and Mom would be so disappointed in both of us. It’s not a double standard. Do you hear me?”
Than sighed and said, “I was embarrassed, Kota. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know how to handle it, and Fly and Shamrock did save me from an awkward situation.”
Bear nodded. “How many children have been assaulted and taken and brutalized because of emotion? Don’t hold back with me, little brother. You’re all I have left.”
Than went to go, and Bear held him back again. “Making this decision to train you was the hardest decision of my life. This isn’t an easy path, like I said, but I didn’t just mean for you. I know you can’t promise me that you’ll be safe. I know better, but walk a good path, Than. That’s all any of us can do.”
“I will, big brother.” He reached out and Bear drew him into a fierce hug. “I love you, Kota. I’ll make you proud. I promise.”
“I have no doubt, and for the record. I love you, too.”
