It was supposed to be temporary.

At least, that was what Slade had told himself.

One of his recruits had just had a baby.

Unfortunately—

She was still their only sniper.

Slade wasn’t willing to bench his best marksman indefinitely.

So he made a questionable decision.

He had a custom-made tactical baby carrier built for her.

A reinforced, bullet-resistant kangaroo pouch that kept the newborn secured against her while leaving her hands free.

It was ridiculous.

It was expensive.

And it was probably the strangest piece of equipment Slade had ever ordered.

There was only one rule.

The baby came on missions only when Slade was accompanying the team.

Naturally—

His team had questions.

The first time she walked into the briefing room wearing the carrier, everyone went silent.

One of the men slowly pointed.

“Boss.”

Slade looked up.

“What?”

“Is that a baby?”

“Yes.”

The man blinked.

“Why is there a baby in our briefing?”

“Because we’re briefing.”

Another recruit stared at the carrier.

“Is that thing bulletproof?”

“Yes.”

“You got her a bulletproof baby carrier?”

Slade went back to reading.

“I did.”

Nobody knew what to say to that.

The briefing continued.

Slade kept glancing toward the newborn.

Checking the carrier.

Checking the baby.

Checking her.

Then checking the baby again.

One recruit noticed.

“Boss.”

“What?”

“You’ve checked that kid six times.”

“Seven.”

The man frowned.

“That’s worse.”

Slade ignored him.

The team exchanged looks.

Something about this was strange.

Slade had always been protective of his people.

But this?

This was different.

Then came the first mission.

The team loaded into the vehicle.

The recruit climbed in with the newborn secured against her.

Slade got in immediately afterward.

“Everyone stays close.”

One recruit raised an eyebrow.

“We always do.”

“Today, you stay closer.”

Nobody argued.

The mission went smoothly.

The sniper stayed beside Slade’s position.

The baby remained protected.

And Slade spent the entire operation making sure nobody got anywhere near either of them.

By the time they returned to base, the team had officially developed a theory.

Unfortunately—

They were wrong.

The baby wasn’t just another recruit’s newborn.

That was Slade’s baby.

His team just hadn’t been told.

And somehow, that was the one secret their commander had managed to keep from all of them.