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As Fiona and Justin drove to the Protection, Inc. office, she said, “About that hazing thing I mentioned...”

“It’ll be fine,” Justin said absently. He patted her hand where it rested on the steering wheel. “I just want to tell Shane I’m sorry.”

She shot him an odd glance, then smiled. “He’ll be over the moon to see you.”

At Justin’s request, she had texted Shane to make sure he was at office, but hadn’t said anything other than that she was coming in. He’d texted back, The gang’s all here, having lunch. If you hurry there might be some sandwiches left.

They parked in an underground lot, where Justin gave an appreciative glance to the several beautiful sports cars, and also to a tank-like armored car. “Someone’s got a need for speed. Several someones, looks like.”

“The Dodge Viper belongs to Nick, the Porsche Carrera belongs to Lucas, and the Ferrari belongs to Grace. And the armored car is Hal’s. His previous car got blown up, so he got a bit obsessed with durability.”

“I can see how that could happen,” he allowed.

They walked into the lobby, where he glanced at the hardwood floors, black leather sofa, and animal photos on the walls. There was a wolf in a forest, a panther lying in wait on a tree branch, a snow leopard caught in mid-leap from one icy crag to the next...

“Ah-ha,” said Justin. “Nice shot of you. Where was that taken?”

“Destiny dragged me on a ski trip to Mammoth,” Fiona said. “She thought it’d be fun for me to be in my natural environment, and I couldn’t figure out how to say it wouldn’t without telling her stuff I didn’t want to get into. It’s a great photo, but that was the last time I ever let anyone take me somewhere where the snow’s the main attraction.”

“For our anniversary, I’ll take you to Death Valley,” he offered. “Hottest place on Earth. Good hiking, too.”

“That’s right, we have an anniversary now. And it’s in the winter. Nix on Death Valley. I vote for Tahiti.” She took out her cell phone. “Let me get you and Shane a moment before everyone pounces on you.”

Peering over her shoulder, Justin read the text, Come into the lobby. Alone.

“That doesn’t sound at all suspicious,” he remarked.

Shane came in. The door swung shut behind him as he stopped still and stared.

All the words Justin had meant to say melted away. He knew in that moment that there was no need for apologies, and that he had nothing to apologize for. Shane was the friend he’d lost and found and found again, this time for good.

“Hey, Comeback,” said Justin. “Long time no see.” 

“About time, Red.” Shane pulled him into a bone-cracking embrace.

For a moment, Justin was too startled to respond. In his experience, Shane was not the hugging type. Then he threw his arms around his buddy. If there had ever been a man who deserved a hug, it was Shane.

“Do I get a hug?” Catalina inquired from the doorway.

Justin and Shane broke apart, grinning.

“Sure you wouldn’t rather get your ears scritched?” Justin asked, then lifted her off her feet and swung her around.

“You want one too?” Shane asked Fiona sardonically.

She held up a hand to stop him, looking mildly horrified. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“You look good, Justin,” Catalina said, inspecting him. “Much better than when I saw you last.”

Shane gave him and Fiona a sharp glance. “How did you two find each other?”

“Well...” Fiona began.

Before she could go on, a whole crowd piled into the lobby. Justin recognized Ellie, the blonde paramedic who’d been caring for Shane after he’d been shot, and who was now visibly pregnant. But the rest were strangers.

A chorus of exclamations and questions arose from the crowd, half addressed to Fiona and half to him. He felt a little dazed. He’d only just gotten used to having conversations with anybody at all, and he hadn’t been the center of this sort of attention for years.

A young man in a black leather jacket slapped him on the back. “Thanks, man. Don’t think I remembered to say that before.”

“Yes, thank you very much,” said an elegantly dressed woman with flowing silver hair and silver tattoos winding down one arm. “I owe you a great debt.”

It was only then that Justin recognized the pair. The last time he’d seen them, she’d been in tattered and bloodstained dancing clothes, crouched in a dark alley and holding the man, who’d been naked, badly wounded, and pale with shock. 

“You must be Nick,” Justin said. “How’s your leg?”

“It’s fine,” Nick said, flipping his hand dismissively. “Completely healed. So what’re you doing here? Visiting Shane?”

Before Justin could answer, Fiona’s clear voice cut through the chatter. “Everyone, this is Justin Kovac. Also known as Red. He and Shane were PJs together. He’s a snow leopard shifter. And he’s my mate.”

The room instantly split into two factions. Shane, Catalina, Nick, and the silver-haired woman looked delighted and started congratulating him and Fiona. And everyone else—not just Fiona’s teammates, but the women who must be their mates—fell silent, staring at him suspiciously.

A handsome man with a lot of shiny black hair switched out the glare for a charming smile as he offered Justin his hand. “I’m Rafa Flores. Pleased to meet you. It’ll be nice for Shane to have another Chairborne Ranger to talk shop with.”

