Chapter 7 #3
Talon: In Tokyo. Everything here is incredibly organized, and I'm in love with it.
He was thinking about how Riley would react to Tokyo. He was sure she'd love the efficiency, the attention to detail, the way everything had its place and purpose. She’d told him how much she loved her old job as a compliance officer.
Riley: Very you.
Was it him? Yeah, it was. He demanded efficiency and precise actions from himself and his men. She understood the parts of his personality that other people found intimidating or obsessive. Still, he played it loose.
Talon: Is that an insult?
Riley: Observation. You like order, control, everything in its place.
"She's profiling you via text," Jug observed, reading over Talon's shoulder again. "I like her."
“Are you going to stand there?”
“Hell yeah.” Jug smiled. “Better answer her.”
Talon: Guilty as charged. What gave me away?
Riley: The way you text in complete sentences with proper punctuation.
"Damn.” Jug laughed. "She's got your number. Literally and figuratively."
Talon flipped Jug off … again.
Talon: Some of us have standards.
Riley: Some of us are control freaks
"She's flirting with you," Jug pointed out unnecessarily.
Talon shook his head. "No. She's being friendly."
"Skipper, I've seen friendly. That's flirting. And you're flirting back, which is weird, especially for you. But a good weird. When's the last time you let yourself be human with someone?"
When had he last been human? Before Riley, he'd been all tactical precision and professional distance. She'd changed that, made him remember he was more than what had happened during the Siege.
“It’s complicated.”
“Yeah, I know. I know you share something with Ranger that none of the rest of us could understand. My guess is you went through something together, which is why you trust him. Us? You made us prove our worth so you could trust us without doubt or hesitation, just like she’s proving her friendship.
You’ve been hurt, Skipper. Deep, I’m thinking, but don’t bottle it up again and turn away from her.
She’s the best thing to happen to you since I’ve known you. ”
Talon pocketed his phone. “Jug?”
“Yeah, Skipper?”
“I’m not going to hug you, so get that out of your head.”
“Damn it.” Jug sighed. “I haven’t had a hug in a long time.”
April
Talon was reviewing intel reports when Riley's text came in, and he abandoned the mission briefing without a second thought.
Riley: Random question: What's your favorite color?
She did this sometimes, asked him things that seemed insignificant but somehow revealed everything. He found himself looking forward to these moments, these glimpses into how her mind worked.
Talon: Blue. Ocean blue. You?
Ocean blue like her eyes when she'd looked at him with such trust during the rescue. Like the calm she'd found at the beach. Like the peace he felt when he thought about her.
Riley: Green. Forest green.
Talon: Why green?
Riley: It means life. Growth. Hope.
Of course, it did. Riley would choose a color that represented everything positive about moving forward, about healing, about the future.
Talon: I like that.
Riley: What does blue mean to you?
Talon: Peace. Depth. Endless possibility.
Like the future he was starting to imagine with her in it. Like the conversations they could have, the places they could go, the life they could build together if he ever took the chance.
Talon sat in the tiny Alaskan airport, surrounded by his team and trying not to think about how isolated this place was. The mission had gone well, but the remoteness was getting to him in a way it usually didn't.
Talon: Stuck in a tiny airport in Alaska. Population: My team and one very bored security guard.
He needed connection, needed her voice in his head.
Riley: Sounds lonely.
Talon: Not really. I have good company.
Riley: The security guard or your team?
Neither.
You. Always you.
Talon: No, you. These conversations keep me sane.
It was more honest than he'd meant to be, but it was true. She kept him centered, reminded him who he was underneath the tactical gear and the mission objectives.
Riley: Yes. Yes, they do for me, too.
Talon: Good to know I'm not the only one.
Good to know he mattered to her the way she’d come to matter to him. Good to know he wasn’t imagining the connection between them, wasn’t projecting his own feelings onto her responses.
May
Riley: Had coffee with a college friend who reached out to me on social. It was my first casual friend thing in months.
Talon's chest tightened with pride and something else—something that felt uncomfortably like jealousy.
She was expanding her world, reaching out to other people.
It was what he wanted for her, what she needed for her recovery.
But part of him had grown accustomed to being her primary link to the outside world.
