Because he understood the feeling better than most people.
Forward operating bases. Weeks inside razor wire and HESCO barriers. Walking the same perimeter until you memorized every rock, every shadow, every potential kill zone. The way confinement pressed against your ribs until you wanted to run straight into the desert to feel space around you again.
He’d never told anyone that.
Zach studied Emma’s face. The tension lining her eyes. The rigidity in her shoulders. She wasn’t being dramatic. She was genuinely struggling.
The tactical part of his brain ran immediate threat assessments. Taking her outside increased exposure. Added variables outside his control. Created opportunities for?—
He shut that down.
Standing, Zach grabbed a flashlight from his gear bag near the door. He did a quick visual sweep of the beach through the window, checking approach angles.
He blew out a breath. “Get your shoes.”
Emma blinked. “Why?”
“We’re going for a walk.”
Surprise flickered across her face. Genuine surprise. Like she thought he would double down, not adapt.
Smart woman.
She shoved her feet into her sneakers without another word.
The night airhit differently from the daytime heat. Cooler. Salt-sharp. A breeze that carried sound farther than it should.
Zach stalked ahead as his vision adjusted to moonlight and shadow. The beach spread silver-white to his left. Jungle darkness pressed in close on the right. He tracked both systematically, cataloging normal sounds—surf rolling in steady rhythm, wind through palm fronds, a distant generator hum from the resort construction site.
“Do you ever stop doing that?”
Emma’s voice came from behind his left shoulder. Close enough for him to adjust position if needed. Far enough to not crowd her.
“Doing what?”
“Looking for trouble.”
“No.”
Her laugh was quiet and genuine. Not mocking. Just… amused.
The sound resonated somewhere unexpected in his chest.
They walked in silence. Zach kept them at the tree-line’s—clear visibility of the beach, cover accessible if needed. His boots found firm sand while he tracked the environment.
“Is this helping?” he asked.
Emma took a long breath. Let it out slowly. “Yes.”
Good.
He hadn’t realized how her tension had affected him until some of it eased. Her stress had added to his tactical calculations, creating another variable to manage. If she relaxed, his job got easier.
That’s what he told himself, anyway.
“How do you stand it?” Emma asked. “Being on alert all the time?”
Zach considered the question. Most people didn’t ask about the reality of his work. They either romanticized it or avoided the entire subject.
