Page 33 of Covert Temptation (SEAL Team Blackout Charlie #4)

Kennedy was nodding at whatever the suit was saying to her. Then Alyssa stepped up to her and hugged her again.

Seeing that Kennedy had her friend back on her side, the knot loosened in Dante’s chest. “Good. That’s good. She deserves something solid.”

Con leveled him in his stare. “And what about you?”

Dante blinked. “What about me?”

“You left your post. Your ward got kidnapped. You flouted half a dozen protocols.”

Dante’s gut clenched. “So how much trouble am I in?”

Con’s lips quirked. “You detained a guy connected to Cipher. You extracted your target with no civilian involvement. And you came back with all your limbs intact.”

“Though he does have a nicked liver.” Steele sounded all too amused by that.

Dante shook his head. “Asshole.”

Steele huffed out a laugh, unruffled as always.

“What do you think is going to happen to you? You’re one of us, King. You’re not going anywhere.”

He hesitated. “Did I hear you mention I’d spend more time in the field?”

“As soon as you heal.”

Dante let out a breath. “Thanks.”

“Oh, and Dante?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not just coming back. You’re leading the next operation in Denver’s place.”

Dante blinked.

“But only,” Con added with a grin, “if you don’t go soft on us now that you’ve got something else to fight for.”

Dante chuckled. “Too late. I told you before, I’ve already pulled a Con.”

“Looks like everything worked out pretty damn well then.”

Dante looked at Kennedy through the glass again, his voice quieter. “It does.”

He was the luckiest man in the world.

* * * * *

Three days since she and Dante arrived on the Blackout base. Three days of laughter and peace that Kennedy never would have expected.

With Dante still healing, they had long talks and long naps. They took short strolls around the beautiful garden and ate pizza with too much cheese, and had a SEAL team that, despite their gruffness, rallied around her and Dante like they were the heart of the family.

The best part was feeling safe…and it felt like she’d never be afraid of anything again. Not of being alone, or even of the dark.

There were still shadows to deal with, tucked in the corners of her mind. She was still braced for someone to rip it all away.

She had a man she loved with all her heart and soul, and she had Alyssa, her best friend in the world, back on good terms with her.

After their reunion, Alyssa stayed with Kennedy when she talked to the FBI about her ties to the person who wiped her history from existence. In that moment, they informed her that the person responsible was actually Daniel Sheen.

She thought she’d shatter from the weight of knowing she really had almost gotten Alyssa killed, and placed others in danger. But Alyssa was there to assure her that she wasn’t in trouble, and she’d really been given the clean slate she’d sought from the very beginning.

She stared out the oversized window of Dante’s room, gazing at snow swirling in the air but never finding a place to land.

Dante was downstairs behind the computer, working despite doctor’s orders to take it easy. Kennedy had given up arguing with him. He might not be the grumpy SEAL she first met, but he would always be a stubborn one.

She pressed a hand to the cold glass of the window, her own mind whirling with all the changes that were taking place so fast in her life.

Alyssa’s voice echoed in her head from their talk days before. Just the two of them. No questions. No accusations. No defenses. Just…healing.

“I need to ask,” Kennedy had said quietly, seated beside Alyssa in a private corner of the base like old times in so many parts of the world they’d traveled together. “Did you have anything to do with this job offer?”

Alyssa turned toward her, one eyebrow arched. “What do you think?”

“I think… I don’t know what to think.”

“I didn’t pull strings, ” Alyssa said gently. “But I may have reminded them that you have the skills. I saw the whiteboard. That timeline you built? I’d know those hearts anywhere.”

Kennedy had blinked fast, laughter bubbling up through her throat and clearing the tightness she hadn’t realized was there. “You really did teach me to color-code with flair.”

They’d laughed—the kind of laugh that broke tension and rebuilt trust. When Alyssa hugged her, it didn’t feel like forgiveness. It felt like friendship reclaimed and restored.

Now, that moment still lingered in Kennedy’s mind as she heard footsteps behind her.

Dante.

She didn’t need to turn around to know. The shift in the air, the subtle intensity he carried. And the way her pulse responded? Unmistakable.

He leaned against the doorframe, looking too damn good in a gray T-shirt and jeans. The bulge of a bandage on his side where he was still healing reminded her of how close they’d come to losing everything.

Kennedy crossed the room, her boots lightly tapping on the marble tile that ran through the entire base. Dante’s eyes tracked her, slow and lingering, like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

“You should be resting, not working,” she murmured.

“I am resting.” His eyes twinkled. “Resting after having to explain to Steele that pineapple doesn’t go on pizza.”

She laughed and reached for his hand. “Well, if you’re finished arguing the finer points of pizza construction, I was hoping you were up for a drive.”

He cocked a brow. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. You’re still under protection.”

“I cleared it with Con.” She felt surprise ripple through him and gave his hand a small tug. “C’mon. And I’m driving—no arguments.”

The drive was quiet as they headed south. Snow clung to the edges of the road, melting slowly in the late morning sun. Dante kept shooting her suspicious glances, but for just this once, she didn’t mind being scrutinized.

“You really aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“I’m the one trained in tactical surveillance and classified infiltration, and you’re the one keeping secrets.”

“Everyone’s got to have a hobby.”

But the truth was, this wasn’t a game. This mattered.

When they pulled up to the university campus, Dante froze. His body went still in that way she recognized now—not from fear, but from emotion buried deep. He knew why they were here…and who they were here to see.

He stared at the banner stretched between the gates. Congratulations, Graduates!

His voice came low and a little hoarse. “How did you—?”

“You’re not the only one who knows how to search the internet, Dante King.” She smiled. “Your brother is graduating from college today, an entire semester early. I figured he’d want the important people in his life to be here, even if you’re watching from afar. Even if he doesn’t know.”

He didn’t say anything for a second. Just kept staring at the banner. Then he turned to her, the expression in his eyes raw with emotion.

“This is the best surprise I’ve ever been given, from the best thing that ever happened to me.” He reached out and cupped her face in his big, warm palm. “Thank you for this, Kennedy. Being with you…it doesn’t just make life better. It makes it make sense .”

Kennedy’s throat tightened.

He reached for her hand, curling his fingers through hers, like an anchor. “I’m never letting you go.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Dante.”

They sat there, side by side, watching students spill out of the auditorium doors. Cheers and laughter echoed from the happy graduates across the parking lot, but happiness existed right here in this car too.

“You know,” she said slowly. “I’ve been thinking about leaving behind Diana Prince.”

He studied her. “Oh?”

“I guess I realized that I don’t need to hide as much from people anymore, now that people who are most important already know about my worst self.”

He squeezed her hand. “You’ve been so strong.”

She was zero steps from Dante’s arms.

She leaned across the console to rest her head on his shoulder as they watched the students celebrating their future.

A rich future stretched in front of Kennedy and Dante too, making life feel less like the battlefield where they began…

And more like a beginning.