Maggie sits cross-legged on the floor beside Ivy, helping her build a solar system model, or attempting to. Saturn currently hangs sideways.
“You glued Jupiter to the table,” Maggie informs her.
“I panicked,” Ivy replies.
Maggie laughs, then notices me standing in the doorway watching them. Her smile softens immediately.
I step farther into the room and crouch beside the disaster occupying Ivy’s carpet. “Explain why Neptune is upside down.”
“Creative vision,” Ivy replies confidently.
“Terrible vision.”
Maggie bites down on her smile, and my attention drops to her mouth before I can stop it. Instant mistake because I know exactly how that mouth feels beneath mine.
Maggie notices, and the next breath she takes is a little faster.
Ivy remains oblivious while holding up a glitter-covered foam ball toward me. “Can you help?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Maggie says. She points toward my hands. “You look like a man who’s never willingly touched craft glue a day in your life.”
Correct. I take the glue stick anyway. Five minutes later, it’s bonded to my fingers.
Maggie nearly folds in half laughing. “I told you.”
I glare at the glue coating my hand. “It appears defective.”
“That appears to be user error,” she corrects.
Ivy laughs so hard she hiccups, and the sound fills the room warmly enough that something twists low beneath my ribs.
My phone vibrates. One glance at the screen tells me it’s Luka. I stand immediately. “Excuse me.”
Maggie watches my expression change. She notices more than most people. That’s another problem.
I step into the hallway before answering. “Yes?”
Luka’s voice comes low through the speaker. “We identified the vehicle from outside the shelter.”
My back teeth clench. “And?”
“It belongs to a shell company tied to Enzo.”
A cold chill flashes through me. “Who was inside?”
“We’re still working on that.”
Not good enough.
I stare down the hallway toward Ivy’s bedroom while Maggie’s laughter echoes faintly through the doorway. Warm. Safe. A perilous illusion.
“Keep eyes on the shelter,” I say quietly.
“Already done.”
“Double them,” I order.
