Page 81 of Code Name: Tank
After Flint answeredthe group’s remaining questions, he left with Brenna, and Piper and I found ourselves alone when the rest of the team filed out behind them.
I pulled my chair closer to hers. “How are you feeling?” I asked, studying her face.
“Angry,” she said, then paused. “And sad. And confused.”
I reached up to cup her cheek.
“You’re allowed to feel all of those things at once, darlin’. Love doesn’t disappear just because someone disappoints us.”
“He wasn’t a good man, Tank. All the time I spent vilifying Flint, I should’ve seen James for who he really was,” she said, her voice raw. “I missed the signs…”
“Everyone did,” I finished.
“Except Flint,” she said with a half smile.
“Ready to get out of here? I believe I owe you a vacation on a beach somewhere.”
“Now? Right before Christmas? Your mother would have your head.”
“I chuckled. “You’ve got that right. Maybe right after New Year’s. By then, you should also be cleared to travel. It’ll be just you and me, darlin’. No rush, no pressure.”
As we walked toward the exit together, I realized that, rather than closing a case, we were opening the door to everything we’d been afraid to hope for. And for the first time since I’d met Piper Drago, the future looked exactly as bright as it should.
24
DRAGON
The scent of woodsmoke and pine made the camp feel cozy as I looked out the window at the falling snow. Tank arranged kindling in Cedar Point’s massive stone fireplace, making me realize how much I loved it here and would miss it once the holidays were over and his family returned to the West Coast.
I’d never felt more at home anywhere than I did here. Granted, it was a three-story camp with a spectacular view of Canada Lake. The boathouse was equally impressive. Not that I’d been in it to do more than glance around.
Enough time had passed since my surgery that I was finally beginning to feel like myself again—the chest tube was long gone, the worst of the pain had faded to manageable soreness, and my energy was slowly returning. What hadn’t changed was Tank’s unwavering presence beside me.
“Will we bother you?” Cameron said from behind me. “The kids and I are going to make some last-minute cookies for Santa sincesomeoneate all the ones we had earlier.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Of course not.”
“Yeah, Powell ateallof them,” said Sophie.
“Did not,” Powell argued.
Cam ruffled his hair. “That’s enough. We all know Dad is the one who left nothing but crumbs for poor Santa.”
I chuckled, loving how the camp buzzed with the kind of warm family energy I’d never experienced growing up.
“There,” Tank said, settling back on his heels as orange light danced across the room. “That should last until Santa gets here.”
“But then he’ll get burned!” Sophie shouted.
Tank shook his head. “Nope, he magically puts it out when he comes down the chimney.”
“Nice save,” I said under my breath.
“I’m gonna have to get better at that once we have little ones of our own.”
My eyes flared. “Of our own?”
“I guess we need to talk about that.” He glanced over his shoulder at his sister and two of her kids like I had. He winked. “Later.”
