“She’s going to be fine,” Kane says. “Scared the hell out of us, but she’s fine.”

“Good.”

Our mother practically raised Cameron through his teenage years. His dad was barely around, and his mom left when he was small. We’re his family.

“What’s up, Cam?” Shawn inquires.

“Are you going to ask if you can marry Maggie?” Kane asks.

“Not today,” Cam replies and drags his hand down his face. The three of us narrow our eyes. “I want to run something by you. I’m ending my government contract, effective in thirty days. Which means, for the first time since I was eighteen, I won’t be tied to Uncle Sam.”

“What made you decide to do this?” I ask him.

“I want to come home. Maggie’s right. I’m in and out way too much. I’m on the downslope to forty. I want to set down roots and be here more. Shit, Ma had a heart attack, and I was in Tel Aviv. It’s a little hard to get home from the Middle East in an emergency. It fucking sucked.”

“You were in Israel?” Shawn asks. “What the hell?”

“You know I can’t tell you why,” Cam says quietly. “And that’s the other thing that’s getting old. I can’t even confide in you guys about the stuff that goes on. Everything about my life is a fucking secret. In the beginning, that was part of the fun of it. Now, it’s just…old.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

“I’m going to work as a contractor with some major corporations—and, yes, some big government agencies—on their IT security. So, while the government will still be paying me, they’re not my boss anymore. Also, there’s a lot more money in the private sector.”

Cam is a genius when it comes to computers. That’s all any of us knows about his job.

“Are you asking for help with the startup costs?” Kane asks.

“No, I have the money. I’m just asking for your thoughts on this. Is it the smart thing to do? Am I stupid to walk away from the seniority and stability I have with my current job, even if I’m growing to hate it with each passing day?”

“We don’t know anything about your job,” Shawn reminds him. “But if it’s making you miserable, and this is where you want to live full-time, it’s not the wrong thing to do.”

“I agree.”

“Are you doing this for Mary Margaret?” Kane asks as he watches his best friend thoughtfully.

“Partially,” Cam admits. “But even if she told me to fuck right off, which she does on the regular, I’d still want this. I’m too old to spend every night in a different country, worried it might be the day I’m assassinated.”

“Fucking Christ,” I mutter.