Hope.
Unvarnished.
Fierce in its fragility.
A glimpse of the woman beneath her shadows, the one who’d reached for him on that rooftop without thought, who’d touched his hair like it held meaning, who’d prayed for him in a language older than war.
A beginning, so thin it barely had shape but real as pulse. As breath. As the path between them.
She blinked, shutters slamming down, armor rising. But her hand stayed in Flint’s fur as she slipped inside, the door clicking closed behind her like a soft, deliberate goodbye.
Bear let the breath go at last, slow and heavy.
The crack in her walls was small. But it was there, and he would meet her through it, not as a warrior. Not as her shadow. But as the man who saw her.
“Yeah, yeah. You have a dog advantage, you fucker,” Zorro groused. “All I had was my charm.”
“That’s running thin,” Buck shoved his shoulder. But that grin never wavered.
D-Day stopped next to him, the team silently crowding him like an old, comforting blanket. “You finally found your voice. Don’t lose it now.”
“She’ll come around,” Buck said. “Memories can sometimes be…overwhelming, but she showed up to your hospital room, man. She’s got it bad for our Teddy Bear.”
“You call me that again, Buckaroo, and you’re going to see the grizzly come out.”
Buck chuckled. “Fair enough.”
“Sure,” Professor said. “We’ve seen the way she looks at you. Welcome to winning over a tough and worthy SEAL babe. It’s about time you took something for yourself, Dakota.”
Zorro nodded, his eyes glinting, his smile widening. “I rather like Teddy Bear. It fits so well.” He gestured with his head. “I’m going up to the pool deck to swim. If you want to join me, I’ll save you a lap lane.”
Bear grunted. “She’s still a fucking dick ache, but she’s always been right here,” he whispered, covering his heart. “I might take you up on that.”
Blitz’s eyes widened. “Are you two…you know? Can he do that kind of thing with our liaison? Isn’t that against the rules?”
Gator chuckled and slung his arm around Blitz’s neck. “Oh, clueless one. Let’s go talk about the birds and the bees.”
“What the hell do insects and fowl have to do with anything?” Blitz deadpanned, then laughed softly.
The team shuffled off to their rooms, but Joker didn’t move. “It seems that BUD/S did you good. We got ourselves two fine officers to be, and you found your voice.” Joker clapped him on the shoulder. “Sometimes talk is just talk, but then other times, actions speak louder than words. It did with Pippa, and our Bailee already has her sights set on you. Life wouldn’t be the same without my wife, so keep yourself sharp, and don’t let her spiral.” He walked past, then stopped. “I sometimes wonder if that old adage applies to you and your Great Spirit. Don’t they work in mysterious ways?”
Then he was gone.
He opened his door and went inside. His room was identical to the one he stayed in before. Sleek wood. Soft gold light. The distant thrum of the Atlantic against the glass. The connecting door sat dead center between them, closed but unlocked if either of them turned the handle.
Bear stood there a long moment, listening. No sound on the other side of that shared wall. She was slipping. He could feel it as surely as he’d ever felt danger. If he didn’t find a way to reach her soon, she was going to drown in whatever was waiting in this city.
He pressed his palm to the connecting door. That wasn’t going to happen, not when he could see something stretching out between them. Sunlight, darkness, gray, none of that mattered. Words were powerful. Actions made all the difference. Losing her wasn’t an option.
Not a goddamned option.
He closed his eyes, just letting himself breathe her in through the barrier.
“Bailee…” he murmured under his breath, voice low and fierce. “You’re not alone. Not this time.”
Bear knew, with the same certainty he felt right before bullets flew, everything would be decided here. He would either claim her or lose her to whatever fear was locking her down.
He would break himself open for her, give her what she needed, give his heart and his soul because he couldn’t do anything else.
