Page 6 of Blade and Arrow Origins (Blade and Arrow Security)

FINN

It’s still hard to believe I’m here.

Not at my lonely apartment just outside Fort Collins, surrounded by blank walls and second-hand furniture, spending my nights watching reruns of Survivor until I’m tired enough to catch a few hours of sleep.

I’m not scrolling through old photos of my team, torturing myself with what-ifs and wishing I could go back and do things differently.

I’m not getting up to before dawn to go to a job I hate, my alarm blaring extra loud so my damaged hearing won’t miss it—another daily reminder of everything I lost.

When I’d wake from a nightmare on a strangled scream, my heart jackhammering as adrenaline flooded my body, I’d wonder if things could ever get better.

I would wonder if I deserved them to.

Until Cole came to me with his idea for this company, I was beginning to accept my life in Colorado as penance for the terrible mistake I made.

And when he asked me to join him, as much as I wanted to say yes, I hesitated.

“What about my hearing?” I asked, tapping my left ear as if he somehow forgot what happened. “I could be a liability to you. If the Army doesn’t think I’m fit for active duty, then—”

“That’s ridiculous,” Cole scoffed. “You’re more than fit to be on this team.

” Then his expression sobered as he held my gaze.

“I can’t begin to imagine the kind of adjustment you’ve had to make.

But you’re one of the best soldiers and teammates I have had the honor of knowing.

And I wouldn’t consider moving forward with this if you’re not with me. ”

How could I say no after that?

Especially when I was desperate to say yes?

So I took a chance. I gave notice at my job. I asked my audiologist for a referral to someone close to Sleepy Hollow. I loaded up my car and drove to Arizona to see my dad, then started working my way east across the country.

And now I’m here. No longer alone, but living in the same building as my teammates. Working on getting this company ready to open. Still not fully believing I was lucky enough to be given a second chance.

I won’t fuck it up this time.

Draining the last dredges of my coffee, I cross the living room to look out the window.

Patches of green are popping up across the expansive lawn and the trees are covered with buds just starting to unfurl.

The sun is breaking through the clouds left behind after last night’s rain, its heat drying the damp spots on the patio.

Zane and Leo are outside the garage; Zane on a ladder adjusting a security camera, while Leo peers at his laptop and calls out instructions.

I crack the window, letting a cool breeze waft in, and hear Leo saying faintly, “Just a bit more to the left. No. That’s too far. Now turn it to the right a little.”

Then Zane replies with a hint of irritation, “Do you want to get up here and do this?”

My lips lift as I watch the two of them go back and forth, bickering like brothers. Leo’s trying to hide his laughter as he directs Zane to move the camera just one more time, and I know Zane’s just pretending to be annoyed.

Once the camera position is set, Zane leaps off the ladder and tackles Leo, grinning as he takes him to the ground.

They start wrestling, an even match, with Leo’s massive size a balance to Zane’s martial arts skills.

After a minute or so, Zane emerges victorious, jumping to his feet and extending his hand to Leo to help him up.

As they head back to the house, both of them smiling, Leo’s rumbly voice carries across the lawn. “Just so you know, I let you win.”

Warmth fills my chest.

I missed this.

I missed my team.

I won’t let them down again.

A quick series of knocks sound at the door and I turn away from the window, then head across the room to open it.

From the lightness of the sound, I can tell it’s Nora, no doubt checking to see if I’m up and ready for our meeting.

No matter how many times I tell her I have my morning routine down to a science—a minute to get up and into the shower, two minutes max to wash up, another thirty seconds to pour my already waiting coffee—she still gives me a hard time about it.

This morning is no different. I open the door to Nora, who mimes shock as she sees me fully dressed and holding an empty cup of coffee. Clapping her hand to her chest, she asks, “Am I seeing things? Is this a doppelg?nger of the real Finn? Are you actually ready early?”

“Funny,” I grumble, but I can’t hide my smile.

It’s such a relief to see Nora this way—lighthearted and joking—instead of fragile and wounded like she was months ago.

When Cole and I went to see her in California, I knew it wasn’t going to be good, but nothing prepared me to find my teammate—my best friend—wasting away, her hold on life weakening by the day.

