Tears are streaming down her face.
“You and Emmy are safe,” I say.
The promise settles into the room like steel.
“I swear to you. Nobody is taking you.”
A sob breaks out of her.
The kind she’s clearly been holding back for months.
I pull both of them into my arms.
Emmy is warm against my chest.
Laney is trembling against my shoulder.
And in the pit of my stomach something cold and certain settles.
Because this wasn’t a warning.
This was a kill attempt.
And someone just declared war.
Marco
The call comes at 03:12.
That alone tells me everything.
“They failed,” my head of security says.
I close my eyes slowly.
The cabin lights of the plane glow dim against the dark sky outside the window.
“How badly?”
“One is dead. One escaped.”
My jaw tightens.
“Where?”
“Texas. Small town. The target was not alone.”
Of course, she wasn’t.
Laney never trusted easily.
But once she did…
She stayed loyal.
That’s who she is.
“They moved early,” I say.
