Toni gave Jennifer a tight hug and didn’t want to let go. “Nope. We’re just going to stay like this forever,” she said into her sister’s hair.

Jennifer let out a laugh. “Well, in a few months, I don’t think you’ll even be able to fit your arms around me, so I think there’s a time limit.”

“I’ll hug your ankles. I’ll figure out a way.”

Jennifer let out a laugh. “Oh, I know you will.” When she pulled away, Toni reluctantly let her go. “You can do anything you set your mind to. Now will you promise to set your mind to staying out of trouble for a little bit?”

Toni raised her brows and tried to think of the best way to lie to her sister. “You know I’m going to be there front and center for the birth!”

Jennifer obviously didn’t miss the fact that she’d avoided answering the question. “Toni. Come on. You have plenty of money and things between you and Scott seem to be going good. Trust me, I know from personal experience how hard it is to slow down, but if there’s ever a good time to take a break, it’s now.”

“I know.” And she really did know that she needed to slow down before it got her killed, but she had favors to repay and promises to keep. “Go.” She finally stepped away from her sister. “Call me as soon as you and Austin find somewhere to settle down for a bit.”

“Will do. And we’ll be in touch. Tonihateseverything.com, right?”

“Always,” she said.

Jennifer nodded and then reluctantly pulled herself away.

Toni went back inside the hotel she and Scott had been staying at. Not the same one where the terrorist Jonathan Sterling had been unfortunately murdered. The police had been unable to get any security feed from that night, and the investigation had been admittedly lackluster once it was determined that Sterling was the reason for the bombing a few weeks ago.

So now things were going back to normal for the city, but unfortunately normal just wasn’t a setting she was used to. She was walking past the hotel bar when she saw the familiar brown hair she’d become so used to. Scott sat alone, nursing a drink. Even though they’d finally got the best of Sterling, now that they were on the other side, things were... strange. But hopefully she could fix all that.

She chewed on her bottom lip as she made her way to the table Scott was at. “This seat taken?”

He glanced up at her and held out a hand. “All yours.” Even though he’d seemed rather melancholy since they’d killed Sterling, his eyes still lit up when he saw her.

She pulled out the chair and took a seat, giving Scott a soft smile. “Jennifer just left.”

“Sorry I missed her.” He reached for his glass, seemingly belatedly realizing it was empty. He wasn’t slurring and his eyes were clear, so she guessed that it was his first drink.

Ever since Sterling, Scott had been a contradiction. Whenever they were together, he was... fine. He was more than happy to keep up with whatever they were doing even though he’d never said the L word since that day.

But whenever she caught a glimpse of him when he didn’t know she was looking, she saw the bit of sadness behind his eyes. For a while, it had killed her. Was he thinking about Catherine? Was he regretting firing that bullet?

“So...” she said finally.

“So.”

“What now?” The question was blunt, but they were past the point of tiptoeing around the issue.

“Are you going back to California?” he asked.

She sat up straighter. She had kind of figured that this was all up to him. She wasn’t planning to go anywhere. “No,” she said honestly. “Are you going back to the police department?”

“I just killed a guy,” he reminded her.

“You did it because he was charging me.”

He narrowed his eyes as he met her gaze. “We both know that’s not why I did it. I always figured I’d go back to the force after all this, but things have changed now.”

“What changed?”

“I don’t feel bad about it.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you make a pretty good criminal.”

He let out a snort. “That’s not supposed to be a compliment.”

“You do. You take bad people like me and put their talents to good use.”

“You were never a bad person.”

“Agree to disagree. What if you could do more of that? Take bad people and make them good?”

He frowned. “Like work at a rehab or something?”

“Or something.” Toni leaned forward and grabbed a folder out of her bag, setting it on the table. She kept her hand on it to keep Scott from reading it before she could explain. “You never used any of the money we got from the job we worked on Stranger.”

“I don’t need a lot of cash.”

Considering his state of employment, she disagreed, but didn’t say that. “Well, I took the liberty of putting your cash into a promising business venture.”

She thought he’d be upset, but the corner of his mouth turned up. “You did what?”

“I bought you a present with your own money. Because I’m a giver like that.” She then pushed the folder across the table. “I kind of figured that you wouldn’t want to go back to being a cop after you figured out that you’re such a good thief and all.”

“I never stole anything.”

“You helped steal a lot of things. But I happen to know about a security firm full of bad dudes that are going through a change of ownership. So I took a huge chunk of your ill-gotten gains and bought the firm.”

He opened the folder then and scanned the first pages. “You bought Drake Securities?”

“I never liked that name. I think Hart Securities sounds much better.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with a security firm?”

“Look through the pages. These guys are from all walks of life and each were under Sterling’s thumb for a different reason. And it’s not just the guys we worked with at Slade’s. There are cells all over the world. If we don’t take over, some warlord or kingpin will put them to work. So why don’t we put them to good use? As in use them to make the world a better place?”

“That’s a job for the police.”

“Like how the police handled Sterling?”

His face went hard at the reminder and Toni continued. “We’re going to use our evil powers for good. We’re going to take down the people who have beat the system. The criminals and crooks that the justice system wasn’t built for. And we’re going to do it together. Besides, you can’t say no. We already have our first client.”

“You booked a client already?”

“We both did. Slade. You’re his boss now, so you kind of need to be nice to him.”

“Screw Slade. I’m more worried about Gage. Last time I saw him, I gave him a hell of a shiner.”

She held her breath at that. It was one thing to give a pretty speech about helping the less fortunate; it was another thing to point out that they were going to be working with the guys who had just tried to kill him.

“You’re coming with me, right?” he asked.

“Of course. Why?”

“Because I’m not doing it without you.”

She grinned widely at that. She really shouldn’t be so happy about the words, but a little thrill went through her. “I’ll be with you as long as you need me.”

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. She let her eyes drift shut as she appreciated the warmth and strength for just a second. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me forever.”

~~~THE END~~~