Page 67 of Raven

I crouched next to him, lowering my voice. “Hey, buddy. You’re safe. I’m right here. He’s not getting past me. I promise.”

Beatrice stepped closer to the bed, sitting on the edge of the bed with the kids. She reached for the girl, gently pulling her into her lap without waking her, shielding them with her body.

The shadow moved again.

A slow, deliberate step to the left… then another. Testing the lock. Listening.

Mandy began to growl louder now, her body coiled like a spring.

I raised my voice just enough to carry. “You’re not getting in. Walk away while you can.”

No reply. Just breathing.

Then—a sudden, violent jolton the handle. The door rattled.

Mandy lunged forward with a loud, deep bark, launching herself at the door. Beatrice held the kids tighter. I grabbed the blade from my boot and positioned myself beside the entrance, pressed to the wall, ready to strike if the bastard got in.

“Security’s on their way,” I shouted. “You’ve got ten seconds to leave or I’ll break you in half.”

Another pause.

Then, retreating footsteps. Faint. Slow. Controlled.

Beatrice exhaled, her chest rising and falling. “That was him,” she whispered. “I felt it.”

I nodded, my hand still tight on the knife. “He was testing the room. Looking for an opening.”

A nurse’s voice came over the intercom. “Code Pink is still in effect. The suspect has not been located. Security sweep in progress.”

Tag’s voice came through the door. “Raven? It’s us.”

I unlocked it immediately.

Tag and Gage stepped inside, weapons drawn and ready.

“West hallway’s clear,” Gage reported. “Security’s checking the north stairwell.”

“There was someone here,” I said. “He tried the door.”

“We’ve got this side now,” Tag assured us, standing beside the window, eyes scanning the corridor.

Beatrice sat on the edge of the hospital bed, cradling the girl as she began to stir. The boy was shaking, eyes darting between us.

“You’re safe now,” she said softly, brushing the hair off his forehead. “No one’s going to hurt you. Not while we’re here.”

He nodded, lips trembling. “Promise?”

“Promise,” she said, her voice steady as steel.

I knelt beside her. “You okay?”

She looked at me—and for a moment, all the fear, exhaustion, and love in her eyes hit me like a wave.

Then she nodded. “Yeah. Now that you’re here.”

* * *

The lockdown liftedtwo hours later.

---