Page 58 of Falcon’s Forever

Falcon:

Bossy.

I smile.

Cara:

You said your shift ended at two.

Falcon:

It did.

Cara:

Then why are you answering?

A longer pause.

Falcon:

I'm walking to my room.

I should stop there. I don't want to.

Cara:

Good.

Falcon:

You should sleep too.

Cara:

Working on it.

Falcon:

Goodnight, Cara.

I stare at the screen. My fingers hover over the reply. It shouldn't feel significant, it's two words, people say it to each other every day. Maybe that's exactly why it does, because normal's become precious.

Cara:

Goodnight, Falcon.

I put the phone facedown beside me. Outside, the footsteps fade toward the clubhouse. He's handing the line off to somebody else, trusting his brothers enough to actually stop for the night. That's not nothing.

I close my eyes, and for once, the sound of Falcon walking away doesn't feel like abandonment. It feels like he's finally learning how to come back.

Chapter 9

Falcon

Iget four hours of sleep, which apparently counts as an improvement these days.

When I come down just after six, Harrier's already behind the bar muttering at a toaster that's personally offended him. Zip's at a table with his laptop open. Condor's got enough screens around him at the far end to qualify as a small surveillance department.