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Jess’s warning that Evie is too young to know the difference between species sits heavy in my mind. She has looked out for my daughter since day one. Cared for her. Loved her and treated her as if Evie was her own.

Jess has created magic and warmth and family where before, there had simply been separate parents, the nanny, and a child. Needs were met. Safety was ensured, or so I thought. And while there was love, that familial bond was lacking.

How many times did I come home to find the girls curled up on the couch watching some cooking or gardening show? Or in the middle of a mini-spa day with matching towel turbans and cucumber slices on their eyes? Or the bungalow filled with the scent of dinner cooked with my toddler’s palate in mind, the offerings delicious and enticing, the mini desserts a symphony of flavors?

Daily. Every single day in one combination or another.

And the art projects.

The books.

Jess has been more of a mother to Evie in the time they’ve had together than Amie ever was. I can’t let anything happen to her. Whether she believes it or not, she’s mine now, and we’re going to have that talk about pursuing her dreams and not just collecting a paycheck.

“You lost over there?” Teague asks, pulling me from the edge of my thoughts.

“Just waiting for you to come up with a plan,” I fire back. “Or should I just go knock on the fucking door and ask for my kid?”

A whimper of fear comes from Teague’s phone, and I wonder at whether keeping Jess on the line was a good idea or not. But I need there to be just enough fear to stop her from stepping foot out of that vehicle.

“Baby, you’ve got to trust me here. Not going to let anything happen to me, but I’m going in to get our girl. I will bring her to you safe and sound. It’s okay if you don’t want to listen to the play by play. If it’s too much⁠—”

“I’m okay,” she whispers. “Eddie?”

“Jess.”

“Why is that kid from the estate walking up to the front door?”

“What?” The temptation to step out of the van to see what’s going on is strong, but I don’t think standing on the sidewalk with my hands on my hips like I’m the neighborhood HOA president is the type of stealth operation we’re going for. “Is Roux part of the plan?” I ask Teague.

His laugh is staccato puff of air. “Is he ever? That kid just bounces in, and chaos follows. Christophe should probably just hire him on at this point.” He flips to the open channel for his operators. “We’ve got a wildcard approaching the front. Prepare to breach from the rear. Use extreme caution. Get the child out unharmed, the doctor’s expendable.”

Screens set up on the wall of the van show the house from several angles, different imaging layers highlight the various bodies and movements and obstacles. Men, armed and staged like a military unit, close in on the back of the house, while taking up strategic positions at the front—covert and camouflaged.

“If a hair on my daughter’s head is harmed⁠—”

“Nothing is going to happen to Evie. Hold tight.”

I eye the man who holds a vastly different standard of harm. He has no idea what it is to have a child, to love a piece of my soul outside of my body, what it’s like to happily offer up my life for hers…

Fuck, what am I still doing here? In the back of this van watching from a distance?

The door is silent to open but even the cloud-filled sky lights the interior of the dark van. I step out onto the pavement and turn toward the house just in time to see the front door open and Hibou poke his face out. He scowls at Roux, likely wondering along with the rest of us, what the fuck he’s doing there.

I stalk toward them, but movement to my right snags my attention. And, unfortunately, not just mine.

Hibou glances away from Roux, concern transforming to recognition and rolling straight into fury, because Jess is picking her way down the center of the road, barefoot and sloshing through puddles, yellow rubber boot clutched to her chest. She is a beautiful, chaotic mess and not a good listener.

I dart along the van, Teague on my heels, and wrap an arm around Jess’s waist, lifting her off the ground. “Where do you think you’re off to, little rabbit? Thought I told you to stay put.”

“But Evie⁠—”

“I told you to trust me.” I turn, handing Jess off to Teague. “Get her to safety and guard her with your life, understand? I’m going in.”

“Eddie, no…”

I turn my back and lengthen my stride in an effort to get to Hibou before he can slam the door and lock it.

“You and I need to have words, doc.” I button my suit jacket as I approach, as if this is a business call and not one of his final fucking moments on Earth.