"And someone died."
"Yeah. Someone died." CJ leans back against the SUV. "I left the CIA and joined Guardian HRS soon after. Frost followed me. He’s a damn good operator. But he’s been making every decision since then based on that guilt. Going rogue. Making it personal. Choosing people over protocol."
"Is that wrong?"
"It is when it gets operators killed. When it compromises missions. When it—" He stops. "When it makes him reckless."
"He wasn't reckless. He was precise. Professional. Tactical." I meet CJ's eyes. He chose to save someone rather than let stupid protocols get in the way. That's not reckless. That's brave."
"Brave or not, it has consequences."
"Like what? Termination? For saving my life?"
"Like mandatory psychological evaluation. Like suspension pending review. Like—" CJ's expression softens slightly. "Like me having to decide if he's fit for duty or if his guilt is going to get him killed on the next op."
The implications settle over me like a lead weight. Colt didn't just risk his career. He risked everything. His job. His team. His life. Maybe even his sanity.
For me.
For a woman he didn’t know and met six hours ago.
"He's fit for duty," I tell CJ. "He's one of the best operators I've seen, and I served with some exceptional soldiers."
"You're biased."
"So are you. You're his team leader. You're supposed to be biased in favor of your people."
CJ almost smiles. "Fair point." He stands, stretches. "Witness protection coordinator will be here in twenty. You'll be relocated immediately. New identity, new location, no contact with your former life."
"I know."
"That includes Frost."
"I know."
"Once you're in the program, you can't reach out. Can't make contact. It compromises security." He looks at me directly. "You understand what that means?"
It means losing Colt before I ever figured out what this is between us.
It means disappearing into a new life while he stays here, dealing with the consequences of saving mine.
It means never knowing if he's okay, if CJ terminates him, or if his guilt finally consumes him.
"I understand," Imanage.
CJ nods, starts to walk away, then pauses. "For what it's worth? I think he made the right call. Even if it was for the wrong reasons."
"What are the right reasons?"
"Saving a life. That's always the right reason." He glances back toward where Colt is working. "The wrong reason was thinking that saving your life would absolve him of Sofia's death. That's not how guilt works."
He walks away before I can respond.
I sit there on the tailgate, IV bag dripping unused beside me, watching the sky lighten from black to gray to the pale blue of approaching dawn.
The desert is quiet now, the violence of the night fading into the mundane work of cleanup. Bodies are being photographed and documented. Shell casings collected. Statements recorded.
My brother is being transported to federal custody.
