na

y arrived

a carriage tha

red SUVs that crouched on the

twitched as neighbors peeked t

he porch, his bo

is eyes tracking the movement of

his jaw, I could tell

ze they were hi

ed men near his

r voice soft as she touched his a

il she was safely insi

e most se

proof

rced c

esigned for the

the open do

esturing to the back seat whe

head, ste

"I'll take t

sa, that car is for secur

n't c

confined space with

watch him

t SUV and climbed in

ther wa

sion was u

st behind, I felt the familiar weight of the life I had tried

ve for

ack

tant pressure that made it

a rest area in

ormed a perime

ed Mia out

r back, guiding her toward a picnic

look at th

't look

k to the size of th

ete barrier, kee

ht me a bot

to eat," h

not h

ched

eeling a

ng every scrap of white pith b

ughing at some

juice from her ch

te, so casual, it felt li

to do th

, he had peeled blood oran

ruit was sweet because it

ates beauty, El

y for someone else, and I

buzzed in

t from Luca,

at

with trembl

g home. Pre

him that the

g home was named Arthur, and that he