Page 110 of Hero Mine

Joy flinched. “Yeah, I really was.”

Bear leaned in to kiss her temple. “But you’re definitely not anymore.”

“Daniel is looking at multiple felony charges.” Callum closed his notebook. “Breaking and entering, voyeurism, assault, attempted murder.”

They all leaned back, taking that in. Daniel wasn’t going to be a threat to anyone for a long damn time.

Callum left briefly and returned with a tray of coffee cups—and one tea for his pregnant fiancée—from the break room. “Figured we could all use this. How are you holding up, Joy?”

Joy accepted the cup with a small smile. “I’m okay. Better than okay, actually. I kicked his ass.”

Callum grinned. “That you did.”

Bear kept his arm around Joy, the solid weight of her against him a constant reassurance.

“Oh,” Joy said, looking toward him. “Did you tell Callum about the other mystery we solved?”

Callum raised an eyebrow. “What other mystery?”

“The break-ins around town,” Bear explained. “The missing equipment, tools, ladder—all of it.” He quickly outlined what they’d discovered about the Johnson boys and their homemade obstacle course.

“Teenagers,” Callum muttered, shaking his head.

“They’re going to return everything they can,” Bear said. “Work off what they can’t. I’m going to help them put together a proper proposal for the town council to create a legitimate training course for the local teens.”

“Turning vandals into community leaders,” Callum said with a hint of admiration. “Not bad, Bollinger.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, the events of the day finally catching up with all of them. Joy stifled a yawn against Bear’s shoulder.

“You should get some rest,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“We all should,” Callum agreed, standing and stretching. “Nothing more we can do tonight.”

As they gathered their things, Bear watched Joy move with a quiet confidence that hadn’t been there before. She hugged Sloane, thanked Callum, her movements easy and natural. Despite everything that had happened, she seemed lighter somehow. More herself.

And so she should.

Outside in the parking lot, the night air was crisp and cool, stars bright overhead. Bear opened his truck door for Joy, then rounded to the driver’s side.

“You want to stay at my place tonight?” he asked as they pulled onto the quiet street. “After everything that happened, if you’re nervous about being at home, it’s understandable.”

Joy considered this, her fingers idly tracing patterns on the console between them. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t want to be run out of my house again. Not by him, not by the memories.”

“You sure?”

She turned to face him, moonlight catching the determination in her eyes. “Tonight’s encounter with Daniel… It was like a reset of what happened with the Kozak brothers. This time, I protected myself and my home. I didn’t freeze or break. I fought back—and I won.”

Pride surged through him again. “You definitely won.”

“Thank you for believing me on the phone,” she said quietly. “For not questioning it or trying to say I was imagining things.”

Bear’s hand found hers in the darkness of the truck cab. “I’ll always believe you, Joy. Always.”

“I know.” She squeezed his fingers. “That’s part of why I love you.”

Those three words still hit him like a physical force, warming him from the inside out. “Part of why, huh? What’s the rest?”

“Your cooking skills. Your mechanical abilities. Your impressive obstacle course design talent,” she listed playfully. “Oh, and how you look in those jeans.”