Talon:Sitting somewhere warm with good coffee and better company.
Riley stared at the words,and her heart did something complicated in her chest. Would they ever have the opportunity to sit across from each other and visit?The thought painted itself in her mind before she could stop it. The picture of a cozy café somewhere, steam rising from proper coffee cups, the kind of easy conversation they had through text but with the luxury of seeing his expressions. It would be so nice.
She'd long ago given up the romantic idea that they would. She could feel her cheeks turning red even sitting alone in her room. She was a friend, not a romantic interest. God, how could she even think about it?He'd found her filthy in the worst way. He'd seen her at her absolute lowest—broken, terrified, barely human. No, romance wasn't on the table for them, but she adored him as a friend.And that wasenough. It had to be enough because it was more than she'd ever had with anyone else.
But sometimes, in the quiet moments between sleep and waking, she wondered what it would be like to look at it that way.
Talon: What about you? Perfect day?
She wanted to type “Visiting with you,” but that would be needy. She'd already crossed too many lines—texting too often, sharing too much, depending on him for emotional support he'd never signed up to give. The last thing she needed was to make him uncomfortable by revealing just how much he'd come to mean to her.So, she gave her idea of her second-best day.
Riley:Home. Good book. No agenda.
Home.Not her father's house, but someday, somewhere that actually felt like home.A place where she could breathe. Where silence felt peaceful instead of intimidating. A place where she could just … be.
Talon:Sounds perfect.
And somehow,coming from him, it did sound perfect. He had a way of making her small dreams feel valid, important even. Like wanting a quiet day with a book wasn't giving up on life but choosing what kind of life she wanted to live.
CHAPTER 7
December
Talon sat in his hotel room in Dubai, staring at the breakfast room service menu without really seeing it. The mission had wrapped up successfully, but something felt different this time. Instead of the usual satisfaction of a job well done, he found himself thinking about someone an ocean away. His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out. A smile spread across his face. Obviously, she was thinking of him, too. He glanced at his watch. Eight in the morning, which meant it was midnight on the East Coast.
Riley: Made dinner for my dad earlier.
He smiled at the message. She'd been working up to this for weeks. They didn’t have the best relationship.No shit. The man was an asshole. But she wanted to connect with her father, despite everything.Talon was blessed with the best parents in the world. He didn’t understand the asshats who didn’t love their kids with everything they had. A warm, nurturing environment was the only experience he and his cousins had ever known. The thought of his parents not supporting everything he did, well, that was foreign as fuck.
Talon: How did it go?
Riley: He ate it.
That was Riley—direct, honest, with just enough dry humor to hide the hurt underneath. He could picture her sitting in that enormous house, probably overanalyzing every moment of the dinner, wondering if she'd done enough.
Talon: Good conversation?
Riley: No, he was busy, as usual.
Bastard.The thought came unbidden. Nah, that opinion was lying under his skin just waiting to spring up. There she was, trying to rebuild her life, making such incredible progress, and her father couldn't even be bothered to have a real conversation with her. Talon's jaw tightened. It reminded him of what a shining example of a fucktard her old man was.
Talon: I'm proud of you.
And he meant it. God, he was so proud of her he could hardly contain it.
Riley: For making spaghetti?
She had no idea, did she? No concept of how far she'd come, how much courage it took to keep trying with someone who consistently let her down. Well, damn it, he saw it and recognized it for what it was. Determination, guts, fortitude. She had it in spades.
Talon: For being brave enough to try with your dad.
Because that’s what it was. The same kind of strength that had kept her alive during those terrible days was now channeled into something as simple and heartbreaking as making dinner for a man who didn’t deserve her effort.
Talon staredat the ceiling of his quarters, sleep eluding him despite the exhaustion weighing down his limbs. The latest mission had gone sideways. Not deadly sideways, but enough to leave him questioning everything. It was 0200, his time, and he knew he probably shouldn't bother Riley with this, but…
When had she become his anchor? When had talking to her become something so necessary? Or maybe validating was a better word?
Talon: It's 0200, and I can't sleep. Mind if I ramble?
