Operation 29 Vows and Victory #4
Cassidy’s grip tightened once. “Good, we got a lotta shit to do.”
Xander addressed the group. “I also wanted to invite everyone to the premiere of What Remains After Silence in LA. I’ll have VIP passes for all of you.”
The reaction was immediate chaos.
Curtis wasn’t there to scream, so Vickie did it for him.
Someone toasted Curtis and Gen again even though they were gone.
Someone toasted the task force.
Someone toasted new beginnings.
By the time the hours crawled toward early morning, they were all damn near holding each other up.
Ruxs and Green laughing with Judge, Duke and Quick.
Tech tucked under Steele’s arm while Free argued with Hart about marketing the Hart Locator to NASA.
Apparently, his best friend wasn’t interested in being a billionaire.
Syn and Furi were sitting together on the fence, with Nimbus close by, shoulder to shoulder, their heads bent close.
Ro, Micheals, and Mason were playing a never-ending game of cornhole with their new team of PIs and bounty hunters. They were so drunk, they’d changed the rules of the game from getting the bag in the hole, to how far away they could throw it.
Fox and Bull were swaying to the low music under one of the speakers, Bull’s arm around Fox’s back, his face lifted toward the stars.
Day came up beside him, quiet for once.
God pulled him into his chest. “You ready?”
Day sighed. “No.”
“No?”
“I’m not ready for any of it. Leaving. Starting over. Running a private security firm. Hollywood. Wearing suits and not chasing bad guys down the street. Seeing the guys on holidays only. Curtis being married. Gen being grown. Us…getting old. Dying from smog.”
God kissed Day’s temple. “You’ve got to stop worrying about this damn smog, sweetheart.”
Day looked at him.
“And we’re only as old as we feel.”
“Yeah, well my knees said I was ninety-seven this morning.”
God took his hand. “Come on.”
Day let him lead him away from the lights, the music, the racket of the crew breaking down the tent, beyond the tables, laughter and drunken squabbles.
They walked toward a quieter part of the property where the grass sloped down toward a pond, which reflected the stars. Strings of lights trailed along the fence behind them, but out there, the night had more room.
God stopped beneath a large oak, its branches spread wide overhead, leaves whispering in the warm breeze, fireflies blinking near the water.
Day stepped in front of him. “What’s in that brilliant mind of yours?”
God stared into those gorgeous hazel eyes that’d seen him at his worst and stayed. His husband, who’d walked through every impossible thing with him, hand and hand, shoulder to shoulder. And never faltered. “I was thinking…”
“About what?”
God slid his hands to Day’s waist. “About the first time I saw you.”
Day’s expression shifted, surprise warming his cheeks. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. You were loud, sarcastic, cocky, disrespectful…a fuckin’ pain in the ass.”
Day laughed. “Is this your idea of romance?”
“And I knew,” God kept going.
Day’s smile faded slowly.
God swallowed. “I knew I was gonna be by your side for the rest of my life.”
Day blinked, his eyes shining brighter.
He brushed his thumb along Day’s jaw. “We did a lot of damage.”
Day huffed. “That we did.”
“We saved a lot of people.”
“That too.”
“And we also lost some.”
“But not a single brother.” Day covered his warm hand over his. “And not each other.”
God glanced over Day’s shoulder, back toward the lights where their brothers were still causing a ruckus.
God dipped his forehead to Day’s. “I don’t know how to do this new normal.”
“Me either. But we’ll figure it out. Me and you.” Day kissed him, slow and sexy, brushing the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip.
His husband tasted sweet, like the four helpings of banana pudding he’d eaten.
Day pulled back just enough to murmur into his mouth. “We’re not gonna lose anyone now either. We’ll do holidays together. Movie premieres. More weddings.”
God pulled him closer. “Promise?”
“I promise. Every fuckin’ holiday,” Day urged. “That includes Earth Day and Black History Month.”
God laughed. “All right. I guess I can live with that.”
Day’s eyes searched his face, and that charming, crooked smile he loved more than life touched his mouth.
God kissed it, with the same heat, passion and intensity they were best known for.
When they eased apart, Day stayed close. “You ready to go back?” he whispered.
God listened to the laughter drifting across the grass. Ruxs shouting something obscene. Green answering with something worse. Fox’s laugh. Bull’s deeper one. Hart yelling for Free to get down from somewhere he probably shouldn’t be.
God smiled. “Not yet.”
Day rested against him. “Good.”
He wrapped both arms around his husband and stared out over the ranch…and just chilled.
There was no case waiting. No threat level five warrant to serve. No gunmen hiding behind any doors. No more IA bullshit politics.
Only the night.
The man in his arms.
The family behind him.
And the rest of their lives, wide open and waiting.
God held Day tighter.
After all the blood, sacrifice, and years spent running toward danger, peace had come for them.
And God, at last, was tired enough…and brave enough…to let it in.
The End.