One week later…

Shook gazed at the horizon, at the waves lapping at the sand. The view from his backyard was fantastic. He leaned back and plucked a blade of grass, then chewed on it.

“Brought you some grub.” Rider placed a carton on the grass beside him.

Shook picked it up and sniffed the paperboard container. “No thanks. I don’t like Chinese food. I’m not hungry anyway.” He set the food aside and stared at the beautiful October sunrise turning the sea into a molten myriad of golden, orange, and pink hues. “I wonder if Cameo is watching the same thing from the loft my wonderful brother built for her,” he muttered.

Rider plopped down beside him. “You need to eat, mate. I don’t think she’s coming back. It’s been a week since we cleaned up that mess at Sheps Canyon.”

“I ate yesterday.”

“A bag of chips.” Rider sighed. “What can I do to help? I need to make sure you’re back on track before Stoke and I go off leave. Dylan gave us a few weeks of personal time to recover from this last case. It was a long haul.”

“I really appreciate you guys taking your personal time to hang out, but you can’t babysit me forever. You have girlfriends, lives of your own to get on with.”

Rider let out a slight groan followed by a short chuckle. “Yeah…about that…seems you had a good point about waiting on a serious relationship until retirement. Stoke and I left our women home alone far too long.”

“What?” Shook’s voice rose from sullen to worried. “Don’t tell me they dumped you because of the Malika case. The four of you were totally solid.”

“Well, two of us thought we were,” Rider scoffed with an eyebrow shrug. “Shannon and Starr got tired of waiting around.”

“Damn.” Shook sighed, feeling bad for his partners. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks, mate. You were right, Coda. We are the job.”

Shook’s eyes widened in surprise. “Nobody’s called me that in a while.”

“Sorry. Just slipped out. Guess I miss the old days when you, me, and Stoke were a team before going undercover in Ricochet. I take it Cameo doesn’t know your legal last name.”

 “No. I didn’t wanna burden her with another secret. She had more than she could bear already. It made a good code word to check a situation before going in. Nobody in Ricochet was ever the wiser.”

 “Speaking of work. Have you decided on the assignment?”

“I turned it down.” Shook plucked at the grass. “I’ll be officially retired once the paperwork’s complete.”

“Wow. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“There’s gotta be more to life than work. I put in my retirement notice and got the paperwork started. Besides, I promised her I’d retire after we put Malika away. I’m keeping that promise. With, or without her. I’ll have to stop running someday.”

“From what?”

“Life. Ghosts. Love.” Shook pushed to his feet and walked to the water’s edge. “Look at that view. I really thought Cameo and I would be walking on beaches together and enjoying our lives.”

Rider followed him. “Does she know you moved to Galveston?”

“Not unless someone told her. Anyone heard from Rebar? How’s Velvet treating him?”

Rider laid a hand on Shook’s shoulder. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

Shook turned around slowly just in time to see Rebar and Velvet strolling toward him. Velvet hung back as Rebar approached.

“Hey, Shook. You keep moving farther away, buddy.” Rebar gave him a solid hug. “We rode down to see your new place. Did you buy it?”

“Nah. Just renting. I’ve always wanted to live on the coast.”

“Trying to stay close to her, huh?” Rebar said knowingly.

“I guess you know how it feels. Looks like you finally moved on, though.”

“We’re taking it slow. No reason to hurry. I’m still having flashbacks. How are you…really?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, he’s not,” Rider interrupted. “He hasn’t eaten since we left Sheps Canyon.”

Rebar’s brows arched with concern. “Geez, buddy. You gotta take care of yourself. I know what it feels like to lose her to Rush. Believe me, I know.”

“He doesn’t deserve her. He didn’t waste a single second on moving her in. She was confused, vulnerable. Do ya think he cares? Nope. I knew he was waiting for a chance to make his move.” Shook turned back toward the ocean and drew a deep breath. “Have you spoken to him? I know you were supposed to get one of his cars.”

“No. I’ll get another car one of these days. I can’t condone his actions. Halo belongs with you.”

“She loves you,” Velvet piped up. “From what Rebar told me, Cameo has a lot of cargo. Are you sure there isn’t a way to compromise?”

Shook was surprised at Velvet’s compassion toward Cameo. “You’ve changed.”

“I’ve seen a lot, too, Shook. What we do…it’s rough. Yes, I’ve grown up since we last saw each other. Sounds to me like Cameo never got a chance to process her childhood before Malika moved in for the kill.”

“I begged her to take a vacation with me. She is obsessed with the legend. The Indian spirits got into her head and took over. I barely survived that darkness myself. I don’t know how to pull her out.”

Velvet gave him a light hug. “I’m so sorry. When I heard you found someone, I was genuinely happy. You’re a diamond in the rough, ya know that?”

He forced a weak smile. “Thanks. How long are you guys staying?”

“As long as it takes,” Rebar replied without hesitation.

“I appreciate your support. But I’d rather be alone right now.”

“We’ll leave you alone if you eat,” Rider said, holding the paper pail in front of Shook’s face.

Shook let out a frustrated growl but accepted the food. “If I eat this shit, will you back off for the day?”