“I’m not going up alone.”Casey nodded toward the stairwell.“Two Prospects at the top.Shotgun waiting.That’s enough company.”
“The kids need you,” I argued, voice low but sharp.“They listen to you.”
“They’ll listen to you too.”Casey’s gaze softened just a fraction.“That matters.They know you now.They trust you.”
Fear flared.“Casey --”
“We’re not in a movie.”She squeezed my shoulder.“Sometimes a car is just a car.”
“Sometimes it isn’t.”
“And if it isn’t, we handle it.”Her voice dropped.“My daughter is down here.My heart is sitting on that cot.You think I’m going to be reckless with my heart in your hands?”
That hit harder than anything else she could’ve said.I nodded, throat too tight for words.
“Call down if anything’s off,” I managed.“I’ll call up if we hear something.Deal?”
“Deal.”Casey turned to the kids with the same bright tone.“Aunt Jade and I are tag-teaming.I’m going to talk to someone at the door.You stay here, listen to Aunt Jade, and show her how good your quiet game is.”
They nodded solemnly.Casey brushed past me, then the heavy door swung shut.Silence settled in.
Too much silence.
Solena’s girl lifted her coloring book, eyes big.“Can we color?”
I forced my muscles to unclench and made my mouth shape a smile.“Yeah.Of course.”
I passed out crayons and coloring books, then settled on the floor with a clear view of all the children.The gun weighed heavy at my hip, reminding me how adults prepared concrete bunkers for violence while kids drew dragons.
“You tell us a story?”Solena’s girl whispered, her voice barely audible.
“What kind of story?”My tone remained gentle despite the tension knotting my shoulders.
“Happy,” she decided.“Not scary.”
Every fairy tale vanished from my memory.Happy stories belonged to other people, to normal families without weapons and safe rooms.The memory of stars and stickers floated back to me -- wishes on paper.I remembered how children believed stars on a page could make dreams real when enough accumulated in one place.
“Okay,” I whispered back.“Once upon a time, there was a girl who liked to look at the sky…”
I talked.I described a girl who collected stars and taped them onto paper until her room felt like night even during the day.I described her making wishes and hiding them in jars because she was scared they’d disappear if she said them out loud.I described her meeting people who didn’t laugh at her wishes, people who helped her keep them safe until they could come true.
The kids colored while I talked, little hands moving in careful strokes.Every few minutes I checked my phone, resisting the urge to text.No new messages.My throat stayed tight.
Ten minutes passed.Fifteen.My heart beat so hard it felt like it was lodged in my throat.
Finally, a knock came at the door.Two short, one long.
Our code.
I swallowed and called softly, “Yeah?”
“Open.”Casey’s voice, steady.
I punched the numbers into the keypad and turned the heavy handle.The door swung inward.Casey stood there with a shotgun hanging easy, one of the Prospects behind her with his gun angled at the floor, relaxed but ready.
“No cartel?”I breathed.
“No cartel.”Casey’s mouth quirked.“Supply delivery.Wrong day.The guy swore he had the correct address.Marci sent him away after verification.Spade’s checking the origin of his order.”