Now, she’s almost like the Nora I remember from before. Back to her punishing workout routine, joking with the team, calling me out on my shit, smiling again…

But she’s quieter now. There are shadows in her eyes that weren’t there before. There’s a slump to her shoulders when she thinks no one’s looking. And sometimes her gaze goes distant and sad, like she’s caught in her memories but wishes she wasn’t.

I know that feeling all too well.

Pushing the negative thoughts to the side, I grin at Nora and say, “I’m insulted. Are you implying I’m usually late?”

She shakes her head, sending her braid swinging. “Not late. Just… barely on time.” Then she adds more solemnly, “I know you wouldn’t be late. But I was just sitting around my apartment, and the quiet… it just…”

“I know.” My tone gentles. I give her braid a little tug, the only place I’ll touch Nora now. “Why don’t we go down to the conference room? Surprise everyone when I’m not the last to arrive.”

“Sounds good.” Nora flashes me a thankful look. Then her gaze moves beyond me, scanning the apartment. “Finn. You barely have any furniture. Or decorations.”

“I’ve been busy,” I retort. “Decorating my apartment is last on the list.”

As I set my empty mug on the table by the door, she says, “Still. We should get some pictures up. Photos. It can help, having things around to look at.”

I don’t really care about having a bunch of stuff on my walls, but if it makes Nora happy… “Okay. If you come over tonight, we can order some stuff online.”

“Or we could head into Sleepy Hollow,” Nora suggests as we head down the hallway.

“The downtown is really nice. I was checking it out the other day with Leo. He wanted to buy something for his mother’s birthday.

We went to this store with these gorgeous pictures of Rockefeller Park and the Catskills.

Plus, there were some cool Headless Horseman sculptures. You could get one of those.”

“A guy without a head riding a horse? I’m not sure that’s very relaxing.”

“Maybe not. But it’s part of the town’s history. So that’s interesting.”

“True.” I’m still not sold on having a weird headless guy in my apartment. “We can go look. And you can help me pick out something. Maybe after, we can check out that new brewpub. The Hop-less Horseman, I think.”

“Definitely.” Nora smiles at me. “It would be nice to find a place we can all hang out. Play pool and darts and stuff.”

“Who’s playing darts?” Rylan jogs up from behind us and falls in beside Nora. “Are you leaving me out because you know I’ll win?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “There’s no guarantee you’ll win. Maybe I’ve been practicing.”

Nora laughs. “Have you?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

Rylan shakes his head at me. “Even if you have been practicing darts, which I highly doubt, I’ll still beat you. Even with my back still messed up.”

Shit. How could I have forgotten? Ry had surgery on his back, and he’s mentioned—reluctantly—how his upper back still hurts and stiffens up sometimes.

“Sorry,” I start, “We don’t have to—”

“It’s fine.” He claps me on the shoulder. “I’m more than ready to kick your ass at darts.” Just as we enter the conference room, he adds with a cocky grin, “Maybe we should put a wager on it.”

“Who’s placing bets?” Zane asks from his seat at the long wooden table. “Whatever it is, I want in.”

Leo looks up from his laptop. “You don’t even know what they’re betting on.” After a beat, he says with a smile, “But count me in.”

“Back to old habits, huh?” Cole’s already at the head of the table, a folder and pen in front of him. “What are we betting on this time?”

As we all find a seat, Nora glances at me and tilts her head at the empty one to the left of Cole. She takes the one beside it and says lightly, “Come sit here, Finn. I want to talk to you about ideas for your apartment.”

A surge of emotion makes my throat go thick.

Without making a big deal about it, Nora made sure I could sit where I’d be able to hear Cole the best. “Thanks,” I murmur as I slide into the seat next to her.

She gives me a quick, understanding smile and then says to Cole, “We’re talking about checking out that pub in town. The Hop-less Horseman. And maybe playing darts, if they have it.”

“And someone—” Rylan emphasizes the word as he looks at me. “Thinks they can beat me at darts. Even knowing my record.”

“Sounds good,” Cole replies. “We should go there tonight, if everyone’s up for it. Take a break after all the work we’ve been doing.” He pauses. “And one of these days, someone’s going to beat you, Ry. I can’t wait to see it.”

“Ha.” Rylan lifts his chin. “I doubt it.”

Leo studies his laptop. “The website for the Hop-less Horseman says they have pool and darts. Their beer selection looks pretty decent—” Cole coughs, and Leo shakes his head at him. “Plus they serve pizza and wings. I’m down for going tonight if everyone else is.”

