“You broke my heart? Because she’s my cousin, Peter. My friend. Not yours. Get outta here before she gets here. I mean it.” I went inside, putting away my guns and returning to the kitchen to unload the dishwasher. Peter stood in the middle of my living room.

“Hurting you is the last thing I’d ever want to do, Naomi. You know I was in a terrible situation.”

“We’ve been over this, Peter.”

“We clearly need to revisit it,” he said, loosening his tie.

I made a show of thinking about it, looking up at the ceiling, then returned to the dishes. “Nah.”

“What was I supposed to do?” he begged. “There was nothing I could do. Could you have told your father no back then?”

“You lied,” I said, slamming a glass down on the counter. “You lied back then just like you’re lying to me now.”

“What are you talking about?” he said, exasperated.

“You brought me here! Not a committee—you! Do you have any idea how humiliating it is for me to try to face my colleagues? As if I don’t have to fight the stigma of sleeping my way to my rank or proving my aim is nicer than my rack every fucking day, Peter! Then you pull this?”

“You deserve to be here! Just like anyone else! Not out there, getting shot at, rolling around in the sand dodging explosives! What difference does it make if I made some calls?”

“The fact that you don’t see it…”

“Your guys needed this. Don’t think I didn’t take shit bringing in a guy who still talks to his dead wife and kids, a man who barely smiles, a field doc who takes nothing seriously. And don’t even get me started on Trex…”

“But I’m the one on probation.”

“You’re not just sad or broken. You’re dangerous, Naomi. Because for you … dying means seeing your husband again.”

I pointed to the wall. “You don’t think it means the same for any one of my team?”

“No! It’s not the same!”

“Dying means leaving behind friends. His friends, Peter. Men I’ve sworn to Matt I would protect! And fuck you for saying otherwise!”

“Knock, knock,” Spenser said from the doorway.

My cheeks flushed. “Spence.” After a few seconds of shock, I walked across the living room to hug her. Her long, blonde hair was caught under my grip, but she didn’t seem to mind. I released her, drowning in embarrassment. I gestured behind me. “You remember Peter.”

Peter took a step, but Spenser used her thumb to point behind her. “You’re still a selfish asshole. Get outta here.”

Peter wasn’t offended but annoyed. He knew Spenser didn’t really hate him, but for the moment, she was taking my side … again.