Page 45 of Fierce Hope
“Trust me,” Jade said, memories of her own father surfacing like bruises. “I know what it looks like when a father doesn’t actually care. You’re nothing like that.”
Their eyes met, something unspoken passing between them that made her heart trip over itself. The moment stretched, taut with possibility.
Then his phone rang, shattering the bubble of quiet intimacy. Deke answered, his posture shifting back to all-business as he listened. “Good. Keep me updated.” He hung up, turning to Jade with cautious relief in his eyes. “They’ve arrested Chad. He’s in custody.”
“It’s over?” Jade barely dared to hope.
“Part of it, at least,” Deke qualified. “The hit-and-run charges should stick. I can’t figure a guy like Chad will be able to make bail. Not anytime soon, at least.”
Relief flooded through her, followed immediately by an unexpected wave of melancholy. With the immediate threat contained, there was no reason for their current arrangement to continue. The thought left an empty ache in her chest.
“Well,” she said, fighting to keep her voice light, “I guess you can stand down from guard duty now. Get back to your real life—and DJ.” She managed a smile that felt too tight. “I should probably skip the birthday party tomorrow, give you all some space with your?—”
“No way. Chad wasn’t working alone. We both know that. Whoever hired him is still out there.”
“Besides,” he continued, his voice softening, “the team wants you there.” A heartbeat passed. “I want you there.”
The admission hung in the air between them, weighted with meaning beyond the simple words. Jade found herself nodding, unable to form a coherent response.
Deke reached across the table, his large hand covering hers in what started as a reassuring gesture. But instead of pulling away, his thumb traced a small circle on her skin, the touch lingering several heartbeats longer than necessary. Heat bloomed where their fingers connected, spreading up her arm and across her chest.
Their eyes met, acknowledging something neither was ready to name.
When he finally withdrew his hand, the phantom warmth remained, branded into her skin. Jade watched him return to checking the security feeds on his tablet, her heart beating an erratic rhythm against her ribs. She couldn’t help wondering which presented the greater danger—the unknown threat still targeting her, or the way her carefully guarded heart was opening to a man who could shatter it completely if he ever learned all her secrets.
26
Sunday afternoon,Deke surveyed the transformed hangar with equal parts pride and mild panic. Knight Tactical’s utilitarian space had undergone a mermaid-rainbow metamorphosis overnight. Twisted streamers in ocean blues and greens crisscrossed with rainbow colors above balloon fish “swimming” along the ceiling. The concrete floor—usually populated with training equipment and tactical gear—now hosted clusters of glittery tables and a makeshift dance floor where approximately fifteen sugar-fueled children careened like pinballs.
Despite the cheerful chaos, he found himself automatically cataloging entry points, sightlines, and potential security vulnerabilities—habits that hadn’t lessened since Chad’s attacks on Jade. The question of who had hired him remained a persistent shadow, even here amid balloon fish and glitter.
“We’re one speaker malfunction away from total chaos,” Jack observed, appearing at Deke’s side with a plastic cup of punch. “Nice execution on the decorations, though. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
“I didn’t,” Deke admitted, accepting the offered drink. “This was all Jade and the team. I just provided emergency transportation services.”
Jack’s gaze drifted to where Jade stood chatting with Kelli and Lauren by the snack table. “ She’s fitting in well.”
Something warm expanded in Deke’s chest at the sight of her—laughing at something Lauren had said, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her in weeks. She’d arrived early to help set up, quietly taking charge of final preparations with an efficiency that had impressed even Zara.
He scanned the room again, this time professionally rather than socially.
“You’re doing it again,” Jack observed quietly.
“Doing what?”
“Looking for threats in a room full of birthday cake and six-year-olds.”
Deke forced his shoulders to relax. “Hard habit to break these days.”
Jack snorted. “Eloquent as always, Williams.”
Before Deke could retort, Kenji sprinted past them, trailing rainbow ribbons like a comet. “CRISIS! The ice sculpture is leaking into the hors d’oeuvres tray.”
“Ice sculpture?” Deke blinked. “Since when do we have an ice sculpture?”
“Since Kenji discovered the Admiral’s expense account,” Ronan supplied, strolling over with Maya. “He’ll be explaining that one at the next budget meeting.”
Maya laughed, brushing her shoulder against Ronan’s.
