steele sighed. "sam had the same question. he and maren are close. he was worried. and he wanted to know whether to go kick caldwell's ass. yes, the baby is mine. and yes, it's really none of your damn business, but here's the deal. for the next while, until the baby is born, i'm out of commission."

there was a mixture of reactions from surprise to quick frowns.

"what does that mean exactly?" cole asked in a low voice.

"it means that you'll be working under donovan until i'm back in action. for now you're all taking downtime unless something comes up-and we all know how that goes-but sam is letting nathan and joe's team loose so they can pick up the slack. donovan is taking you until i come back. for now my focus has to be on maren and our child and making damn sure she's safe. we have a lot to work out, including where we go after the baby is born. neither of us wants to give up our careers, but as of now, those jobs take a backseat to the child."

"i get it," p.j. said. "it won't be the same not working for you, steele. i of all people know that most. but i agree, you have to do what you have to do. we've worked with van enough that we're comfortable with him in the lead. just don't get lazy while you're out of action and expect us to pick up your slack when you come back to work."

the others laughed at the ribbing p.j. gave him. steele relaxed. he'd not been looking forward to having to tell his team this. they were a huge part of his life. his everyday existence. he spent more time with them than most married couples spent together.

"the other reason i brought you out here is so you could help me beef up security around here. i want to make sure that if anyone breaches the perimeter i'll damn well know about it and be prepared."

the others nodded.

"you'll call us up if you need us," p.j. said, not as a question but as a statement of fact. then her voice lowered. "you fought for me. no way in hell i'm not going to fight for you when you need it. i won't forget that, steele. you need us, you say so. don't give a damn about downtime. if you have any concerns at all, we'll be here, even if it's to take watch shifts."

steele stared back at p.j., his chest tightening. "you know i will. there's no one i trust more to protect my back than my team. there's no one i trust more with maren's safety."

"okay, well, we got that all out of the way," dolphin said. "now let's get to work on making sure no one gets in or out without a huge fucking wake-up call."

"now we're talking," renshaw said. "tell us what you want, boss man, and we'll make it happen."

after outlining the things he wanted done, steele rose and the others followed suit just as maren walked into the living room, her hair damp from a shower, and she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt but had bare feet. it struck him that she looked utterly at home. in his house, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to walk out of his bedroom after taking a shower and dressing.

the sense of rightness hit him hard, and for a long moment all he could do was stare until he realized he was making her uncomfortable with his silent scrutiny.

"uh, hi, everyone," she said with a small wave. "i completely forgot you all were coming today. i sorta slept in."

everyone greeted her warmly and her awkwardness visibly disappeared. steele went to her, steering her toward the kitchen.

"i'll catch up to you guys in a second," steele called back. "you can head out to the shed where all the equipment is stored and also unload the stuff you brought with you."

as the others left, steele sat maren down at the bar and then went to the stove to turn on the burner under the kettle of water he'd already prepared.

"i thought you could start with tea and some crackers. if that works for you, i'll fix you something a little more substantial. i have bagels and cinnamon rolls, or you can have toast. if you think you can stomach eggs, i can scramble some up for you."

she smiled and propped her elbows up on the bar. "thanks, steele, but you don't have to pamper me, though i won't lie and say i'm not enjoying it. but you have stuff to do and i don't want to keep you from it. you go ahead and do your thing with the others so they aren't kept waiting. i'll finish up the tea and if i'm hungry after the crackers i'll figure out something to fix. want me to make lunch for everyone? how long will this all take?"

"a few hours," he said. "i hadn't thought about lunch, and it's not like we get pizza delivery out here. or anything else, for that matter."

"want me to do burgers or something like that for everyone? it's the least i can do since you and they are all doing this for me."

he kissed the top of her head. "don't think you have to repay any kind of debt. we look out for each other. i have their backs and they have mine. this is them having our backs. but yeah, burgers sound fine. you sure you can handle the smell of raw hamburger meat? or for that matter the smell of frying them up? if you want, just make the patties, if you can stomach it, and after we're done i'll throw everything on the grill. we'll have beer and burgers. i guarantee my team isn't going to turn that down."

she laughed. "no, i imagine they wouldn't. that's a deal. i'll season the meat and make the patties and stick them in the fridge so they'll be ready to go when you're finished. then i'll rustle up all the fixings, slice a few tomatoes and onions and wash the lettuce and we'll be set."

he rotated her bar stool so she faced him and he pulled her into his chest. "i like you in my kitchen. i like having a perfectly ordinary mundane conversation about who does what for the food preparation. i like having you here. period. i think you're domesticating me, maren."

she cracked up and rested her forehead against the hollow of his throat so his chin rested atop her head. "oh, the horror. the world may well be coming to an end. who would have ever thought the almighty steele would admit to being domesticated, never mind actually becoming domesticated."

"how about me admitting, at least in the short time of my newfound domesticity, that i like it?"

"stop," she said dramatically. "there's only so much i can take in one day. that kind of shock can't be good for the baby."

he tugged teasingly at her hair and then tilted her head back to kiss her. "i'll see you in a couple of hours. if you need anything at all, just stick your head out the back door and holler. we won't be far and one of us will hear you."

