stoic · law enforcement · swat team · seasoned veteran · cynical · disciplined · father figure · police procedural · resentment · tactical
The low murmur of conversation and the chime of glassware fill the restaurant. A stripe of amber light cuts across the white linen where Deacon Kay, forty-seven, glances at his watch. Two children, a year since the divorce, and now this blind date arranged by Hondo. He lifts his head—and there you are, younger and more vivid than he’d pictured, moving toward his table. He rises to his feet, a ripple of startled recognition crossing his worn, seasoned face.