The following evening, Jonathan and Gwen stood hand in hand in front of the charred remains of the diner and home that had been hers for a short few months.

She wanted to cry. Again. Her aunt and uncle had entrusted their life’s savings to her and she’d caused it to burn to the ground. Luis was out a job and a home. She’d spent hours on the phone with other restaurants getting her employees new jobs, most with better pay than they’d been able to afford.

The real kicker was the headline in both the Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers: Up In Smoke Lives Up to Its Name. A picture of her over the fireman’s shoulder on the ladder was the lead story. At least she wasn’t flashing her lady bits. Not a word, though, about the brave Guardian men who stopped a terrorist attack on the American Airlines towers.

Another gray SUV parked in the side lot, next to its twin. Alex, Griffin, and Quin sauntered over.

“We were on our way out, and I wanted to say how sorry I am about your restaurant, the building, everything.” Alex looked beyond tired.

“Thank you,” Gwen managed to get out before she started coughing again. The doctors have told her that may happen for several days, maybe even weeks. Somehow, she had missed the very tall man with short black hair approach the group.

“It doesn’t look like you going to buy me a drink at this establishment.”

A broad smile crossed Jonathan’s face. “Cruz. You son of a bitch.” Jonathan embraced the taller man with the one arm, back pounding bro hug. “You have time for that drink?”

“No, I need to get on the road. I want to get back to my Mickie, but I couldn’t leave Dallas without at least saying hello and reminding you we have a guestroom in San Antonio.”

As though he just realized other people were standing around watching the two of them, Jonathan turned to Gwen. “Sweetheart, I want to introduce you to an old friend, Cruz Livingston. Cruz, I’d like you to meet Gwen Shaw.” After a brief shake, he introduced Alex, Griffin, and Quin. “Cruz and I met at Quantico. He was going through the FBI Academy and I was back on base for some additional training.”

Alex was suddenly interested. “You’re FBI? I ran the tactical operation here on the ground for USSOCOM.”

Cruz’s eyebrows raised then he glanced at Jonathan. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were right in the middle of everything.”

Jonathan gave Gwen a hug as he pulled her closer to him. “You have no idea just how close.”

“Word has it you destroyed the local cell,” Alex claimed.

“We finally captured the Dallas cell leader, Aqil Faris, who gave himself that Arabic name of Intelligent Knight. I guess he thought of himself as a knight of ISIS.” Cruz chuckled. “By the way, his real name was Tyrone Jackson. That’s what took you so long to find him.”

Griffin shook his head. “We heard he was one of the subcontractors for the dry wall in the towers and placed over two hundred pounds of explosives inside the walls attached to throwaway phones.”

Cruz nodded. “Your intel is correct.”

“Why did he do it?” Gwen asked.

“He did what he was instructed to do,” Alex explained. “While in college, he became a Muslim, not that he had any religious affiliation while a youth. He was recruited into the Dallas cell, even went to Iraq to study directly under Caliph Ibrahim.”

“Believe it or not, that’s how a lot of American young men are being influenced into terrorism,” Cruz noted.

The breeze changed directions and Gwen was assaulted with the smell of garbage and char. “What am I going to tell my aunt and uncle. My family is going to disown me.”

“Actually, that was another reason we stopped.” Alex held out a slip of paper. “This was an act of terrorism just as much as the bombs in the American Airlines towers. This woman will help you get the money you deserve to rebuild, regardless of what the insurance company pays.”

Quin stepped forward. “Do you think they’ll rebuild the restaurant?”

“No, they want to retire and travel more in their motorhome.” Gwen sighed. “They’d talked about selling the land. Someone offered them a good price so he could build condos here. It is a good location.”

“That’s why I built in this area.” Alex checked his watch.

“Can I get Luis’s phone number?” Quin asked. “I’d like to hire him to cook for us when we move into the new building.”

“Now I wish we were staying here,” Jonathan retorted.

“I need you in San Francisco,” Alex reminded him.

“Good thing I got to see you now,” Cruz said. “Looks like you’re leaving Texas.”

Jonathan pulled her in close and kissed her temple. “Yes. It looks like were moving to the West Coast.”

Cruz looked at his watch. “Well, I’m sorry we are not going to be able to have that drink. I really need to get on the road. It’s a long drive back to San Antonio.” He stepped up to Jonathan and gave him another hug. “Let me know if you find a few days to visit us down south before you head west. Mickie and I would love to show you around the area.”

Jonathan looked at her questioningly.

“I haven’t been to San Antonio in years.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “I think we can work that into our travel plans.”

“We need to leave, too,” Alex announced. He glanced up from his phone with a soft smile. “Katlin will be touching down just about the same time we will.”

“Before you leave,” Gwen hurriedly asked, “I haven’t seen Kane since…”

Quin smiled at her. “He’s now working in our operations center, and I have him set up to see one of the top endocrinologists in the state. The VA hospital is good, but this doctor is better.”

Gwen threw her arms around Quin, careful of his stitches. After a brief hug, she moved to Griffin. He was next in line, so, why not.

Alex welcomed her with open arms. “If there is ever anything I can ever do for you, you have my personal number. Don’t hesitate to call. Once you two are settled in San Francisco, we’ll talk about job opportunities for you.”

“Thank you, Alex.” She didn’t expect him to help her find a job, but it was sweet of him to offer.

“Hey, that’s my woman you’re holding,” Jonathan challenged his boss.

With Jonathan’s arm around her, she felt safe as they waved goodbye.

“You ready to go diamond ring shopping?” He encircled her and just held her.

She started to giggle. “I was thinking smoky topaz would be more appropriate.”

“I happen to know they have black diamonds.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Would that be close enough?”