After a chorus of me toos and sounds goods , Cole opens his folder and straightens in his chair. “Okay. Now that we have that settled, are we ready to start the meeting?”

Following his lead, we all go quiet, sitting at attention. It’s like we’re right back at our old meetings back in the Army, totally focused and ready to discuss tactics and strategy.

Cole’s gaze sweeps the table before moving back to the thin pile of papers in the folder. Glancing down at it, he says, “First, I just want to make sure we’re on track for the opening.” He looks down the table at Leo. “Are we all set with the website?”

“Yes.” Leo lifts his chin at Cole. “It’s all ready. I have the encrypted application form for the pro-bono cases, plus the regular one for our business clients. As soon as you give me the okay, I can have it go live."

“Great.” Cole replies. “Since our official opening date is next Monday, I think we’re good for it to go live now. We already have some referrals for paid jobs, but I’d like to see what kind of initial interest we have in the pro-bono side of things.”

“Absolutely.” Leo nods. “I’ll get it up and running as soon as the meeting is over.”

“Perfect.” Cole skims the paper in front of him again. “As for headquarters, I know we’re set on security. How about the shooting range and our supply room? Are we all set?”

“We’re good to go,” Rylan replies. “Plenty of weapons and ammo, and I tested out the range yesterday. It’s great, and the soundproofing works perfectly.”

“Nice.” Cole gives Rylan a little chin lift, then shifts his gaze to Zane. “The gym looking good? Do we need anything else?”

“Nope.” Zane grins. “It’s all good. Thanks to Nora here.” He looks at her with admiration. “Your diagram was perfect.”

Nora smiles back at him. “I knew it would be.” To Cole, she adds, “The electrician is coming to inspect the elevator tomorrow. After that, we can start using it.”

“After we moved all the furniture in,” I add, laughing. “Talk about a good workout.”

Cole turns to me. “Have you heard if the SUV is going to be ready in time? It’s not critical, but it would be nice.”

“Yeah, I spoke with the customization company yesterday. They were just installing the bulletproof glass, apparently it had been out of stock. But they promised to have it ready by Friday.”

“Excellent.” He smiles. “Not that I’m anticipating anyone shooting at us, but better safe than sorry.

” After a beat, he adds, “Oh. I got the business cards. They turned out great. I’ll get a box to each of you.

” Reaching into the folder, he pulls out a small card and passes it to me. “What do you think?”

I look down at the card, cream with a little black blade and two arrows intercrossing over it. Printed above it are the words, Blade and Arrow Security , in a simple, modern font.

It’s perfect. A simplified version of the Green Beret insignia, a symbol we’ll carry with us forever.

The reality of what we’re doing slams into me.

This is happening.

We’re starting a company.

Against all odds, I got a second chance.

“It looks amazing,” I say. “Perfect, really.”

As we pass the card around the table, everyone says some variation of the same thing. And I don’t miss the emotion in my teammates’ eyes, probably having the same thought as me.

Once the card makes it back to Cole, he stares at it for a second, his throat working.

Then he takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly.

His voice dips as he says, “I know I said it before, but I’m so thankful you’re all here with me.

And this company—Blade and Arrow—I don’t think of it as mine. It’s ours.”

Shit. I am not tearing up at the conference table.

With a cough, Cole continues, “Well. I think we can wrap up the meeting. Work on getting the finishing touches in place. And tonight, we’ll check out this new pub.” He pauses. “Unless there’s anything else?”

My stomach picks this moment to make a loud rumble. Nora glances at me with her eyebrows raised. “Was that you?”

“Yeah.” I grin at Cole. “Since the meeting’s over, how about ordering breakfast? Your treat?”

He smirks. “What, you can’t make your own breakfast?”

“I can. But I really want a breakfast sandwich and I don’t have the stuff to make one. Come on.” With a hopeful look, I wheedle, “Come on. Just this once?”

Cole shakes his head, but he’s already pulling out his phone. “Fine. But just this once.”

Nora laughs. “Make sure to order extra or Finn will eat all of it.”

As my teammates take bets on how many breakfast sandwiches I’ll eat, I sit back and listen, feeling happier than I’ve been in nearly a year.

I thought I lost everything. But I was wrong.

It just took my teammates to remind me.