Page 40 of Joker

I unbuckle and open the driver’s side door. “You wanna keep talking, or you wanna keep breathing?”

Blaze holds up both hands. “Hey, no judgment. Just…not what I pictured when Logan said pickup.”

“Not what I pictured either.”

That shuts him up for about two seconds. Then he leans slightly to try to see into the passenger side again and says, “She’s—”

I cut him a look sharp enough to make him stop before he finishes the sentence.

His mouth snaps shut.

Good.

Shadow, to his credit, doesn’t push. He just studies me for one long second, probably noticing more than I want him to, then jerks his chin toward the front entrance. “Logan knows?”

“He will in about thirty seconds.”

“Need help?”

I glance back at the truck.

Raven is unbuckling carefully, moving like every joint in her body hurts. Lexi is still asleep, dead weight and bunny and all. The bags are in the back. The last thing I need is a crowd, but I’m not dumb enough to pretend I can do all of it one-handed while keeping things low-key.

“Get Logan,” I tell Shadow. “And tell everybody else to mind their own damn business.”

Shadow’s mouth twitches. “That should go well.”

“Figure it out.”

He nods once and heads inside.

Blaze lingers.

“Blaze.”

“Right. Minding my business.” He backs off with both hands raised like I’ve drawn a weapon on him, which honestly isn’t far from the truth where my patience is concerned tonight.

I circle the front of the truck and open the passenger door before Raven can manage it herself.

She looks up at me, and for half a second she just stays there like she forgot what comes next. Up close, the exhaustion in her face is even worse. She’s beyond tired. She’s running on fumes and stubbornness and whatever thin thread of adrenaline has been holding her upright since Louisiana.

“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice lower than usual because Lexi’s right there and because she looks like if I speak too sharply, she might crack in a way she’ll hate me for noticing. “You with me?”

She blinks once, then nods. “Yeah.”

I don’t fully believe her, but that’s not a fight I need to pick right now. I step back so she can climb down and reach for the rear door before she can try to do everything herself.

The second she sees what I’m doing, she says, “I’ve got her.”

Of course she does. Or at least she thinks she does.

I open the back door and look at Lexi, then back at Raven. “You’ve barely got yourself.”

Her chin lifts immediately, pride kicking in even half-dead on her feet. “I can carry my daughter.”

“I’m sure you can.”

“I can.”