He smiled sheepishly. "I never thought I'd get a family."
“Me neither,” Dante whispered. He reached over and clasped Rocco's shoulder. Neither man said a word, but they didn't have to. Years of loneliness had ended in one tiny heartbeat they couldn't even hear yet.
Later that afternoon, the three of them sat on the back deck overlooking the lake. Lark rested comfortably between them while the evening breeze danced across the water. "I've been worried," she admitted quietly.
Dante looked down at her. "About what?"
"What if I'm like my father?" The words hung in the air.
Rocco immediately reached for her hand. "Lark."
"I mean it." She looked toward the lake. "He loved in such a terrible way." She swallowed. "What if that's all I know?"
Dante gently turned her face toward his. "Look at me." She did. "You've already broken that cycle."
"How?" she asked.
"You’re worried about becoming him. That tells me that you’ll never be anything like him,” Dante said.
She frowned. "My father never once wondered whether he was hurting someone."
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You already care enough to be afraid of becoming him."
Rocco nodded. "Our child will never wonder whether they're loved."
"How can you know that?" she asked.
"Because they'll have three parents who choose each other every single day,” Rocco said. The knot inside her chest finally loosened. Maybe they were right, and she was worried for nothing, but they were right about one thing for sure—their baby wouldn’t doubt that he or she was loved beyond measure.
Rocco
Aweek later, Rocco stood inside the newly rebuilt STARR headquarters. The walls still smelled of fresh paint, and most of the office was still unfurnished. Across the conference room, Dante leaned against the window with his arms folded.
"I don't belong here,” Dante insisted.
Rocco smiled. "You sound exactly like I did when I became an agent."
"I'm serious,” Dante said. “I don’t have any right to be an agent.”
"You protected one woman for three years against impossible odds."
Dante shrugged. "I was doing my job."
"No.” Rocco shook his head. "You were protecting innocent people long before you had a badge."
Dante looked around the room. "I don't know the first thing about being an agent."
"You know loyalty,” Rocco said.
"You know restraint,” Dante grumbled.
"You know how to put someone else's life ahead of your own.” Rocco grinned. "The rest we can teach."
Dante was quiet for a long time before a smile covered his face. "Lark put you up to this?"
Rocco laughed. "No, I did it on my own accord." He extended a black folder across the table, and inside rested an identification badge.
Special Agent Trainee Dante Manzo
