Gray leaned his hip against the table. “You see the bigger picture, don’t you?”
Crew straightened slowly.
He did.
Not all of it. Not yet. But pieces were clicking into place—how this could work, where he fit, what he could contribute without ever climbing back into a cockpit. He didn’t want to fly. He knew that now with certainty.
But that didn’t mean he was done.
“Gray has the same experience. Why isn’t he the first option?” Crew slanted a look at Gray.
“I have too many things pulling me in other directions—family, the security agency, the ranch. Government liaisons too. If you’re up for this, we’d love to have you on board, Crew.”
He thought it over and came to a decision in a much shorter time than he would have believed possible. “I can help you plan. Think through contingencies.”
Gabe gave him a satisfied nod. “That’s what we were hoping you’d say.”
Upchurch leaned back in his seat, eyeing Crew as though he’d known all along that he was a shoo-in if they’d bothered to ask his advice.
They wouldn’t be talking to him like this if they didn’t see a place for him.
He spent the next hour walking them through scenarios, using language that felt natural—timelines, fallback routes, worst-case assumptions.
It made him feel useful again.
When they finally broke and the group drifted off to complete other tasks, Gray lingered.
“Hey.” His gray eyes settled on Crew. “One more thing.”
Crew waited.
“I want you standing with me.”
Confusion slipped through his mind.
Gray gave him a firm nod. “At the wedding.”
It took a second for the words to land.
“You mean—”
“I’m asking you to be a groomsman,” Gray clarified. “If you’re willing.”
Crew opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
He hadn’t expected that. Hell, he hadn’t even known he wanted it. His throat tightened unexpectedly, emotion hitting harder than any mission briefing ever had.
Gray clapped him on the back. “No pressure.”
Crew nodded, once. Hard. Then again.
“Yeah,” he managed. “I’d be honored, brother.”
Gray grinned and pulled him into a quick, rough hug before stepping back. “Good.”
Crew stood there a moment after Gray left, staring at the map on the table without really seeing it.
He hadn’t been looking for ties to the Black Heart, hadn’t been searching for more people who had his six.
