Page 47 of Loco

I already had. The day after they were installed, I shared access to the feeds and alarm sign-ins with him, and he monitored them like a hawk.

Still, the message settled in the pit of my stomach like a stone.

I turned to the stove and started pulling things from the fridge for dinner, listening to Kaida babble to the cat and Kairoexplaining something very serious to one of the dogs. My world had changed, and someone out there was watching.

Let them watch because I’d die before I let anything happen to these kids.

And they’d have to go through me—and a whole lot worse—before they ever touched the kids or Sayla.

Dinner was simple—homemade chicken nuggets cut into little dino shapes because apparently that made them taste better. I’d made extra, too, a few plain ones set aside on a separate plate. Kairo and Kaida were on official treat duty, getting to hand-feed the dogs and try to tempt Dog with a bit of chicken (he sniffed it, blinked slowly, and walked away like the food offended him personally).

I was just about to start plating up when my phone buzzed on the counter.

Sayla:At Evie’s tonight. We need to talk tomorrow. I have something to show you.

I frowned, the shift in my stomach immediate.

Me:Is everything okay? Do I need to worry?

It took a minute before her reply came through.

Sayla:Alex and DB have it covered. Don’t stress.

Which, naturally, made me stress more.

Before I could spiral, my phone buzzed again—this time a message from Alex.

Alex:She’s here. She’s safe. Don’t worry.

A second later, another from DB.

DB:All good. You’ll get the full story tomorrow. She’s in good hands.

I stared at the screen for a moment, jaw tight, thumb hovering over my phone like I could squeeze more information out of it. But Alex and DB were solid. If they said she was okay, I believed them. Still, the fact that she wasn’t at home and hadn’t said much didn’t sit right.

Alex:She’s staying here tonight. We’ve got it.

That helped—a little. I locked the screen and stuffed the phone into my back pocket.

I was tense, yeah, but relieved, too. At least Sayla wasn’t alone. Whatever it was, she wasn’t dealing with it by herself—and if something had happened, Alex and DB were the kind of men who knew how to handle trouble. Still, I pulled my phone back out and texted Judd to make him aware, just in case.

I took a deep breath and looked at the chaos in the living room. Kairo was now giving an earnest pep talk to the Skynyrd about "gentle bites," and Kaida was standing with one chicken nugget pinched between her fingers, trying to tempt Dog from the windowsill like he was some kind of wild animal.

My lips twitched at seeing my cat obstinate and ignoring her. I couldn’t protect everyone at once, but Sayla was safe. And right now, these two were what I could focus on.

“All right, nugget patrol,” I called out. “Get your hands washed, it’s time to eat!”

They squealed and ran for the sink, the dogs following close behind, hoping for another dropped treat. I turned back to the plates, dishing up dinner and grounding myself in this moment.

Tomorrow would come, and whatever it brought, I’d be ready.

I lied—Iwasn’t ready for what tomorrow brought. Not even close.

It started at 3 a.m., with Kairo sitting bolt upright and projectile vomiting all over his police dog sheets. Kaida followed twenty minutes later, her poor little body trembling as she clung to me, tears streaming down her cheeks. I panicked—of course I did.

I remembered the Pedialyte in the bag Evie had dropped off, and I got some into them. Or tried to. I may have gotten it in, but it didn’t stay down.

By 5 a.m., I was on the phone with Evie, pacing in my kitchen in boxers and an old T-shirt, trying not to sound like I was completely losing it while I loaded the washing machine with puke-soaked bedding and pajamas.

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