Page 94 of Fierce Hope
“What in the ...” Deke muttered, unable to finish the thought.
Across the room, Izzy, dusted in gold and silver sparkles, waved cheerfully. She broke away from Zara, Kenji, and a very pregnant Lauren Daggett to greet them.“¡Bienvenidos, amigos! We might have gone a little overboard.”
Deke raised an eyebrow. “A little?”
“It was DJ’s idea,” Izzy said, not looking remotely apologetic. “He said we needed ‘maximum festiveness.’”
Hard to argue with that. He brushed at the legs of his jeans. “How long until we finally get rid of all this glitter?”
Izzy laughed. “Based on what happened after Chantal’s birthday party? Approximately never. We’ll be finding it in equipment cases for the next decade.”
Jade laughed beside him, her eyes bright with amusement. “I’m guessing this isn’t standard protocol for mission completion?”
“Oh, it absolutely is,” Kenji called, approaching with two cups of punch. “Knight Tactical rule number seventeen: Always celebrate with excessive glitter.”
Deke accepted the offered drink. “I don’t remember voting on that rule.”
“It was a unanimous vote while you were ... not there,” Kenji replied with a straight face.
Across the room, Ronan and Maya were sharing a quiet moment near the refreshment table. Ronan gently brushed glitter off Maya’s cheek, leaning in for a tender, lingering kiss.
Which, naturally, was met with immediate team-wide reaction.
“Get a room!” Kenji hollered.
“Gross,” Austin muttered, making a face.
Ronan? Unapologetic. Kissed her again.
Deke grinned, genuinely pleased to see Ronan happy. The team had always been close, but the bond was stronger than ever now—not just as operatives, but as family.
His gaze automatically searched for DJ.
Found him mid-laser-tag battle, darting between tables as Griff, Christian, Izzy, and a handful of team kids gave chase.
DJ’s laughter rang out, bright and carefree, his eyes glowing with joy.
Deke exhaled, feeling something deep and unfamiliar settle in his chest.
This. This was everything.
The hangar doors slid open, drawing the room’s attention.
Jack Reese led the way, followed by Ethan, Star, Seely, and Blair—fresh off a three-day mission in South America, looking exhausted but amused.
Jack scanned the scene, his weathered face cracking into a grin. “I see we missed another glitter explosion. Who authorized this?”
Kenji shrugged innocently. “After Chantal’s birthday—it’s tradition now!”
Ethan groaned dramatically, running a hand through his short blond hair. “This stuff multiplies. We’ll never get it off our gear.”
Star playfully smacked his shoulder. “You need a little sparkle in your life, husband.”
“What I need is a shower and about twelve hours of sleep,” he retorted, but his smile betrayed him.
Jack approached Deke, shaking his hand firmly. “Heard you had some excitement. Everyone okay?”
“We are now,” Deke confirmed. “Thanks for sending reinforcements.”
