Austin stared at the security monitors, but his thoughts weren't in the underground command room. They were upstairs. With Clair.
He had a full briefing to review, and Elias was across from him, scrolling through the FBI's recent moves. But Austin's mind wasn't on the screen. It was on the way Clair had smiled at him that morning. The way she'd curled into his side without fear. The way she touched her belly like she was holding the whole future.
"You're distracted," Elias said without looking up.
Austin didn't deny it.
"I'm thinking."
"You never just think, brother. You plan. You execute. But lately… it's like you're somewhere else."
Austin leaned back in the leather chair, fingers steepled. "When she looks at me, Elias… I don't feel like a monster."
Elias looked up.
"That's a good thing, right?"
"I don't know. I've lived with the monster so long. He's protected me. Built this empire. But with Clair... he doesn't belong anymore."
Elias sighed, rubbing his temples.
"We weren't raised to feel anything, Austin. You think I don't see how hard you're trying to be something Dad never was? But you're not him. You never were. You made your own name. Built your own rules."
Austin looked away. "But my rules still got people killed. I built this life on blood. And now Clair's pregnant. My son's going to inherit this world."
Elias stood and walked to the glass wall overlooking the training bay. "Then change it."
"I can't just snap my fingers and become a saint."
"I'm not saying you should," Elias replied. "But maybe you don't have to be the monster every minute. Maybe that's the growth you're looking for."
Austin stood slowly. "I'll think about it."
But deep down, he already was.
Clair was humming when he entered the living quarters.
She was at the kitchen island, stirring something sweet in a mixing bowl. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"There you are," she said. "I made you something."
"I don't deserve it," Austin said without thinking.
Clair paused. "Why would you say that?"
He walked toward her, reaching for her waist and pulling her close.
"Because for the first time in my life, I feel unworthy of what I have. You. Him. This moment."
She smiled softly. "Then that means you're changing."
He looked into her eyes. "Do you know how many people would kill to see me soft like this? How dangerous that makes me?"
"But I'm not 'people,' Austin. I'm your wife. And I want all of you. Even the parts you're still learning to love."
He swallowed hard. Her words struck something deep, something untouched by all his years of command and control.
She offered him a spoon. "Here. Taste."
He took it in his mouth. Cinnamon. Honey. Vanilla. Warm.
"Perfect," he said, licking his lips.
She grinned. "Of course it is."
He leaned in, his hands on the counter beside her hips. "You're dangerous, Mrs. Montgomery."
"Only to your appetite."
He kissed her then, deep and slow, like he had all the time in the world.
Later that night, Austin stood by the bedroom window, watching the moonlight spill over their bed where Clair lay asleep. Her breathing was soft, her hand resting on her stomach.
He'd never known a peace like this. And it terrified him.
Because peace was fragile. And his enemies knew it.
His phone buzzed.
It was Dario, his head of internal security.
"She moved," Dario said. "Isadora. She sent a coded message. Could be a trap."
Austin's jaw tightened. "Keep eyes on her. No engagement. Not yet."
"Understood."
Austin hung up and slid his phone into his pocket. He turned back to the bed and watched Clair.
"You changed me," he whispered.
He climbed into bed beside her, wrapping his arm gently over her waist, pulling her close.
And for the first time in days, he slept.
The next morning, Austin stood in the nursery under construction, surrounded by half-assembled furniture and paint samples. It was chaos. But he liked it.
He was studying a crib manual with an intensity usually reserved for international arms deals when Elias appeared at the door.
"You're really doing this," Elias said.
Austin smirked. "Don't sound so surprised."
"I mean... damn. A nursery."
"I know it's ridiculous. I could have someone build this for me in a day."
"But you're doing it yourself."
Austin placed a screw carefully into the joint. "Because I need to. I never got a crib. Just a steel crib frame in a house full of silence and cold. I want this to be different."
Elias nodded. "It will be."
Austin looked up. "You sure you're with me on this? On everything?"
There was a pause.
"I'm with you," Elias said. "But I have to confess something."
Austin's eyes narrowed.
"Say it."
"I've been in contact with someone from the inside. Someone deep in the Bureau."
Austin stood slowly. "Why?"
"Because we need leverage. And she has it."
"Who is she?"
"Her name's Talia Voss. She's a double agent. She wants out, and she's willing to trade intel for protection."
Austin didn't speak for a long time.
Then, finally, "Set the meeting. But not here. Somewhere neutral."
"I already picked the location."
Austin raised an eyebrow.
Elias grinned. "You taught me well."
That night, Austin told Clair about the meeting.
She was quiet for a while, absorbing the risk.
"Do you trust Elias?" she asked.
"I want to."
"But do you?"
Austin looked down. "I trust you. And you trust him. That's enough for now."
She reached for his hand. "Then be careful. Because this peace we're building... I want to keep it. No matter what."
He cupped her face. "You and our son are the only things I've ever wanted that didn't come with a price tag or a trail of blood. I'll protect that with everything I have."
Clair nodded, eyes shining. "Then go. But come back whole."
The warehouse was abandoned. Shadows flickered under the cracked roof, where rain leaked through in steady drips.
Austin stood tall in a tailored black coat, flanked by two of his guards. Elias stepped ahead first.
Talia Voss walked in moments later. A slim woman with sharp eyes and steady hands.
"So," she said, "you're the infamous Austin Montgomery."
Austin didn't smile. "Depends who you ask."
Talia pulled a flash drive from her coat. "Everything you need to destroy the lead FBI investigation into your family is right here."
"What's the catch?"
"I disappear. New identity. Clean slate. And your promise that this drive never falls into the wrong hands."
Austin stared at her.
"I don't trust easily," he said.
"Neither do I," Talia replied.
He took the drive and nodded. "You'll get what you want. But if you double-cross me..."
"I won't. I'm done playing games."
Austin handed the drive to Elias and extended his hand to Talia. She shook it.
As they walked back to the car, Elias grinned.
"She's bold. I like her."
Austin muttered, "One traitor at a time."
Elias laughed.
But Austin's mind was already back at the house. With Clair. With the child. With everything that finally made him feel human again.
The walls inside him were breaking. Slowly. Painfully. But breaking.
And maybe that was what growth truly was.