Page 70 of Loco

It had been a month since the attempted break-in at the daycare, and all Roque told me was that they’d caught the guy.

I didn’t ask for more. Not because I wasn’t curious—God knows I was—but because I saw how Roque’s jaw tightened whenever it came up. Whatever it was, it had shaken him, and if he wasn’t ready to talk, I figured it was better to let him deal with it in his own time. I was just glad whoever it was had been taken off the streets.

After that, I’d tried moving back into my house. The window had been fixed within days—Roque had been on top of it before I’d even finished my coffee the morning after it’d happened. But when I’d mentioned going home, he’d looked at me with this quiet, unwavering firmness and said,“Not yet, I’d rather tie up some loose ends first.”

I didn’t push it. Something about how he said it made my skin prickle, so I stayed.

And, if I was being honest, I didn’t really want to leave anyway.

We’d found a rhythm with the kids and each other. Waking up to Kaida babbling from her room and Kairo sneaking into our room with his stuffed fox in tow had become my new normal. Making breakfast with Roque, tiptoeing around each other in the kitchen, stealing kisses behind the fridge door—none of that felt temporary anymore.

But I’d noticed things.

Judd and Keir seemed to always be around. Sometimes, they made it obvious they were there with a purpose, sometimes they just leaned against their cars like they were waiting for something. And there was always a patrol car nearby. Roque had said nothing about it, and I didn’t ask. It was probably just a coincidence, right?

Still, a part of me knew better.

Today, though, I was focused on Kairo’s birthday.

I’d been up since 4 a.m., too excited to sleep. I’d stored most of the decorations at my place—balloons, goody bags, little race cars for the kids to take home—and now I was back there with DB and Alex, loading everything up to set up in Roque’s backyard.

“This kid’s gonna lose his mind when he sees all this,” DB grinned, balancing a box full of red, white, and black balloons on one arm.

“That’s the plan,” I said, double-checking the checklist on my phone. “I want him to feel like the most special little guy on the planet today.”

Alex lifted a box of miniature trophies and looked around the living room. “Place looks good, Say. Clean, fresh windows, and no creepy vibes.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it looksokay.”

But it didn’tfeelokay. Not anymore.

I glanced around, taking in the space that used to feel like home. My couch, my photos, my books, the way the sunlight came through the front window just right in the morning—all of it was still here. But the comfort was gone and had been replaced with a whisper of something else. Not quite fear, but definitely not peace.

I didn’t feel safe the way I used to, and I wasn’t sure I would ever feel safe again.

But I had today to focus on. DB and Alex were helping, I had a backyard to transform, and I had a little boy who deserved the biggest, happiest birthday of his life.

So, I locked the door behind me, took a deep breath, and followed them out, ready to build something for one hell of a party.

DB was now wrangling the bundles of inflated balloons, too, and I silently prayed a strong gust of wind wouldn’t come along and carry them off. But the real challenge was the balloon arch I’d impulsively ordered—the showstopper. A mix of sleek black and shiny red balloons, with latex and metallic finishes all twisted together. It was stunning. And if the wind tore it down or something ruined it… well, I was pretty sure I’d cry.

“Run, bitch, run,” DB called to his dad, laughing until a gust of wind yanked at the balloons clutched in his fist. Then hedid exactly what Alex had done and sprinted to the door before disaster struck.

The party wasin full swing, and honestly, it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Everywhere I looked, kids were laughing, running, painting, and decorating anything they could get their hands on. One little girl had glitter in her eyebrows and frosting on her nose. Another carefully painted tiny flames on a cardboard race car while her dad offered unsolicited but hilarious advice beside her.

The cupcake station was chaos in the best way—mountains of sprinkles, rainbow frosting, and little flags with cartoon cars on them. More sugar had been consumed in the past hour than I cared to admit, but no one was complaining.

Best of all, Kairo had the biggest smile I’deverseen on his face.

He’d already raced twice in one of the motorized toy cars Roque had bought him, and now he was sitting with a group of kids proudly showing off his face paint—a neon green dinosaur with glittery spikes in his hair.

His little voice carried over the music as he shouted,“T-Rex!”and pretended to chomp his friends.

Kaida, on the other hand, was fast asleep in Roque’s arms, her cheek pressed to his shoulder, little fists curled against his chest, and her face painted like the fairy princess she was. He stood in the shade, gently rocking side to side, with a soft expression that made my heart squeeze.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The ladies were laughing, with plates full of snacks and drinks in hand, complimenting on how well it turned out.

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