“Good man.” Rocket whispered into her ear as the intensity of his declaration warmed her.

“It’s a lonely life, Dek. And years ago, when I shot Clemenceau, I made my choice. I have responsibilities to my people. To protect them, do what I can to keep them safe.” She rubbed her forehead, aware of the weight of it all. “These days, Whitey is using what he learned from me to threaten Port Authority. With all the advantages this TriNA gives me, keeping my people safe may be even more important than in the past.”

“I understand.” His gaze narrowed as he considered her. “You like doing it alone? Being different? Never having anyone to confide in, to share the load?”

“I . . .” Shit, what did she tell him?

“I’ve been honest with you, Tal. How about reciprocity?”

“All right, it’s like this. I have Shig, and Yvette, and Kalico, and Kylee. That’s it. Kylee’s been in my head. She’s got a lot of TriNA with my memories. We’re bonded that way. The others? Shig is more like a priest and father, but I love him anyway. Yvette and I have shared blood, history, and loss. Kalico? She’s an equal, but were we not thrown together on Donovan, I doubt we’d socialize much.”

“What about you and Trish?”

“She was the daughter I never had. I counted on her. Even though things had been strained, when she went, it tore a hole in me.”

“And Cap Taggart?”

“That tore me up, too. He and I never got a chance before he was . . . dead.” She gave him a half-lidded stare. Did she tell him? Could she trust him? “You heard that he was murdered?”

“Uh-huh. Someone slipped in and overdosed him on pain meds. They never found the killer.”

“Trish.”

He started, frowned. “But everything I’ve ever heard about her . . . That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does when you know Trish. Donovan is a tough place to grow up. Trish had a hard life filled with loss. When Cap was crippled and paralyzed, Trish knew I’d spend the rest of my life caring for him. She did it to free me, and maybe Cap, too. She called it an act of love.” She arched an eyebrow. “Shig, Yvette, and I know. And now there is you. Please don’t let me down.”

He gave the fire a thoughtful appraisal. “Of course not. That’s between us.” A pause. “Makes you even more amazing.”

“How’s that?”

“Is there anything you can’t withstand? You come across as invincible . . . but there must be moments when you wonder if it’s even worth getting out of bed, let alone continuing to be a pillar of strength for the rest of us.”

She laughed at that. “Yeah. There are those days.”

“My turn to ask. What do you want from me?”