Voodoo flexed his fingers on the wheel. “Grace. When we hit, keep Nico down and hold tight.”
My heart pounded, but my voice stayed steady. “Lo tengo, mi amor,” I whispered down to Nico.I’ve got you, sweetheart.
The vans approached the intersection—one slowing, one hesitating, both caught in the web AB had spun for them.
This was it.
Bones’ voice dropped to a low, lethal calm.
“On my mark.”
The moment froze sharp and thin.
Two white vans boxed us at the intersection. Engines humming. Brakes squealing. Traffic held in place by AB’s digital chokehold.
Bones leaned forward, voice low and lethal. “Mark.”
Voodoo hit the gas.
We cut off the lead van with a clean, angled block that pinned it behind a delivery truck. The second swerved left—straight into the trap—only to find the lane sealed by the SUV’s back quarter panel.
Perfect.
“Grace—heads down,” Bones ordered.
I folded over Nico, wrapping my arms around him as Goblin wedged himself between us and the window. His low growl pulsed against my ribs—protective, fierce.
Legend braced behind me. Both vans screeched to a full stop.
AB crackled over comms, breathless. “All right. They’re boxed. No exit lanes. No reverse path. You’re green.”
Bones was already unbuckling.
“Lunchbox—left van. I’ve got right. Voodoo, Grace, hold position until we clear.”
“You got it,” Voodoo muttered. “Bring back souvenirs.”
The doors burst open.
Bones hit the pavement first, silent and deadly. Legend followed, rounding the left van with a predator’s precision. I kept Nico tucked close, Goblin’s paws planted on my lap as he scanned the windows with tiny, furious intent.
The right van’s driver cracked the door an inch—panic in the motion. Bones yanked it open, slammed the guy’s wrist against the frame, disarmed him before he even understood what was happening, and dragged him onto the asphalt.
Legend ripped the left passenger door wide. Someone lunged at him—wild, cornered. Legend stepped aside, grabbed a fistful of shirt, and introduced the man’s head to the doorframe with a brutal thunk.
Inside the vans, movement. Not adult movement. Smaller. Softer. Huddled.
Oh God.
Bones growled. “Grace—stand by.”
He and Legend opened the sliding doors in unison.
And the world shifted.
Shapes in the dim interior. Thin limbs. Wide eyes.
Blankets wrapped around trembling shoulders.
