“I feel like I should go get Aine,” Ava whispered.

“I’ll go get her if you want me to,” Tabon offered.

“Pen and Tara would probably come with her.”

“Are you talking yourself in or out of this?”

Ava shrugged. “I’m not sure what to say or not say to her. I don’t want her to feel left out of something like this, but I don’t want to make her sad either.”

Tabon leaned over and kissed the side of her face.

“You haven’t heard anything?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, look, you two,” said Odette. “You’re standing under the mistletoe.”

Ava looked up. “We are.”

Tabon kissed her and everyone clapped.

“When we were kids, Gunner and I begged our parents to get us a dog for Christmas.”

“I was telling Zary about that a few minutes ago. We wanted to name him Gui—”

“French for mistletoe,” interrupted Odette.

“That’s so sweet,” said Ava, looking at Tabon.

“You want a dog, baby? We can do that.”

“Does he say yes no matter what you want?” Odette asked.

Ava smiled. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

“That’s what I want for Christmas.”

“What’s that, sweetheart?” Madeline asked.

“A man who will give me whatever I want.”

“Oh, Odette.”

“Tired?” Tabon asked when she finished eating a stack of pancakes.

“Yeah. I should clean up, though.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Madeline. “I’m almost finished with the dishes. Go up to bed.”

“Thank you,” Ava said, kissing her cheek.

“We should head up too.” Gunner stood and pulled Zary’s chair out for her.

She looked as tired as Ava felt.

“I used to have to tell the kids not to even think about getting out of bed before eight on Christmas morning. When they were teenagers, Marchand and I would wake them up at eleven.”

“We’ll see you somewhere in between the two,” said Gunner, kissing his mother’s cheek. “Goodnight, Ma.”

“Can we really get a dog?” Ava asked him once they were in bed.

“Of course.”

“You’re so agreeable.”

“That’s because I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.” Razor turned to his side and caressed Ava’s face. “I mean that.”

“I am too, Tabon. I never dreamed…”

“Gunner and I said the same thing earlier.”

“I hope…”

“What? Do you have a Christmas wish you haven’t shared with me?”

Ava nodded. “I know it’s impossible, but I wish Striker could be here tomorrow.”

“Me too.” Razor wouldn’t admit it to anyone, especially on Christmas, but there was no trace of either Striker or Mantis anywhere in Somalia.

“You’re worried,” she said, looking into his eyes.

“More than I want you to know.”

Ava’s eyes filled with tears.

“See,” he said, brushing them away. “This is why I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to upset you more.”

“Why did Striker have to take this assignment? And before you answer, I know it isn’t that simple.”

“Even less simple given he mentored the two men who were kidnapped.”

“He didn’t have a choice,” she murmured.

“No, he didn’t. Just like I didn’t have a choice when you were in danger.”

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Of course.”

“What kind of dog would we get, you know, if we got one?”

“I’d prefer to rescue one from a shelter.”

“I like that idea very much.” Ava rested her head on his chest. “Merry Christmas, Tabon.”

“Merry Christmas, Avarie.”

When Ava opened her eyes, Tabon wasn’t in bed with her. When she looked out the window, she saw it had snowed the night before. The sun was shining, and everything looked as though it were covered in a blanket of diamonds.

Aine poked her head in the door. “Hey, sleepyhead. Are you ever gonna get up?”

“I’m up. What time is it?”

“A little after ten.”

“Why didn’t someone wake me earlier?”

“We thought it would be a good idea to let the two preggos sleep. Zary isn’t awake yet either.”

“In that case, come sit for a minute.”

“Ava…”

“You can pretend all you want with everyone else, but you have to be honest with me. How are you holding up?”

“Honestly, I’m okay.”

“What changed?”

“I talked to Alegria.”

“And?”

“She told me that Griffin and Mantis are the best of the best. Just because they’re out of contact, doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong. It only means that they don’t think it’s safe to make contact.”

“Did she say anything else?”

“So much. We talked almost all night.”

Ava folded her arms. “Are you going to make me keep asking what you talked about?”

“She told me about a few of their missions, without divulging any classified information, of course.”

“And?”

“There have been so many. She told me I’d get used to it. I’d always worry, but the more missions Griffin came back from safely, the more I’d trust how good he is at what he does.”

“She’s not worried about Mantis?”

