The response came two hours later. Logan was in his room trying to focus on anything besides his phone when it buzzed.
Text from Ghost. "Quinn says she'll set up a secure line. Give Mara your number and she'll reach out directly. Should happen within the next day or two."
Logan's heart rate kicked up. She'd said yes. Was willing to give him direct contact. Was willing to move this from messages passed through third parties to actual communication between just the two of them.
He sent his number to Ghost, who forwarded it through the chain. And then he waited.
By the end of the week, he had a plan. Four more weeks of intensive PT at Fort Liberty. Once they had direct contact established, once he knew how to actually reach her, he'd figure out when and how to get to Louisiana. Meeting Mara. Keeping his promise. Figuring out if the connection he'd felt in that cell was real or just trauma and gratitude.
"You nervous?" Risk asked.
"Terrified."
"Good. Means it matters."
Logan looked at his team. At the men who'd risked everything to coordinate his rescue. Who'd supported him through recovery. Who were now helping him chase after a woman he barely knew because they understood what it meant to feel something real. "Thanks. For everything."
"Don't thank us yet," Hawk said. "Thank us when you come back and tell us it worked out."
"And if it doesn't work out?"
"Then you tried. That's all any of us can do."
Logan went to bed that night and for the first time in weeks, the nightmares didn't come. He slept straight through until his alarm. Woke up feeling like something had shifted. Like the weight he'd been carrying had lightened just enough to breathe.
Any day now, his phone would ring. And Mara would be on the other end.
He could handle the wait.
GOOD MORNING MESSAGES
L'Abri Sûr, Louisiana One Week After Dallas
Mara was in the training facility running through hand-to-hand drills with Winter when Quinn found her. The knock on the doorframe was tentative, which meant Quinn had something to say that she wasn't sure how Mara would react to.
Mara finished the sequence and grabbed a towel. "What's up?"
Quinn held up her tablet. "Got a response. Through Beth. From Ghost. Actually from Logan."
Mara's heart did something complicated in her chest. She kept her voice neutral. "What kind of response?"
"He's asking for a way to contact you directly. Says he wants to collect on that beer but Louisiana's a big state and he needs to know how to find you." Quinn pulled up the message. "He sent his phone number through Ghost. Asked if I could set up a secure line so you two could talk directly instead of playing telephone through three people."
Winter was watching with entirely too much interest. Mara ignored her and focused on Quinn. "A phone number?"
"I can set it up. Route it through enough layers that nobody could trace it back to us. As far as anyone tracking it wouldknow, it's just a random civilian number. No connection to Shadow Veil or L'Abri Sûr." Quinn was watching her carefully. "Question is whether you want it."
Mara looked at Winter, who was now openly grinning. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Nope. This is way more interesting than anything else I had planned." Winter leaned against the wall. "You going to call him?"
"I haven't decided if I'm even going to get his number yet."
"That's a lie. You're totally going to get his number." Winter grabbed her own towel. "Question is whether you're going to tell the rest of us when you do."
Mara turned back to Quinn. "Can you set it up without it being traceable back to us?"
"Already working on it." Quinn tilted her head. "You want this kept quiet?"
