Page 16 of Fast Vengeance

Victoria grinned and went over to hug her friend. “I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?” Like her, Oceane was an important asset in the Veneno case and rarely left the sanctuary of the WITSEC Safesite and Orientation Center, for her own protection. Their security details must have cooked this up with Brock.

“I wanted to come and celebrate with you.” Oceane’s blue-gray eyes slid to Brock, and she smiled. “He made it all happen.”

Victoria glanced at Brock, her heart squeezing. She couldn’t believe he would go to all this trouble for her. Only her family had ever done something like this before. The bittersweet reminder set off a twinge of grief inside her. “Thank you.”

His answering smile took her breath away. “You’re welcome.”

Tearing her attention from him, she turned to Lockhart. “And you got dragged into this too, huh? Lucky you.”

The former Ranger’s lips twitched in the semblance of a smile, but his pale blue eyes twinkled. “I came willingly.”

“Well I’m glad you’re both here.” She felt much better now than when she’d left the courthouse, lighter and somehow warmer inside to know that these people cared about her this much. “I gather you heard the news?”

Oceane nodded. “My security team got the call about the verdict on our way over here.”

“I hear the judge was freaking awesome in the way she worded the sentencing portion,” Lockhart said.

Victoria would never forget it, or the goosebumps that had risen all over her skin in reaction to the woman’s intensity. “She was.”

Oceane reached for one of her hands, squeezed. “How are you feeling?”

Tired. Empty. But less empty and less alone than she had. “I’m not sure, to be honest. Relieved. A lot of other things.”

Oceane’s eyes filled with empathy. “I can imagine.”

Yes. Victoria knew she could.

When they’d first met, she had been determined to hate Oceane on sight because she was Manny Nieto’s daughter. Then she’d realized that Oceane was as much a victim as she was. And since the day Oceane’s mother had been brutally murdered by Veneno sicarios months ago, Victoria had made it her mission to befriend the younger woman. Together they’d formed an invaluable support system for each other.

They were more than just friends; they had become each other’s family. Who better to understand than someone who has gone through similar horrors? Their bond would never be broken. Not even when Victoria left D.C. and would never see or hear from her again.

The thought brought a wave of sadness. She shook it off, forced a smile. “I’m glad you came.”

“Well, should we eat?” Brock said.

Victoria took in all the food laid out on the oval table in the kitchen. A cheese board, fruit and veggies, finger sandwiches, mini quiches. She arched a brow at him. “Quiches? I’m surprised you’re okay with them,” she teased.

He shrugged and picked up a plate from the counter, handing it to her. “I’m comfortable enough with my masculinity that I can handle quiche just fine.”

More than his words, his tone made warmth bloom in her abdomen. Yes, he was definitely comfortable with his masculinity. And it was sexy as hell. There was so much she wanted to learn about him, so many things she wanted to take the memory of with her when she left D.C. any day now. “Thanks,” she said, taking the plate.

“What about you, Lockhart?” Brock asked, handing his teammate a plate. “You okay with mini quiches?”

“It’s free food, so yeah, I’m good with it.” He handed his plate to Oceane, gently guided her in front of him with a hand on her lower back. “Ladies first.”

Victoria caught the flush in Oceane’s cheeks as she smiled at him, though Lockhart didn’t react. He had originally been assigned to guard Oceane before she and her mother agreed to join WITSEC. He’d been there for her when no one else was the day her mother had been killed. The four of them had met at the orientation center maybe a dozen or so times prior to FAST Bravo deploying overseas, for meetings, briefings and updates about the ongoing manhunt for Oceane’s father and his bastard of an enforcer.

With a full plate she sat on the long couch in the living room while Oceane sat across from her on the loveseat. A minute later Lockhart sat beside Oceane, and Brock came over to Victoria with a flute of champagne for her. “It’s not exactly Dom Perignon,” he said, “but it’s wet and it has bubbles.”

She took it with a smile. “I’ll love it, thank you.”

Once Brock handed everyone a flute, he lowered himself beside her and raised his glass. “To new beginnings,” he said, looking into her eyes, his words sending a shiver of anticipation up her spine.

“Cheers,” Oceane said, smiling at her.

Wanting to deflect the attention off herself, Victoria searched for a safe topic to talk about. “I’m curious. What do you guys do to amuse yourselves while you’re over there for four months?”

Brock and Lockhart exchanged a look, and both of them smiled. “It can be dull,” Brock admitted. “But never for long. There are always missions or briefings going on, and in our downtime, we’ve got Granger and Maka to keep us entertained.”

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