Page 20 of Ranger’s Protection

"Just tired," Delilah says. "So tired I can barely think straight."

"That's the adrenaline crash. You'll probably sleep for twelve hours straight once you let yourself rest." Eden packs up her equipment. "I'm going to recommend fluids, food if you can manage it, and sleep. If anything changes, if you start feeling worse instead of better, you come find me immediately. I'm here 24/7 right now because of the lockdown situation. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you."

Eden squeezes Delilah's shoulder gently, gives me a look that clearly says *take care of her*, and heads back toward the medical room. Ivy returns with a glass of water and a plate with crackers and cheese.

"Thought you might want something light. The kitchen's always open if you want actual food later, but sometimes small things are easier when you're stressed."

Delilah accepts the water and drinks half of it in one go. Her hand is still in mine. I'm starting to think she's not going to let go until I physically remove myself, and I'm starting to be okay with that.

Phoenix catches my eye and tilts his head toward his office. Wants to debrief. Now.

I look down at Delilah. "I need to talk to Phoenix for a few minutes. Give him a report on what happened. Will you be all right here with Ivy?"

Her grip on my hand tightens reflexively, then loosens as she forces herself to relax. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Go."

I'm not convinced, but before I can second-guess it, Nora appears from somewhere with Grace in tow. Grace immediately starts signing enthusiastically at Delilah, and Nora translates with ease.

"She says you look sad and she has a coloring book that might help. Would you like to color with her?"

"I would love to color with you," she tells Grace.

Grace beams and tugs her toward the table where crayons and paper are already spread out. Mariah appears seconds later with Captain the stuffed rabbit, declaring that Captain also wants to color. Just like that, Delilah is absorbed into the chaos that is the clubhouse kids deciding someone needs cheering up.

I make eye contact with Ivy and Nora. They both nod, understanding the silent communication: *watch her, keep her safe, don't let her spiral*.

Then I follow Phoenix into his office.

The door closes behind us, and Phoenix gestures for me to sit. I do, my body finally registering how exhausted I am now that the immediate crisis is over. The chair feels too soft after hours of tactical alertness.

"Talk," Phoenix says, settling into his own chair behind the desk. "Full debrief. Don't leave anything out."

I walk him through it: arriving at the motel, the code knock, Delilah opening the door. The Vipers arriving minutes later. The confrontation in the room. Taking down three men, killing one. Extracting Delilah and Vale. The pursuit. The backup intercept. All of it laid out in chronological order with relevant tactical details.

Phoenix listens without interrupting, his expression neutral but his attention absolute. When I finish, he's quiet for a long moment.

"You brought back a prisoner," he finally says.

"Marcus Vale. He was the shooter in the murder Delilah witnessed. I believe he has information about Demon's location and operations. I made a tactical decision that live intel was worth the complication of transporting him."

"Agreed. Judge and Brick are setting him up in the basement storage room we converted into a holding cell. We'll question him in the morning when he's had time to think about his situation." Phoenix leans back in his chair. "The brother you killed. That's going to complicate things."

"It was justified. He was actively trying to reach a weapon while attempting to break into a bathroom where a protected witness was hiding."

"I'm not questioning your judgment. I'm saying the Vipers will use it. They'll say we murdered one of theirs in cold blood. They'll retaliate harder."

"They were already retaliating as hard as they could," I point out. "Sending four men to kidnap a witness in broad daylight? That's desperation, not strategy. Demon's running out of resources and making sloppy moves."

Phoenix considers this, then nods. "Fair assessment. What's your read on the witness?"

I think about Delilah curled in the footwell of the sedan, breathing through exercises while men shot at us. The way she followed every instruction without hesitation despite being terrified. The way she looked at me when I told Vale to shut his mouth.

"Tougher than she looks," I say. "Scared but functional. Smart, you can see her processing information constantly, calculating odds. She'll need time to decompress, but she's not going to break."

"Good. Because I need her coherent enough to give a full statement tomorrow. Everything she saw, everything she knows, every detail that might help us track Demon's remaining operations." He pauses. "She comfortable with you?"

The question catches me off guard. "What?"