“Dunn warned me to tread lightly,” I said after a moment.
“On what?”
“On who. Said Peterson’s nervous. Maybe too nervous.”
“The mayor?”
“Yeah.”
Milly exhaled, slow. “You think he’s in it?”
“I think nerves can come from guilt or fear. Either way, it means he knows something.”
We sat in silence, watching the light fade until the fireflies started their slow, patient dance across the yard.
“Whatever this is,” she said finally, “promise me we’ll handle it the right way. Not just the fast way.”
I nodded. “I promise.”
She turned her head, eyes catching the porch light. “And promise you’ll tell me before you go running toward another shadow.”
“That one’s harder.”
Her laugh was soft but tired. “You always were a difficult patient.”
“Part of my charm.”
She leaned her shoulder against mine. For a long moment, neither of us said anything. The world was mostly dark now, the kind that doesn’t threaten but still keeps secrets.
Inspector yawned, tail flicking against Milly’s leg. The smell of bread mixed with the dry scent of the field, warm and human.
Finally, she said, “Whatever’s out there, we’ll face it together. I’m not porcelain.”
“I know,” I said, voice quiet. “That’s what scares me.”
She gave me a look that said she understood even when she didn’t agree, and that was enough.
I stayed there long after she went inside, listening to the night settle. Out past the ridge, a lone coyote called—one sharp cry, answered by silence.
I watched the horizon until the stars thickened, then pulled my phone from my pocket and typed a message to Jake.
Run Peterson through your network. All aliases, all companies. Deep pull. Quiet channel.
He replied two minutes later.On it. You still chasing the dark?
Just trying to name it,I texted back.
Then I slipped the phone away and stared into the black line of the trees. The soldier in me was awake again, patient, methodical.
And somewhere behind that treeline, something else was moving too, and it was threatening my home.
Chapter 15
The Birthday Bash
Milly
The rumble of a truck woke me before the alarm could.
