Elena nods seriously. "Wanna play hide and seek. I hide. You find."
"After dinner," I tell her. "I promise."
She considers this, then nods and reaches for her father. Deck takes her, giving me a look that says we need to talk later. I nod. There's always something to discuss. Operational updates, security protocols, new client inquiries. The business of Guardian Peak never stops.
But today isn't about business.
Mara has already disappeared into the kitchen, drawn into Vivian's orbit. Through the archway, I can see them talking, heads bent together over Mara's tablet. Probably the new security software they've been developing together. Vivian's legal background and Mara's technical expertise have produced some impressive results over the past year.
"She fits here."
I turn to find Mace beside me, beer in hand. He offers a second bottle, and I take it.
"She does."
"When you first told me about the assignment, I thought you'd kill each other within a week." Mace takes a long drink. "Or end up exactly where you are now."
"You predicted this?"
"I predicted something." He shrugs. "You were already obsessed before she arrived. The seventeen times you read her file kind of gave it away."
"It was tactical preparation."
"It was foreplay." He grins at my expression. "Come on, Boone. The whole team knew. We had a bet running on how long it would take."
"Who won?"
"Wolfe. He said four days."
"It was five."
"He counted from the moment she stepped out of that Tesla. Said he could see it in your face." Mace shakes his head. "Never bet against a sniper's observation skills."
I look across the room to where Wolfe is now helping Jake stack the tactical manuals into a more structurally sound tower. The silent man who barely spoke when I first met him, now building block towers with his son while his pregnant wife dozes in a nearby chair.
We've all changed. All grown into versions of ourselves we couldn't have predicted.
"Mara wants me to consider a consulting role." The words come out before I've fully decided to say them. "Part time. Advisory position with her security team at the new office."
Mace raises an eyebrow. "And?"
"And I'm considering it." I take a drink, organizing my thoughts. "I'm not leaving Guardian Peak. This is still home. But she's building something here, and I want to be part of it. Not just her partner. Her actual partner. In everything."
"Deck won't have a problem with it. We've got Hayes and Ryder fully operational now. The team can absorb a reduction in your field hours."
"I haven't decided yet."
"Yes, you have." Mace claps me on the shoulder. "You decided the moment she asked. The rest is just planning the logistics."
He's right. He's always right about these things. It's annoying.
"Dinner's ready!" Cade's voice booms from the kitchen. "Everyone wash up and find a seat."
The next hour is a blur of food and conversation and the controlled chaos of multiple families sharing a meal. I end up between Mara and Deck, with Elena insisting on sitting on my lap despite her father's protests. She falls asleep against my chest before dessert, her small body warm and trusting.
Mara's hand finds mine under the table. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't have to.
This is what I almost missed. What I almost let fear and control and the ghost of past failures keep me from. A full life. A real family. A woman who sees every broken piece of me and loves me anyway.
