One month later

Felicity walked along the newly installed section of fencing running the back border of Brothers In Arms. The woods loomed in the distance well beyond the enclosure and the sun felt warm and good on her skin. Blue skies shown bright above and for the first time in a long time, she felt totally relaxed and totally free.

She bent to tear off a large hunk of hay from one of the bales stacked near the fencing, grimacing a bit at the now familiar twinge in her right shoulder. The sling still bothered her sometimes, but she was growing more used to it each day, as she was the fact that her old life was over.

The wounds to her shoulder had been far worse than any of them had anticipated, including the trauma doctor who’d initially seen her in the ER. Since her surgery, she was starting to get some of the feeling back in her fingers, though her surgeons had warned her that she might never regain full muscle tone and use in that limb.

All thanks to Kevin Quinn.

That asshole was currently sitting in a California penitentiary awaiting arraignment on murder charges for Travis Felton and the other innocent victims of his misguided killing spree, and attempted murder charges for assaulting a federal agent, now ex-agent in her case.

Felicity stood near the fence and whistled loud, then waited.

Eventually, a small brown dot appeared from the woods beyond, growing larger as the animal moved closer. Fred, as they’d taken to calling the large buck, had a penchant for sneaking through the fence line and devouring the contents of the organic garden Vann’s fiancée, Mercy, had put in behind the storage shed on the compound. Jace had decided the best way to keep Fred out of Mercy’s garden was to keep him fed and happy-thus the straw.

Fred cautiously ambled up to the fence a few feet down from where Felicity stood and she slowly made her way over to him with the hay extended in her hand. Fred nibbled it through the fence, his large brown eyes looking up at her every once in a while as if to warn her not to come too close.

She laughed as he ripped off a large chunk then shook himself all over.

“Here you are,” Jace said, strolling up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I wondered where you’d walked off to.”

He kissed the side of her neck and she leaned her head against his shoulder to give him better access.

“Everything okay?” he asked, resting his chin on her left shoulder. “I know that phone call had to be hard on you.”

“It’s fine.” She sniffled. “I’m fine.”

She was too. Really. Things between her and Jace had never been better, and if there was any lingering sadness over losing her career at the FBI, it was a small price to pay for all the love and friendship she’d found here in California. Still, Jace was right. That phone call had been hard. It was mainly the finality of it all. She’d known once she’d gotten the prognosis from her doctors that she’d not be able to return to her position as a special agent any longer. There was no way she could pass the physical skills requirement test—not with her right shoulder permanently disabled. For a week or so, she’d thought about perhaps returning to DC anyway, maybe taking a desk job, doing research and analysis, but that would never make her truly happy. She loved being out in the field, loved interacting with people and living life. Getting stuck in an office somewhere would be hell on earth.

Today, though, her Director had called and offered her a teaching position at Quantico.

Tempting as the offer had been, she’d turned it down, recommending Ted instead. The guy would make an amazing teacher and mentor to new agents and she wished him every good thing.

Felicity fed the last of the hay to Fred, then brushed her left hand off on her jeans and turned to head back to the gym facilities. They’d turned the break room into a temporary office space until the old building could be gutted and renovated once the crime scene technicians finished gathering their evidence.

“Hey,” Jace said, taking her hand as he kept pace beside her. “I’ve been thinking.”

“I’ll alert the media.”

“Funny. Not.” He gave her a flat look then grinned. “Okay. Funny. Anyway, the guys and I were talking and we think you should come work for us here at Brothers In Arms.”

She frowned over at him. “Me? Really? Doing what?”

“Whatever you want. Mark can always use help in the office, then once you’re all healed up, maybe you could teach some of the classes too. Vann’s been thinking about starting a new curriculum based solely on the needs of women professionals. He said traveling around with Mercy has given him a whole new perspective on security.”

“I bet.” Felicity snorted. Vann and Mercy were so in love and devoted to each other it almost hurt to look at them sometimes. She was all for cuddles and kisses, but they were still in that can’t-keep-my-hands-off-of-you stage of PDA where a quick peck could quickly devolve into a full-blown make-out session without warning. For a guy like Vann who prided himself on his tough-guy, Teflon exterior, it was surprising—and humorous—to watch. “I don’t know. Honestly, I haven’t even been officially unemployed for a day yet. I want to take some time and find the right fit for me.”

Jace tugged her closer and slipped his arm around her waist. “May I suggest by my side?”

“That’s a given.” She kissed him sweetly then laid her head on his shoulder. “But I don’t want to rush into another career too quickly, you know? This time I’d like to do something to help people and make a difference.”

“Like what?”

“I’d love to work side by side with you, but I’m not sure what exactly I’d do. Maybe something working with female veterans? I wouldn’t mind teaching them classes, training them to be security professionals.” She giggled. “Sort of like what you guys already do here, but catering more to a female audience.”

“Hey,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve not heard any complaints from you in that department.”

“I’m talking about the training, dumbass.” She patted his perfectly formed, denim-covered rear for emphasis. “I just think women benefit from being around and learning from other strong women. That’s all.”

“Fair point.” Jace kissed the top of her head. “What else?”

“I think Brothers in Arms should hire some disabled veterans too, maybe through the Wounded Warrior Project. Those guys are heroes and so deserving and we have the facilities to train them. We can help them learn to cope with their new disabilities and maybe even help some of those Wounded Warriors get new jobs and new roles in society. We might have to do serious fundraising to get the program started, but I think eventually it would briing in another revenue stream for the company too.”

“Mark will love you forever if you can accomplish that,” Jace said.

“What about you?” she asked, stopping and turning to face him.

“What about me?”

Felicity wrapped her left arm around his neck and cuddled her right arm up to his chest. “Will you love me forever too?”

Jace gave her his slow and sexy smile, the one that still made her knees go weak every time. “Come a little closer. That’s it. Just a few more inches.”

When she stood mere inches away, snuggled tight in his arms, he said, “You, darlin’, I will love for eternity.”