Page 114 of Tattletale

My little sneak. She’s supposed to be at home, on bedrest. What’s she doing at headquarters?

“Anything else, Lance?” Vesper asks with one foot pointed toward the door.

“Yeah… One small favor I never got the chance to ask you.”

She arches one brow. “Yes?”

“Cricket and I are planning on getting married. I was thinking you could officiate. It’d just mean something to have your blessing, and I was just thinking…” I trail off, watching Vesper press her lips together so hard they lose color. At first, I misinterpret her reaction as frustration, but when I see her try to cover a sniffle, I realize she’s trying not to cry.

“I’d like that, Lance. More than anything. Let me know when you’re ready.” She turns around, and tries to leave, but I fly out of my seat and catch her at the door, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Her stiff body relaxes when she realizes I’m not going to let go until she hugs me back. “I love you, V. I love our family.” I kiss the top of her head.

She pulls away and looks at me with wet eyes. “The fact that you still know how to love is my biggest accomplishment. I love you too, Lancelot.”

She tries to slip out of my arms, but I continue to smother her until I’m good and ready to let go.

CRICKET

I wait for Lance in the break room with a frosted cupcake in my hand. I stupidly lit the candle, and if he doesn’t hurry his ass up, he’s going to have melted wax all over this buttercream frosting.

Perched on the counter, I kick my heels softly against the cabinets with nothing to do but wait and think. I reflect on the chaotic whirlwind of the past two months and how much someone can change in what seems like a sliver of time.

I used to think that you start life whole. Then slowly and surely, life chips away at you until you’re broken and fragmented. Hearts start off full and smooth, only to be left worn and jagged, full of sharp, dangerous angles, like broken glass.

But now, I think my mind is changing.

Maybe we don’t start with all the pieces. Perhaps each trial and tragedy adds to the full picture. It’s possible we need to live in hell to hope for heaven.

Luca didn’t break me. He added a fury in me. Because of Luca, I had to become stronger and more resilient. Lance’s betrayal didn’t take away; he grounded me. He loved me at all costs and valued my life when I didn’t value it myself. Gabriel taught me more than anyone can comprehend. He made me grateful for what I have. I watched the consequences of unrequited love tear him to pieces. And I will never again take for granted the people who love me wholly.

Lance, Vesper, Eden, Linc, and Callen…all this time, I was never alone. Never lost. I’m like a cricket, strong in numbers. I can mourn one family, while still celebrating another. And when I look at what life has added, versus what it’s taken away, my purpose doesn’t seem so hazy anymore.

I look up as the break room door opens, and Lance slips in, wearing a clean, white under T-shirt—that he usually pairs with his favorite leather jacket—and gray slacks. He’s still rebelling against Vesper’s business casual dress code. He closes the door behind him and leans backward against it, folding his arms across his chest. “This is not a bed, C. And as sexy as that dress is, it does not look comfortable. The doctor said—”

“I don’t care what the doctor said. Lock the door, playboy. Come here.”

I purposely hike up my skintight purple bodycon dress, worn specifically today to seduce Lance at the office. I uncross my legs, then set the cupcake on the edge of the counter between my thighs.

He turns and locks the door. Lance bites his bottom lip as his eyes trail over me but doesn’t move after that. In fact, he seems to fold his arms even tighter this time.

“Come here. I have dessert for you.”

“I see that,” Lance says. “And looks like you also have a cupcake.”

I smirk at him. “And you can eat them in whichever order you prefer.”

He grins wide, his smile spreading across his entire face. “What are you doing here, baby? Vesper told you to keep your ass out of headquarters until we’re in the clear from your head injury.”

The candle has burned down as far as it can, so I hunch over and blow out the flame. “I snuck into the live fire room—”

“Dammit, Cricket—”

“I have to practice,” I insist.

“But Vesper specifically said that gunshots could be triggering. You have a TBI.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Are you going to be a tattletale again and rat me out?”

---