Epilogue — Julia
Three months later
Copper Cove always smelled like spring — rain on damp earth, new beginnings. The kind of air that made you breathe a little deeper.
Hawk stood in my kitchen doorway, leaning one shoulder against the frame, wearing jeans and a long-sleeve shirt that made him look unfairly good for a man who still claimed he didn’t know how to dress casually.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Almost.” I tucked the last report into a folder. “If my captain asks, tell him I’m out doing something noble, like preventing a crime.”
“I’ll tell him you’re doing something criminal,” Hawk said. “Running away from paperwork.”
I shot him a look. “You promised not to slander me in public.”
He smirked, the cut above his eyebrow now a thin white line. “I said nothing about private.”
I shook my head, grabbed my jacket, and crossed the room to him. The moment I stepped close, his hand went to my lower back like muscle memory.
“Where are we heading?” I asked.
“Somewhere quiet.”
He kissed my forehead.
“You need a break.”
“We need a break.”
He didn’t argue.
Truth was, we’d both been burning at both ends since Missouri — debriefs, hearings, internal reviews. Veridian had sent shockwaves through every alphabet agency and tech contractor in the country. It would take years to unwind the damage.
But we’d survived.
Together.
Hawk had turned down the advisory role.
The General had not taken it well.
But Hawk didn’t care.
He’d accepted a different position — an instructor at a tactical training program right here in Mississippi.
Local. Stable. Sure, it was a side job because he still had his team, and they continued to rescue people and hunt down the most notorious criminals.
But he came home to me. Plus he was still with The Brave Team, only difference was I went with him.
He’d fought for that future.
For us.
And for the first time in years, I felt like I wasn’t bracing for the ground beneath me to vanish.
He led me outside into the late-afternoon light. The parking lot glistened with the remnants of a brief storm. Birds chattered in the trees lining the edge of the lake. We were going to dinner at my parents.
Hawk paused beside his SUV, turning me gently so my back pressed to the passenger door. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, eyes traveling over my face with that look I’d come to recognize — like he could breathe easier just standing close.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “You?”
“Better now.”
His thumb brushed my cheekbone — the one Reese had bruised months ago. The skin was healed, but the memory wasn’t gone. It probably never would be.
But that was all right.
Some scars were reminders of what we fought for.
“You think they’re really done with Echo?” I asked softly.
“For now,” he said. “But someone, somewhere will try again.”
I exhaled. “We’ll be ready.”
He gave a slow smile that warmed me from the inside out. “Yeah. We will.”
He opened the passenger door for me, then paused.
“Oh,” he said casually. “One more thing.”
“What thing?”
He stepped close again, slid his hand into his pocket, and pulled out something small — not a ring, I already had that, but a necklace with a locket.
“This is for you to put our wedding photo in, as soon as you set the date,” he said.
His voice quiet.
Hopeful.
Steady.
I stared. “Hawk…”
“I know it’s fast and we can wait a couple more months,” he added quickly. “I know it not yet. Just… whenever you decide.
My throat tightened.
“You sure?” I whispered.
He leaned down until his forehead rested against mine.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
I swallowed past the warmth rising in my chest and took the necklace.
“Okay,” I said.
A promise in one word.
He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles.
“Let’s go have dinner with your family. Dad is meeting us there,” he whispered.
“Good, we will tell all of them we are getting married next month.”
“Really, that’s perfect. I love you so much,” he said, wrapping me in his arms. All the guys will want to be there.
“I love you. Let’s buy Boone a new cowboy hat. His is a mess.”
“He won’t wear a new hat. His grandpa bought him that one, and he loves it.”
The sun broke through the clouds then, lighting everything in gold.
And for the first time in years, I felt like the future wasn’t something to fear.
It was something we were building — together.
I laughed as Hawk’s Brave Team pulled into my parents driveway. They lived with Hawk’s dad. We were all one big family.