Page 95 of Over the Edge

“I’m not saying no,” I clarified, not sure why it mattered that he understand that. “Just… I need to sort some things out first.”

“Things?” The question was pointed, his gaze even more so.

I thought of Lyric—her fierce competence in the field, the vulnerability she tried so hard to hide, the way she’d held my hand in the helicopter when I was slipping away.

The way she’d looked at me when I told her I loved her, like she was seeing a ghost and a miracle simultaneously.

“Yeah,” I said. “Things.”

Ethan nodded once, accepting my non-answer. “The team’s on stand-down for another week. After that, we’re back in rotation.” He straightened from his position by the window. “Don’t take too long. Some opportunities don’t wait around.”

I knew he wasn’t just talking about the job offer. The man never wasted words, and he certainly never stated the obvious unless there was a message beneath it. He was telling me that Lyric wouldn’t wait forever, that what had started between us in Monte Carlo needed to be addressed directly, not left to wither in uncertainty.

“Message received,” I said dryly.

A ghost of a smile touched Ethan’s lips, there and gone so quickly I might have imagined it.

I nodded, shouldering my bag and heading for the door. My hand hovered over the handle as I suddenly found myself balanced between two futures—the solitary path I’d walked for seven years, and a new one that offered connection, purpose, and complications I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

I paused at the threshold, looking back at the man I’d once called friend, then enemy, and now... something in between. “Why the change of heart, Ethan? Really.”

He considered the question, his blue eyes serious. “Because I’ve seen how you look at her.” A pause, weighted with meaning. “It’s how I used to look at Maya.”

He looked so… sad. Defeated. If I lost Lyric the way he’d lost Maya, I don’t know what I’d still be

I swallowed hard. “Tell Lyric I’ll be there as soon as can.”

He looked so… sad. Defeated. If I lost Lyric the way he’d lost Maya, I didn’t know what would be left of me. Maybe nothing at all.

I swallowed hard. “Tell Lyric I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Ethan didn’t nod. Didn’t smile. Just held my gaze like he was seeing all the pieces I didn’t say out loud.

“Tell her yourself,” he said quietly. “She’s waiting.”

CHAPTER30

LYRIC

I’d surviveda firefight with killer drones, been drugged and captured, killed an international arms dealer, and nearly lost Flynn to a knife wound, yet somehow, walking into Edge Ops headquarters felt more intimidating than any of it.

I’d stayed with Flynn for as long as I could at the hospital in France, but neither France nor Monaco was too happy about the chaos we’d caused off their coasts, so Ethan had insisted I return stateside with the team. The doctors had assured us he would make a full recovery, but he needed time to heal.

And I couldn’t deny that I also needed the time and space to figure out what came next.

For me and my career.

For Flynn and this thing between us.

But Flynn left the hospital two weeks ago, and I hadn’t heard a word from him. He’d gone off-grid, which was apparently typical Flynn behavior because when I complained about it, Alistair had shrugged and said, “Shepherd always disappears to lick his wounds. He’ll turn up when he’s ready.”

I wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or infuriating.

Edge Ops headquarters sat on the outskirts of Seattle, in the shadow of Mount Rainier, and looked more like a high-tech startup than a black ops base—all sleek glass and modern furniture, with state-of-the-art security that made the Pentagon’s look like dollar-store padlocks.

I nodded at the security guards as I passed through the final checkpoint, my palm print and retinal scan confirming that I belonged here now. The thought still felt strange, like borrowed clothing that hadn’t quite adjusted to my shape.

Rafe Castellanos was the first to spot me, looking up from where he was cleaning his rifle at one of the workstations. His leg was still in a cast from the op that killed Maya, but boredom had apparently overruled doctor’s orders. Trent had him on light duty to keep him from climbing the walls.

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