Her whole body softened. Shoulders dropped. Breath finally escaped her lungs in something close to relief.
Her fingers slid along his back. “Hey, baby,” she whispered.
Goblin let out a low, rumbling woof, then licked her wrist, leaning harder into her.
Alphabet hovered in the doorway, eyes flicking from Grace to me, doing a silent assessment.
“She’s good?” he asked, in a low voice that wouldn’t carry. Nor would the doubt lacing the question.
“She will be,” I said.
“I’ll stand guard,” Alphabet said. “Voodoo is keeping the housekeeper secured. The prisoner is still out.”
“Find her some clothes first?”
“On it.” Alphabet was gone on a soft step.
Grace buried her face in Goblin’s neck for a long second. When she lifted her head, her eyes found mine—not panicked, not lost. Just present.
“I can stand,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to rush.”
She shook her head, one hand still in Goblin’s fur. “I want to.”
I stepped forward, offered her my hand. No pressure. No demand.
She took it.
Her fingers were steadier this time.
When she stood, she leaned—just slightly, just enough—into my side. Goblin stuck close at her other leg, flanking her.
“Let’s get you clean,” I murmured.
Together—slow, steady—we moved toward the shower.
Chapter
Four
ALPHABET
Voodoo handed her the mug before she’d even made it fully into the room, because of course he did. She looked… better. Not fine. No one with shadows that dark in their eyes was fine, but she was upright, showered, hair damp around her shoulders, and wrapped in a hoodie that made her look smaller than she already was. Pale, composed, but with a tremor hiding deep beneath the surface. A tremor I’d hoped the universe would never put back in her.
Goblin trotted in with her, tail wagging in a tight, almost anxious circle. I hadn’t tried to make him leave her nor did he seem inclined. He was our best barometer for her emotional state. He had been since she joined us, and I was more than happy to share him.
Once she was in the kitchen, she sank down into a chair at the table. Goblin immediately settled his head against her thigh. She rested her free hand against his head, the tension bleeding out of her in slow, grudging increments. Smart dog. Smarter than all of us sometimes.
Bones watched her from near the counter, arms folded, expression a little too carefully blank. Voodoo hovered by her other side, mug still half-raised like he was ready to intercept if she wobbled. I stayed behind the table where I’d spread out everything we’d collected—wallets, burner phones, a couple of cheap IDs, and one high-end encrypted comms device that was absolutely not cheap and absolutely not street-level muscle.
I’d been cataloging everything while Bones got her cleaned up. That meant I had enough half-formed theories to fill a whiteboard and no concrete conclusions I’d be willing to bet my prosthetic on.
Grace finally straightened, one hand braced lightly on Goblin’s back as she finally took a drink from the cup of coffee Voodoo had given her.
“Thank you.” Her voice was steady. Mostly.
“Anytime, Firecracker.” He brushed a knuckle under her chin, everything about his contact soft, and careful.
