Page 129 of ICED
Maya’s response comes seconds later.
DYLAN: Maya says thank you.
The second we pull up to the bakery, Maya’s at the door.
She’s outside before I’ve even cut the engine, running across the pavement. I barely get Lila’s door open before Maya’s there, pulling her into her arms.
“Oh my god,” she breathes, sinking to her knees. “You’re okay. You’re okay, you’re okay.”
Lila, confused but cheerful, pats Maya’s face. “I’m fine, Mummy. Bear came to get me and Ollie came too. And now we’re back. Are we having lunch?”
Maya can’t answer. She just hugs her daughter tight, tears streaking down her cheeks. I crouch beside them, brushing a hand along Maya’s back, grounding her.
“He didn’t go to the nursery,” I say softly. “She was safe. Everyone there said no strangers approached. I promise.”
Her eyes meet mine, wet and raw. “I panicked.”
“You were right to call,” I say. “Always call me.”
She nods, pulling in a shaky breath before kissing Lila’s forehead again. “My brave girl.”
Behind us, Murphy and Dylan are lingering on the pavement. They look like they don’t quite know what to do with themselves, hulking and awkward in their trainers and hoodies, standing in a loose formation like a protective wall.
Lila peers around Maya’s shoulder and gasps. “Why are all the Raptors here?”
Before Maya can answer, Ollie steps up with a wide grin. “Team picnic, mate. And guess what? You’re the guest of honour.”
Her face lights up. “Do we get sandwiches?”
“We get whatever the guest of honour wants,” he says. “Even pasta. Especially with cheese.”
She wriggles in Maya’s arms. “Mummy! You said we could have pasta!”
Maya lets out a laugh that’s half-sob. “We did. And we will.”
Ollie ruffles her curls and glances at me. “You alright?”
I nod, throat thick. “Yeah. I am now.”
Murphy wanders over, holding a protein bar. “Tell you what, if this is what I get every time I eat one of your weird emotional snacks, I’m never stopping.”
“Shut up,” I mutter, but there’s no heat in it. I look down at Maya and Lila again, they’re safe, wrapped around each other like the world could spin out and they wouldn’t notice.
“Come on,” Maya says after a long moment, standing with Lila in her arms. “Let’s go inside.”
We file back into the bakery, Maya, me, Lila, and the entire Raptors front line like some kind of oversized security detail. Lila asks if we can make cookies next. Maya promises her we will. And I think, yeah. We will.
Whatever comes next, we’ll handle it.
Together.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
MAYA
Iwake with a start. No scream this time, no sweat. Just a sharp, splintering inhale. My heart still races like I’ve run ten blocks, but we’re safe.
We’re at Owen’s.
