"What?"
"Being a lot. Still happening or did I change something?"
He pauses mid-bite, then sets down his fork and turns to face me fully. "You changed everything."
Something warm spreads through my chest. "Good. Because you changed it for me too."
"Past tense?"
"Past tense."
"We're disgustingly sappy this morning."
"Sullivan would have a field day."
"Sullivan has a field day with everything." He grins. "Garcia's going to want details later. Actual details."
"What kind of details?"
"The kind I'm absolutely not sharing with my team."
"Even though they shared their opinions very freely?"
"Especially because of that. They don't need ammunition."
I laugh. "Fair point. Though I'm guessing Beth is going to grill me just as hard."
"Probably worse. At least my team has some sense of professional boundaries."
"Have you met Sullivan?"
"Okay, some of my team. Santos and Hayes have boundaries. Garcia mostly has boundaries."
"And Sullivan?"
"Sullivan has never met a boundary he didn't immediately cross."
We finish breakfast in comfortable silence, trading coffee refills and small touches that feel natural now. He reaches past me for plates, fingers brushing mine when I hand him a mug.
This is what I wanted last night. Normal moments that feel less like protective detail and more like partnership.
His phone buzzes on the counter. He glances at the screen and his entire body goes rigid.
"Rivera."
Just the name shifts everything. He swipes to answer, puts it on speaker.
"Caine."
"Captain. We got a hit on facial recognition from the office break-in." Rivera's voice is tight, professional. "Commander Garrison. She runs base logistics, has high-level access to everything."
I set down my coffee mug carefully.
"Garrison? Supply Corps?" Thatcher's voice is controlled but I can hear the tension underneath.
"That's the one. We moved to arrest this morning but she's gone. She cleared out her office overnight, and her vehicle's missing. We got no hits on the exit cameras."
I pull my robe tighter even though the kitchen isn't cold.
