Page 13 of Property of Bones

“Are you sure you don’t want us to stay with you?” Abby asks. “Or you can come and stay with us at the compound. I’m sure my brother wouldn’t mind and we have plenty of room.”

“I’m honestly okay,” I respond. “But, I have all of your numbers. So, if it turns out that I’m not, I promise to call.”

“Wewillbe calling you,” Riley says.

I nod, trying to keep my breathing even. “Is this… normal?” I ask, my voice small. “Does stuff like this happen often?”

Tank snorts, but it’s not exactly amused. “In our world? Yeah. In yours?” He shakes his head. “No. And we aim to keep it that way.”

He opens my car door and waits as I slide in. For a guy who looks like he could bend steel with his bare hands, he’s surprisingly gentle.

“You call me or Bones if you feel off,” he says. “Anything weird. Car backfires. Light flickers. Stray cat looks at you funny. Got it?”

That earns the smallest laugh from me, which I think was his goal. I nod again. “Got it.”

Tank leans in just a bit closer. “And Sunny?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you’re scared. That’s normal. But you’re not alone, okay? You’re under our protection now. And Bones?” He huffs out a breath. “He don’t take that lightly.”

“Then where is he?” I whisper so softly that I’m not even sure the words were actually said.

“Closer than you think,” Tank whispers back before closing the door.

I’m not sure what to say to that, so I just grip the steering wheel tighter and give a shaky smile.

Then I drive home, trying not to look in the rearview mirror too much, praying that this is the end of it.

But something deep in my gut says this is only the beginning.

***Bones***

I sit across the street, lights off, engine cooled. There’s no movement on the block. Just the flicker of an old streetlamp struggling to stay alive and the occasional bark from some yappy dog two houses down. I can see her window from here. The curtain twitches once, then stills.

Tank made sure she made it home while I sped here to make sure her home was safe before they arrived.

She’s locked inside now but that doesn’t mean she’s safe.

I scan the shadows for anything that feels off. Been doing this long enough to know that danger doesn’t always roar in. It slinks in quietly, slips through cracks, hides in plain sight.

And tonight? Everything feels just a littletooquiet.

I grab my cell and hit Spike’s number.

He answers on the first ring. “Tell me you got good news.”

“No,” I grunt. “Tell me you’re not planning on stepping one foot outta that compound without someone watching your six.”

There’s a pause. “I wasn’t. Why?”

“Because whoever took out that kid wasn’t new to the game. Suppressor. Quick shot. Clean getaway. That ain’t local street trash, Spike. That’s hired muscle. Maybe even cartel.”

“Shit,” he mutters. “You think someone’s making moves on our turf?”

“I think this thing’s bigger than a bad deal gone sideways. If Billyisinvolved, then he’s not doing it on his own. Too stupid. Like killing someone in a fucking supermarket where anyone could be a witness.” I glance back up at Sunny’s window. The light’s on. Her silhouette moves across the curtain.

“She safe?”

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