Talon: How did it go?
Riley: Better than expected. Almost felt normal.
Normal—the word she'd been chasing for months. She was getting there, piece by piece, moment by moment.
Talon: You are normal, Riley. You just went through something abnormal.
He thought she needed to hear it, needed someone to remind her that trauma didn't define her, didn't make her broken.
Riley: When did you become so wise?
Talon: I have a good teacher.
Riley: Who?
Talon: This incredibly strong woman I know.
The helicopter ride over the Arctic landscape was supposed to be routine transport after a long, cold mission, but the northern lights had appeared like magic.
The dancing lights turned the entire sky into a canvas of green and gold.
Talon found himself thinking about Riley immediately and how she would react to this kind of natural beauty.
He imagined how her eyes would light up.
Talon: Currently watching the northern lights from a helicopter. Absolutely surreal.
Riley: That sounds amazing.
Talon: Wish you were here to see it.
The words were typed, and he hit send. They were honest and vulnerable and completely unlike his usual careful communication style.
Riley: Really?
Yes, really. He wished she were there, wished she were everywhere he went, wished he could show her all the beautiful and terrible and extraordinary things he saw in his work.
Well, maybe not the terrible, but he’d come to understand the terrible in the world made the extraordinary things that much more amazing.
Talon: Really. Some things are too beautiful to experience alone.
Riley: That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time.
If that was the nicest thing anyone had said to her lately, then everyone else in her life was failing her spectacularly. She deserved to hear beautiful things every day. He needed to step up his game.
Talon: Then people aren't paying attention.
Because anyone who was paying attention would see what he saw—strength, intelligence, humor, resilience, beauty inside and out. Riley was an amazing person, and the fact that she didn’t know it made him want to prove it to her.
June
Riley: Started taking self-defense classes.
Talon nearly dropped his phone. After everything she'd been through, she was choosing to learn how to fight and protect herself. Go, woman, go. That was fucking determination at its best.
Talon: Good for you. How's it going?
He was so proud of her that he could hardly contain it. This was huge, not just the physical aspect, but the psychological step of taking control.
Riley: Harder than I thought. But empowering.
Exactly what she needed. She needed to feel powerful instead of powerless. Strong instead of vulnerable.
Talon: The first step is the hardest.
Riley: The instructor reminds me of you. All business but kind underneath.
She sees kindness in me? Despite his reputation, despite the harsh realities of his job, she saw kindness. It was a gift he didn't deserve but would keep tucked away anyway.
Talon: Sounds like a good teacher.
Riley: The best kind.
Talon was stuck in yet another airport, but this time, the delay felt different. Instead of frustration, he felt … anticipation. Like he was waiting for something good instead of just killing time.
Talon: Flight delayed three hours. Send entertainment.
He could call anyone—his brothers, his mom, or dad, hell, he could catch up on mission reports. But he wanted to talk to Riley, wanted to hear something that would make him smile.
Riley: What kind of entertainment?
Talon: Tell me something I don't know about you.
There was still so much he wanted to learn about her—and not just the big things. He wanted to know the small details that made up her daily life.
Riley: I speak three languages.
Of course, she did. Riley was brilliant, accomplished, and far more impressive than she gave herself credit for.
Talon: Impressive. Which ones?
Riley: English, Spanish, and French. You?
Talon: Four. English, Arabic, Mandarin, and enough German to order beer.
The languages had been job requirements, tactical necessities. But sharing them with Riley made them feel like conversation pieces instead of just tools.
Riley: Show off.
She was teasing him and giving him grief. It was playful and warm and made him smile.
Talon: Job requirement, mostly.
July
Riley: Question: What do you want your legacy to be?
Talon was alone in his room again, cleaning gear and thinking about the mission coming up in six hours.
Riley's question stopped him cold. Legacy.
Most people in his line of work didn't think much beyond the next operation.
But he knew what he wanted, and it fit hand in hand with what had happened to his family during the Siege.
Talon: To leave the world safer than I found it. You?
It was his truth, simple and honest. He'd never wanted recognition—just the knowledge that his work mattered, that the people he'd saved got to live their lives because of decisions and actions he’d taken.
Riley: To help other people take care of the world we live in.