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“Yeah,” he agreed with a soft nod “The blackest black I’ve ever seen The stars were so bright The whole world looked different there” His Ada like here”

She sipped her hot chocolate, wondering over all the things he’d seen, all the missions he’d taken “Do you miss the military?”

He tipped his head to the side, his curious eyes on her “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged “You were in the Ar time You must miss it”

He loosened a breath and stared up at the stars again, his jaw bunching “Yes, I miss it”

“But are you happy being a detective too?”

“It’s satisfying”

She sed another sip of hot chocolate then laughed softly, shaking her head “That was a piss-poor atteht?”

His azes held for a beat Then a haunting darkness fell over his expression “I ht miss military life, but I also can’t trust myself anymore”

Her gut twisted at the raw pain in his expression “What do you mean?”

He glanced back up to the sky, his brows drawn together, and his eyes grew distant, going back to a different tiot wounded,” he explained “I’d go back to Afghanistan in a second if I could repair h to know that if I fired off a shot, I wouldn’t ”

Her heart squeezed tight “Even with the nighto back?”

“In a heartbeat,” he said in an instant “I’ve never felt purpose like I did when I was a soldier To protect, to defend, to lead, I lived and breathed that life, and I was very, very good at my job But the injury hasto protect”

“So, you’re saying that being a detective is second best”

His head fell to the side again, those intense eyes landing on her “It’s not second best It’s just another life, not the one I thought I’d have”