Her breath catches, green eyes going bright with emotion. "I love you too. I think I have since you kissed me in your kitchen and gave me back the choice Bruce took away."
I kiss her then, salt water and fear and relief mixing into something that tastes like home. Coast Guard boats are approaching the shallows, Hartwell's voice carrying across the water calling my name, Rexford groaning as consciousness returns. I punch him again. The world is chaos and danger and unfinished business.
But Fallon kisses me back with everything she has, and for this one moment, that's enough.
Hartwell reaches us first, boots pounding across the marsh, teams fanning out to secure Rexford and the scene. She takes one look at us, at the unconscious consultant bleeding on the ground, at the place the SUV went under.
"Christ, Lange. You okay?"
"We're fine." I help Fallon to her feet, keeping her close. "Rexford tried to finish what he started. He didn't succeed."
"No, he didn't." Hartwell's expression is grim. "But we've got bigger problems. The data he sold? It's already in play. We've got intel suggesting an imminent attack on Tidewater. Someone bought those coastal vulnerability maps for a reason, and we just ran out of time to figure out who."
The words hit like a physical blow. Rexford wasn't the endgame. He was just the beginning.
I look at Fallon, see the same realization dawning in her eyes. Her research, the maps showing every weakness in Tidewater's defenses, is out there. In the hands of people who want to exploit them.
"Then we'd better get to work," I say.
Because loving her doesn't make her safe. It just makes the stakes that much higher.
13
FALLON
After you almost die, you stop wasting time.
The base hospital smells like antiseptic and industrial cleaning solution. Fluorescent lights are too bright after the darkness of nearly drowning in a sinking car. Medical staff buzz around us with efficient concern, checking vitals, treating cuts, listening to waterlogged lungs that sound like broken accordions when I breathe too deep.
Holden refuses to leave my side. Even when the doctor suggests he get his own injuries treated in a different bay, he plants himself in the chair next to my bed and doesn't budge. His hand stays wrapped around mine, thumb tracing patterns on my knuckles that ground me when flashbacks of cold water closing over my head try to pull me under again.
"I'm okay," I tell him when he checks on me for the third time in as many minutes.
"You're getting checked thoroughly." His voice leaves no room for argument. "You were underwater. You inhaled marsh water. You're getting a full workup."
The doctor, a capable woman with kind eyes and no-nonsense demeanor, nods agreement. "Listen to him.Waterlogged lungs can develop complications hours after exposure. We're keeping you for observation."
Bruce Tanner is in ICU, but I can hear hushed voices through the thin curtain divider--medical staff discussing his condition. Stable but critical. Rexford beat him badly, probably trying to silence him or frame him for everything. Despite years of Bruce making my life hell, I don't want him dead. A little pain though? That I can live with.
Holden must sense my tension because his grip tightens. "You don't have to see him."
"I know." But maybe I need to. For closure, or understanding, or just to confirm that the man who haunted me for so long is finally, truly out of my life. "But I think I should."
Medical clearance takes forever. X-rays, blood work, lung function tests. Everything comes back acceptable with recommendations for rest and monitoring. Bruises bloom across my ribs where the seatbelt caught me, cuts sting where glass nicked skin, muscles ache from fighting currents and swimming to shore.
But I'm alive. Holden's alive. Rexford's in custody. The worst is over.
Or so I think until Hartwell arrives with news that changes everything.
She finds us in my hospital bay, expression grim enough to make my stomach clench. "Dr. McKay. Lieutenant Commander Lange."
Holden stands immediately, military posture snapping into place. "Ma'am."
"Rexford's in custody and talking. The data he sold? We've identified the buyers. Foreign operatives, offshore vessel, planning to use Dr. McKay's coastal vulnerability maps to execute an attack on Tidewater." Hartwell's gaze shifts to Holden. "SEAL team is deploying for interdiction.You're standing down. Conflict of interest. You're emotionally compromised."
The muscle in Holden's jaw tightens. "With respect, ma'am, that's my team. My area of expertise. And my woman whose research they're planning to weaponize. I'm going."
"Lange—"
