Page 236 of Arrow

“Daddy! Daddy, we’re home!”

Everything in me shifted.

The cold calculation, the strategic planning, the ruthless focus that made me dangerous—all of it softened at the edges. My attention diverted from the map, from the shipment routes, from the threat of the Albanians.

Because nothing in this world mattered more than the two people who had just walked through my door.

“We’ll finish this later,” I said to Orion, already rising from my chair.

He smirked, gathering the maps. “Yeah, I figured.”

I walked out of my office and into the foyer just as Luca came barreling toward me, his small legs pumping as fast as they could carry him. His dark hair was windswept, his gray eyes—so much like mine—bright with excitement.

“Daddy!” He crashed into my legs, wrapping his arms around my knees.

I crouched down, ignoring the protest from my healing body, and scooped him up into my arms. He was getting heavier every day, growing faster than I could keep track of.

“Hey, little man,” I said, my voice gentler than it had been moments ago. “Did you have fun with Mama?”

“We saw Uncle Luca!” he announced proudly. “I picked flowers and made a wish!”

My chest tightened—not from pain, but from something deeper. “That’s good, buddy. What did you wish for?”

He pressed his small hands against my cheeks, his expression suddenly serious. “Can’t tell. It won’t come true.”

“Smart kid.” I kissed his forehead, breathing in the scent of strawberry shampoo and sunshine.

Then I looked up and saw her.

Harlowe stood in the doorway, still wearing the black dress from the cemetery, her sunglasses pushed up into her hair. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face pale, but she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

She’d killed her father to save me.

I’d taken bullets to save her.

We were bound by blood and violence and a love that had been forged in the darkest parts of both our lives.

“Hey,” she said softly, her voice still rough from crying.

“Hey yourself.” I shifted Luca to one hip and crossed to her, pulling her against me with my free arm. She melted into my side, her head resting against my shoulder.

“How was he?” I asked, watching her fingers absently tracing the edge of Luca’s shirt.

“Perfect,” she said.

“Just like his mother.”

She looked up at me, and I saw everything in her eyes—the grief, the love, the determination to build something better than what we’d been given. I leaned down and kissed her, slow and deliberate, tasting salt from her tears.

When I pulled back, Orion was standing in the doorway of my office, watching us with an expression somewhere between amusement and respect.

“I’ll see myself out,” he said dryly.

“Good,” I replied without looking away from Harlowe. “Lock the door on your way.”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he grabbed his coat. “The Romanov prince has gone soft. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“No,” I said, finally meeting his eyes. “I’ve just found something worth being soft for.”