“The way she put it, is that she’s worried, but she knows the team is made up of professionals who have been trained to do this kind of work.”

Ava wondered how much of what Aine was telling her she believed, and how much was her sister putting on a brave face.

“Did you hear about Gunner and Zary?” she asked, changing the subject.

“No. What happened?”

“They got engaged last night. Wait until you see her ring. It’s gorgeous.”

“Come on,” said Aine, pulling her up from where she’d sat on the bed. “Let’s go wake her up.”

“What’s going on?” Gunner asked Razor.

“With what?”

“Don’t pull that with me. You’re acting…sneaky.”

Razor laughed out loud. “Oh, yeah? I’m sneaky? Good thing I got into the line of work I did.”

“You know damn well what I mean. You’re up to something.”

Razor shrugged. “You’re imagining things.”

“The hell I am,” Gunner grumbled, walking away.

Razor breathed a very temporary sigh of relief. If Ava and Zary didn’t get up soon, the surprise he had planned would be ruined.

He bounded up the stairs two at a time, but when he got to the bedroom he and Ava had slept in, it was empty. Seconds later, he heard her voice down the hallway.

“Good morning,” he said, walking into the room where she was talking to Zary and Aine. “The three of you do realize it’s Christmas, right?”

“Aine said you were letting us sleep in.”

“And we were, but how much longer do you think we can hold off Sierra and Savannah?”

“I forgot about them,” Ava gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Those poor little girls. Why didn’t you wake us up?”

“No need to get violent,” he said when she swatted him. Razor looked over at Zary, who had the sheet pulled up to her neck.

“Uh, I think we should give your sister some privacy.” He took Ava and Aine by the hand and pulled them toward the door.

“Hurry up,” Ava hollered back at Zary.

“I’ll be right down after I dress,” she hollered back.

Ava wrenched her hand from Razor’s. “Give me a sec,” she said and walked back to the bedroom door. “It’s Christmas; you’re supposed to stay in your pajamas.”

When Zary didn’t answer, Ava walked back over to him. “Okay, Mr. Pushy, let’s hurry up and get downstairs.”

He nuzzled up against her and pushed her in the direction of their bedroom. “We could take a quick detour.”

“No way,” she smirked. “We can’t hold off Savannah and Sierra any longer.”

Razor left Ava in the kitchen and went to look for Gunner’s sister.

“You were a damn good actress last night,” Razor said to Odette as he followed her out to the garage.

“It’s a good thing my dad had heaters installed out here.”

“Where did Tabon disappear to?” Ava asked when Zary came downstairs. “Everyone is here but him, now.” She stood to go look for him.

“Odette is missing too,” said Madeline.

Ava heard the front door open, followed by the sound of a small herd of elephants bounding in.

“Puppies!” Savannah and Sierra squealed, trying to corral the three little balls of fur.

“Whose are they?” Sierra asked, giggling when the one she caught licked her face.

“That one is yours and Sierra’s,” Saylor told her daughter.

“And this one is ours.” Tabon handed her the puppy he’d scooped up.

“And what about that one?” Ava asked, pointing to the puppy nuzzling against Zary.

“That one is Gui,” Odette answered, looking at Gunner.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Yep,” she smiled.

“How could you tell the difference?” asked Ava. “They all look alike. What kind of dogs are they?”

“Odette and I decided that they’d pick their owners, and they did, and they’re mutts. When the shelter told us they had three from the same litter, we scooped them up.”

“Hey, Sis?” said Gunner.

“Yeah,” answered Odette.

“Would you mind if we called him Mistletoe?”

She laughed. “Call him whatever you want. He’s your puppy. I’m just his auntie.”

“That means you’re an auntie too,” Ava said to Aine as she put the puppy in her sister’s arms.

“He’s so sweet,” she murmured.

“Uh, I think he’s a she,” said Tabon, lifting the puppy’s tail.

“What should we name her?” Ava asked, scratching the puppy’s ears.

“We’re naming ours Jingle Bells,” shouted the girls, who were rolling around the floor while their dog jumped over them and back again.

“How about Dasher?” suggested Aine when the puppy squirmed out of her arms and raced across the room.

“Perfect,” said Ava, looking at Tabon, who nodded.

“This is the best Christmas ever,” said Sierra, hugging her mom.

“I agree,” whispered Tabon, kissing Ava’s cheek.

“Me too,” she whispered back.