"okay. thought i'd wait until after lunch and everyone clears out before i call my parents to arrange their flight out here. then we can both sit down while i talk to them and hash out the details."

"sounds good."

he kissed her again and then reluctantly pulled himself away from her.

"try to eat something," he said as he headed toward the door leading to the back porch. "and just so we're clear, that was a request. not a direct order."

she laughed, her eyes twinkling in merriment. "my, my, looks like you can be trained, steele."

he grinned back, enjoying the playful banter that came so easily between them. "for the kind of reward you offer, this old dog can definitely learn a few new tricks."

chapter 34

maren sat in the living room with steele and the others and nibbled on her burger while the others wolfed theirs down. it tasted wonderful, but she was taking it slow and savoring each bite, hoping her stomach wouldn't protest and the food would stay down.

she could see just how close steele and his team were. sure, she'd seen them plenty of times and could witness the bond they had, but she'd never been around them in a completely relaxed setting where there was no mission involved and no injuries for her to tend to.

they laughed and joked, the ease with which they communicated showing her more than words how tight-knit they were.

everyone got a kick out of ribbing steele over his impending fatherhood, and to steele's credit, he took it with good humor. not once did his characteristic scowl cross his face, and each time there was a mention of his becoming a father, his gaze slid to maren's, warmth radiating from his eyes.

he seemed happy and content. more relaxed than she'd ever seen him around others. even when he and his team had come to her clinic for treatment, he'd been distant and standoffish and spoken in clipped sentences, using only a few words to get his meaning across.

she wondered if his team saw just how different he was. what were they thinking? she knew from what steele had told her the night before that he was standing down for a while. at least until their baby was born. she had mixed feelings on that. on one hand, she didn't want to come between him and a job he was obviously passionate about. she never wanted that to be a strain on their relationship or for it to get to a point where he resented her because he was away from what he loved.

but on the other hand, she was deeply relieved that he wouldn't be going on any missions until after the baby was born. it meant a lot to her that he was placing her and their child above everything else in his life. and if she were honest, it was a huge weight off not having to worry about him leaving at a moment's notice and her not knowing if he'd make it back.

it was something she'd have to get used to if their relationship worked out long term. there was no way she'd ever ask or expect him to give up his leadership of his team and retire. but at least for now, she'd have him here and safe until after their child was born.

thinking beyond that was just borrowing trouble. it was best to take it one day at a time and cross the bridge when or if they came to it.

a beep sounded and conversation came to an instant halt. steele was suddenly alert and wary and his team had also transitioned from joking and talking to utter silence. tense, poised, ready for action.

she looked around in bewilderment and saw that steele was intently focused on a monitor situated in the corner of the living room-a monitor that had gone unnoticed by her until now.

it lit up and she realized it was a video feed of the front gate. but she froze when she recognized the man standing at the gate staring directly into the security camera.

"hancock," she whispered.

fear gripped her. it was impossible to stanch the flood of panic that raced through her veins. she looked to steele for reassurance, but he'd already risen and gone to the monitor, his features set in stone the moment he heard her whisper hancock's name.

he pushed a button and then spoke into the receiver. "what the hell are you doing here, hancock?"

"let me in, steele. i have info you need and we're wasting time having this conversation through security cameras. i'm alone. came in on foot."

steele turned to his team and barked a quick order. "check out the perimeter. see if any alarms have been triggered. but don't rely on the video feeds. we're not dealing with typical civilians here. if titan is here, they're going to be a hell of a lot more careful than the average hired heavy. i want a physical search done immediately. report in immediately."

no one answered. they all scrambled up and disappeared. steele turned back to the monitor.

"strip," he ground out. "only way you're getting in is if i know what i'm dealing with."

maren's view of the monitor was impeded, but hancock must have obeyed steele's order because for a long moment steele stood, his back rigid as he focused on the monitor.

after several minutes, steele spoke again. "i'm opening the gate. you take it nice and slow up the drive. i'll meet you on the porch."

steele turned and strode over to where maren sat on the couch. he bent, planting his palms on either side of her, his face inches from hers.

"listen to me," he said. "i know you're scared and i know you have no desire to see this guy. but i need to find out what the hell is going on and why he's popped up here. i don't want you to move from this spot. i'm calling in one of the guys to come stay with you and i'm leaving the others to keep watch and cover us. okay?"

she nodded, trying to keep the betraying tremble from her lips. "maybe he's going to tell us he took caldwell down finally."

steele didn't look hopeful and when he spoke, it was clear to maren that he was trying to ease her fears.

"yeah, maybe. guess we'll find out. sit tight."

chapter 35

"got him in your sights, p.j.?" steele murmured into his radio.

"yeah, i got him. he so much as twitches wrong, i'll nail him between the eyes."

"coast is clear, boss. no sign of anyone," renshaw reported in. "unless he's got people hanging back and waiting for his order. but no one has breached our perimeter."