Justin had heard that one before, along with jokes about the Chair Force, and had a retort ready. “Our chairs travel at Mach 3.” Then, remembering Fiona saying Rafa was a Navy SEAL, he added, “I hear the surf’s great in Santa Martina. We should go some time. I’ll bring a floatie for you.”

Rafa chuckled, and when he stepped back into the crowd, his smile stayed.

A big man shook Justin’s hand and said in a very deep voice, “Great to see Fiona paired up. You probably know her better than we do now. You can see this gang loves teasing, but we’ve never been able to get any dirt on her. She’s so cool and collected. But I bet she lets down her hair around you.”

Feeling awkward, Justin said, “Well...”

A young man with a golden chain wrapped around his throat chimed in, “Yes, Justin, tell us something we can tease her about. Only in fun.”

“Like an embarrassing story from when she was a kid,” the big man went on. “Go on. Spill the beans on the ice queen.”

In fact, Fiona had told him a few stories that were exactly the sort of thing that buddies would tease each other about. But she was private. If her teammates didn’t already know those stories, then Justin had no right to repeat them. In a tone designed to squelch the entire subject, he said, “If Fiona wants you to know something about her, she can tell you herself.”

He expected the men to try again—the type of guy who’d pry for dirt on a woman, even with harmless intentions, wasn’t the type to drop it at the first refusal—and to accuse Justin of being uptight and no fun. Instead, they looked at each other and smiled.

“You’re a good man,” said the big man, in an entirely different tone.

“Very honorable,” said the man with the gold chain, sounding like he sincerely approved. “Fiona deserves no less.”

Shane shot them both an exasperated glance, “You guys, this is Justin. Of course he’s honorable.”

In a frigid tone, Fiona said to the men, “Have you had enough of testing my mate? Because I certainly have had enough of you doing it.”

“Oh,” Justin said, enlightened. “That was the thing you warned me about. I was expecting something a bit less subtle. Like, ‘See this shovel? It’s what I’ll bury you with if you hurt her.’”

He eyed the men with new appreciation. They’d not only been looking out for Fiona, they’d known her well enough to check for something that actually could hurt her. Of course she shouldn’t be with a man who wouldn’t keep her secrets, even seemingly inconsequential ones, or respect her right to have them!

“Maybe I’ll get a shovel,” Fiona said icily, glaring at them.

Justin patted her shoulder. “It’s fine, Fiona. No harm done.”

“Hal Brennan,” said the big man, offering Justin his hand.

Justin blinked, his perception of the man shifting. So that was Fiona’s boss—the one who’d sat with her in the snow, patiently talking her back to humanity. No wonder he hadn’t introduced himself till afterward. His little trick would never have worked if Justin had known who he was.

“Pleased to meet you,” Justin said, and meant it.

“I am Lucas,” said the man with the golden chain. After enough of a pause that Justin wasn’t expecting a surname, he added, “Dragomir.”

His hand, when Justin shook it, was oddly hot.

Except for Fiona, the women of Protection, Inc. had clustered together. Ellie and Catalina stood in a group with the silver-haired woman, a curvy black woman with short braids, a purple-haired woman in a ruffled pink dress and combat boots, and a redhead wearing casual clothing and very expensive-looking jewelry. The women who didn’t know Justin were openly staring at him.

“Hi,” he said, offering his hand to whoever felt like taking it.

The woman with braids introduced herself as Destiny, Fiona’s teammate. The redhead introduced herself as Lucas’s mate Journey, and the silver-haired woman as Nick’s mate Raluca.

The purple haired woman took his hand. “Hi. I’m Grace Chang, Rafa’s mate. Your hair, wow. Very retro. But you know, if you’re going for a 90s grunge look, you really ought to be wearing a plaid flannel shirt and black-and-white high-top Converse sneakers. Your jeans are okay, but you need to rip them up a bit.”

“A Pearl Jam T-shirt would work too,” the redhead suggested.

“And your hair should be bleached, not black,” Destiny said, examining it critically.

Instantly self-conscious, Justin lifted his hand to his hairline. “It’s not supposed to look like this. I’ll cut off the dyed part as soon as it grows out a bit more.”

The women all murmured sympathetically.

Grace rummaged around in her purse, which was shaped like a Hello Kitty with safety pins through its ears, and pulled out a slip of paper. “Got it! Oh, this’ll be perfect. Take it, Justin. Fiona was the maid of honor at my wedding. I’d be honored for her mate to have it.”

The other women leaned over to look at the paper, muttering softly amongst themselves and blocking his view.

“What...?” Justin began.

“Excellent,” said the silver-haired woman, straightening up. “Fiona deserves a mate she can be proud to take to any occasion.”

“And you’ll enjoy it, Justin,” said Catalina, grinning. “It’s very relaxing. Just what you need.”

“But what is it?”

“A Groupon for a luxury makeover!” Destiny held it up and read aloud, “‘Includes a haircut and coloring, a mani-pedi, full-face threading with shaping, eyebrow microblading, and mink eyelash extensions.’ But the best part is the manscaping!”

