“Hersh—”
“You okay?”
Stupid question.
Of course she wasn’t okay.
But I needed to hear her voice anyway.
She nodded too quickly.
Lie.
I knew it immediately.
Because her hands were trembling hard now.
Shock setting in.
Behind us, Wolf pushed fully outside into the rain while Trigger followed close behind.
Ava stayed with Isabel, trying to calm the terrified girl while speaking rapidly into her radio.
But none of that registered fully anymore.
Not when Flick suddenly grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands like she physically neededsomething solid to hold onto.
“They found me,” she whispered shakily.
Those words hit something violent inside me.
No.
Not happening.
Not while I was breathing.
I lowered my forehead against hers without even thinking about the people around us.
“Listen to me carefully.”
Rain pounded outside.
Sirens screamed closer.
But Flick only looked at me.
Only me.
“They came here tonight,” I said quietly, “and they still left without you.”
Emotion cracked across her face instantly.
Because she understood what I was really saying.
They failed.
Her breath hitched hard.
