Page 135 of Strays
So I’ll put Josh’s offer of a favor to good use.
I nod. “I’ll get it.”
“Good,” Jayme says, tapping a quick note into his phone. “That’ll go a long way toward covering her legally, and smoothing things out with the hospital.”
He puts the phone on the table and looks at Jo again. “Third, we loop in someone from your hospital’s legal or HR department. I’ll ask them to flag your file with a note that you’re eligible for reapplication or reinstatement once the situation stabilizes.
“After that, it's about maintaining documentation. Keep a copy of everything: the leave request, the letters, your training logs. If you do end up applying somewhere else later, I can help frame the gap as a protective measure, not a derailment. It’s not perfect. But if we do it right, you won’t be seen as a dropout.”
We thank him, then head home.
Later that night, we do the last thing we need to fully prepare Jo for what’s coming: we talk to her family. She sets her laptop on the dining table, and the three of us sit beside her for the video call.
It connects quickly. Her aunt appears on the screen, with a younger nyra beside her.
“Hi, Aunt Solange!” Jo greets, smiling. “Hi, Susie!”
Both nyras light up.
“How are you, Johane?” her aunt asks.
“Um… I actually have a problem I want to discuss with my uncles. Are they home?”
Solange nods and disappears off-screen to get them. The younger one, Susie, leans in toward the camera, eyes bright.
“Jo, guess what?” she says, excited. “I’m getting my driver’s license!”
Jo grins. “That’s wonderful, Susie! Good for you. I told you you could do it.”
“I’m killing it! My fathers didn’t like it at first, but now they’re proud of how good I am. They even gave me a few lessons on their truck!”
She stops talking suddenly as Solange returns with her mates. The camera frames them from behind as they step into view, but even like that, I can see the family resemblance with Jo: the golden-tan skin, the pitch-black eyes.
Solange takes Susie with her as the aegis sit down in front of the screen.
Jo introduces us. “Uncles, these are my mates, Jay, Shane, and Kory.”
The three aegis look at us with assessing expressions. The one on the right nods. “Nice to meet you.”
I clear my throat and speak for our pack. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
And it is. But, fuck, I wish this were under different circumstances. I wish Jo could’ve started this call by telling them we’re Special Ops agents that helped uncover a trafficking ring. We could’ve talked about work, maybe found some common ground, maybe they like basketball too.
It could’ve been a real start. A proper one. The beginning of something with her family. Maybe the call would’ve ended with an invitation to visit them at the end of the year, for the holidays. A chance to see my pack surrounded by a big family.
But that’s a fantasy, and the reality couldn’t be further from it. And I’m not a kid who dreams about family anymore, I’m a grown-ass aegis who fucked it all up, and now I’m here to do damage control.
So I tell them everything about Aranya, about how dangerous he is, how he took my mother all those years ago, how now that same man is threatening Jo. I tell them we’re facing serious charges and that there’s a real chance we’ll be convicted and locked up. And because of that, we need them to protect Jo while we’re gone.
When I finish, they exchange a glance before turning back to the screen. The one on the right speaks again.
“We’ll be at the trial,” he says, as the other two nod. “And if you get arrested, we’ll take Jo home ourselves.”
I feel Jo’s hand tighten on my knee.
“We’ll keep her safe, no matter what happens,” the aegis on the left adds.
Then the one in the center locks eyes with me. “You told us the truth; you came clean.” He glances at his brothers, then back at me. “You did right by our niece. All three of you. We see that.”