He had no idea what any of that was other than the haircut, but it all sounded deeply alarming. “What’s manscaping?”

Gleefully, Grace said, “That’s when they shave off ALL your hair!”

“Or shave it into shapes!” said Journey.

“Like a landing strip!” said Catalina. “Which is perfect for you, right? Since you were in the Air Force...”

Ellie made a graphic gesture with an imaginary razor.

“This is a luxury spa,” Raluca said reprovingly. “They will not shave your hair, Justin. They will use hot wax, followed by a laser.” 

Justin’s face felt as hot as if the wax and laser had already been applied. He looked desperately around for an escape route.

And then the penny dropped. Finally.

He took the coupon from Destiny and pocketed it. Keeping his voice and expression as sincere as he could manage, he said, “Thanks, ladies. You’re right, I need it. Especially the manscaping. It’s like the Amazon jungle down there. Only red instead of green. Maybe for Christmas I could have the manscapers dye most of it green, and just leave some of the red as trim.”

For the briefest of instants, they stared at him in very satisfactory horror. Then they burst out laughing.

“Are you all quite done?” Fiona inquired, her hands on her hips. “Has my mate run the gauntlet to your satisfaction?”

“Yeah,” Ellie said, her cheeks bright pink. “Yeah, we’re never doing that again.”

“Did not need that image in my head,” muttered Catalina.

“Just visualize it manscaped into an Air Force landing strip,” Justin suggested. “With some sequins woven in to represent the runway lights.”

“Stop!” She put her hands over her ears.

“You started it,” he pointed out.

Shane laughed and patted Catalina’s arm. “If you’d been in the PJs with him, you’d have known not to try that.”

“I was with him for two weeks, and he never even cracked a smile,” Catalina protested.

“That wasn’t representative,” Shane said. “This is what Red’s really like.”

His words struck Justin like a thunderbolt. He’d spent years in despair, believing that he’d lost everything he valued—most of all, himself. He’d thought that the man who’d played and joked and enjoyed life had died, and all that was left of him was a sort of living ghost. But here he was again, alive and laughing.

“Yeah,” he said in wonder. “This is what I’m like.”

Fiona put her arm around his waist and held him close. They didn’t need to exchange words for him to know she’d understood what he’d meant. “Come on. I seem to recall Shane saying something about sandwiches.”

As they headed for the breakroom, Fiona nudged Destiny. “You’re next.”

She shook her head, sending her braids flying. “Nah. I’m going to hold down the happy single slot.”

“So you and Ethan aren’t...?”

The briefest flash of sadness passed over Destiny’s face before she snorted. “Pfft! That never-here Marine and I are just pals. Come on, I’ve known him for over a year now. Don’t you think I’d have noticed if we were mates?”

Justin had no idea who Ethan was, but given that he and Fiona had been forced to sleep on the floor and in a bathtub to keep their hands off each other, he found it hard to imagine that mates could have been pals for a year without noticing.

Fiona shrugged non-committally, then said, “Well, there’ll be someone. And whoever he is, I’m going to make him blush harder than Justin did when you explained manscaping.”

“If you do, I’ll make you blush harder than Ellie did when Justin made us all visualize his Christmas-colored junk jungle,” Destiny retorted.

In the breakroom, they all sat down to eat some impressively good sandwiches. Fiona and Justin told the story of how they’d met, but ground to an awkward halt when they got to the part where they agreed to go to Venice together. Both of them glanced first at Shane and then at each other.

“That’s on me,” Justin said. “She wanted to tell you. I wouldn’t let her.”

“It’s all right, Fiona,” said Shane. “Red gave me the slip three times. No one’s ever been able to get him to do anything till he decides he wants to.”

“This time, I want to stay,” Justin said, and went on with the story.

When they’d finished their account, the team immediately volunteered to help them ambush Dr. Mortenson’s ambush. They worked out a solid plan for doing so, and decided to all fly out to Montana first thing the next morning.

Justin was impressed with how well Hal led them, getting everyone’s input, Justin’s included, while still providing strong leadership. He was equally impressed with how well everyone worked together, as smoothly and confidently as a PJ team. He loved seeing Fiona in her element, and to get the chance to once again plan out a mission with Shane. It made him feel like he was in the Air Force again, an essential part of something bigger than himself.

Shane and Fiona had both asked him to join Protection, Inc., but now that he’d actually met the team, he knew it wasn’t up to them. It was Hal’s call. No doubt Hal would want to observe him on this mission, see how well he performed and how he meshed with the others, and then—

“Justin?” said Hal. “How’d you like to join the team here at Protection, Inc.?”

“I’d love to,” Justin said, startled. “But don’t I need to try out? Or at least do a job interview?”

“You already did.” Hal leaned across the table to shake his hand. “Welcome aboard.”

Shane said, “Welcome home.”