Page 19 of Blade and Arrow Origins

“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 selectionlooksprettydecent—” 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 ofme toosandsounds 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.

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