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"Not sure."

She reaches for her laptop.

"Then let's figure it out."

"What?"

"You protect."

She points toward the equipment.

"I analyze."

A pause.

"And Sayer?"

"He stays protected."

Carys nods. No argument. That surprises me. Until she adds:

"Protected doesn't mean excluded."

I almost smile. Almost.

"You really don’t make anything easy."

"Neither do you."

Fair. We work. Together. Which is more distracting than it should be.

Carys searches records. I review surveillance. Every few minutes, I catch myself watching her instead of the screens.

Too much.

The woman I lost is sitting three feet away from me. The woman I never stopped loving. And there is no room for that. Not right now. Not with something hunting them.

A notification sounds. New alert. I turn. The perimeter sensor near the east side has triggered.

Carys immediately stands.

"Again?"

I nod.

"Stay here."

She gives me a look. I don't even bother arguing.

"Fine."

That should make me suspicious. It does. I grab my jacket.

"Sayer?"

The teenager appears from the hallway.

"I felt it."