He smirked, the cut above his eyebrow now a thin white line. “I said nothing about private.”
I shook my head, grabbed my jacket, and crossed theroom to him. The moment I stepped close, his hand went to my lower back like muscle memory.
“Where are we heading?” I asked.
“Somewhere quiet.”
He kissed my forehead.
“You need a break.”
“Weneed a break.”
He didn’t argue.
Truth was, we’d both been burning at both ends since Missouri — debriefs, hearings, internal reviews. Veridian had sent shockwaves through every alphabet agency and tech contractor in the country. It would take years to unwind the damage.
But we’d survived.
Together.
Hawk had turned down the advisory role.
The General had not taken it well.
But Hawk didn’t care.
He’d accepted a different position — an instructor at a tactical training program right here in Mississippi. Local. Stable. Sure, it was a side job because he still had his team, and they continued to rescue people and hunt down the most notorious criminals. But he came home to me. Plus he was still with The Brave Team, only difference was I went with him.
He’d fought for that future.
For us.
And for the first time in years, I felt like I wasn’t bracing for the ground beneath me to vanish.
He led me outside into the late-afternoon light. The parking lot glistened with the remnants of a brief storm. Birds chattered in the trees lining the edge of the lake. We were going to dinner at my parents.
Hawk paused beside his SUV, turning me gently so myback pressed to the passenger door. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, eyes traveling over my face with that look I’d come to recognize — like he could breathe easier just standing close.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “You?”
“Better now.”
His thumb brushed my cheekbone — the one Reese had bruised months ago. The skin was healed, but the memory wasn’t gone. It probably never would be.
But that was all right.
Some scars were reminders of what we fought for.
“You think they’re really done with Echo?” I asked softly.
“For now,” he said. “But someone, somewhere will try again.”
I exhaled. “We’ll be ready.”
He gave a slow smile that warmed me from the inside out. “Yeah. We will.”
