Page 129 of Sacrifice
"I hate this part. The waiting."
"Me too."
We try to watch TV, but neither of us can focus.
Instead, we end up cleaning things that don't need cleaning, both of us just trying to stay busy even though we’re nervous as hell.
It's nearly ten when Emil returns.
He looks tired but not injured, which I take as a win.
"Everything okay?" I ask.
"Yeah. Just something I needed to handle." He drops onto the couch, and Odin immediately drapes himself across Emil's lap. "Los Coyotes are moving money through Florida. Not directly threatening us, but close enough to monitor. Doran’s getting more involved now, too."
"Are we safe?"
"As safe as we ever are." He pulls me against his side. "They're testing boundaries, seeing our response. We're doing the same to them. It's a chess game right now."
"I hate chess," Elfe announces. "Can't we play something else? Like Uno?"
"Unfortunately, cartels don't play Uno," Emil says. "But we've got the advantage. This is our territory. We know every street, every hideout, every possible approach. And we've got something they don't."
"What's that?"
"Family," he says simply. "Real family, not just blood or business. People who'll stand together no matter what."
"Sappy," Elfe accuses, but she's smiling. "True, but sappy."
We sit together in our fortress, three humans and three dogs, an unlikely family forged by circumstance and choice.
Outside, threats linger. Los Coyotes haven't forgotten their lost drugs or dead soldiers.
They'll come eventually, seeking vengeance or recompense.
But tonight, we're safe. Together. Ready.
"I should probably head to bed," Elfe says eventually. "Got a commission to work on tomorrow before my shift at Bubba’s."
"Another skull painting?" I tease.
"Actually, it's a landscape. With only minimal death imagery."
"Progress."
She hugs us both goodnight, Luna at her heels.
We hear her door close, the familiar sounds of her settling in.
"Good day?" Emil asks once we're alone.
"Yeah. Really good. Normal, even."
"Normal's nice sometimes."
"It is." I study his face. "How worried should I be? About the Los Coyotes intel?"
"Honestly? Medium worried. Not panic worried, but stay-alert worried. They're probing, which means they're planning something. But we're ready for whatever they bring."
