Broken Bend was already awake when we rolled in. Flowers hung outside the café with the faded sign. The grocery store windows advertised a sale on ground beef. The same little square of downtown looked harmless to anyone who didn’t know better.
I parked across from the hospital.
Marisol got out and smoothed her hand over her shirt like she was trying to iron out her nerves. She turned to me, her eyes steady. “You’re not coming in.”
“No,” I said. “I’ll be right here.”
She held my gaze for a beat longer than necessary, then nodded and walked toward the entrance.
I watched her go, my attention tracking her the way it always did. Head up. Steps measured. Shoulders squared even when her nerves pulled tight. She was brave in a way that didn’t announce itself. Brave in a way that looked like showing up anyway.
My phone buzzed.
Brody: I’m in position. All clear.
Kane: I’m two blocks out. No tails.
I replied without looking down for long.
Me: Copy. Stay sharp.
Then I sat and watched the doors.
Twenty-seven minutes later, Marisol came out. The way she moved was different. Lighter. Her shoulders were still tense, but her mouth was relaxed, and her eyes had a spark I hadn’t seen in weeks.
She climbed into the truck and shut the door. “They have an opening.”
I kept my voice even. “Yeah?”
“It’s not guaranteed yet,” she said quickly, as if she didn’t want to jinx it. “But she told me to apply and said they’re moving fast. It would include benefits and regular hours. Not…” She swallowed. “Not just surviving.”
Something tight in my chest eased. “That’s good.”
“It is,” she breathed, and for a second she looked so relieved I wanted to pull her across the console and kiss her until she forgot what fear felt like.
Instead, I started the truck. “School’s next.”
We parked near the high school, a low brick building with a flag out front and a handful of cars in the lot. Marisol’s hands shook as she gathered her folder.
“This is the part that scares me,” she admitted.
I looked at her. “Why?”
“Because it makes it real,” she said. “If I register him here, I’m not just hiding. I’m choosing.”
I nodded once. “Good.”
Her gaze flicked to mine. “That’s all you’ve got?”
“That’s all you need,” I said. “Go.”
She got out and walked toward the front office. I waited, eyes on the doors, scanning the lot, the street, the parked cars. Brody’s truck sat a block down, angled like a man waiting forsomebody. Kane’s tail was somewhere behind us. I didn’t know where, and that was the point.
Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Then twenty.
My phone buzzed again, and my thumb hovered over the screen.
Brody: Saw a dark gray pickup circle twice. Could be nothing. Could be our guy. Keep eyes up.
