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I force a soothing tone. “Go back to bed, honey. It’s okay.”

“No! Don’t go back to bed, honey,” Milo shouts up the stairs. “It’s not okay. We all need to go right now. Daniel Quinn sent people here to kill you.”

I glare at him, my rage spiking. “Charlotte, go back to your room. I will come get you in a minute.”

She spins around and runs down the hall.

I take an angry step forward and Milo recoils against the door. “Can you please not scare the shit out of my kid?” I scold. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry,” he says, “but there’s no time to explain⁠—”

“Make time, Milo.”

He sighs. “They followed me here last night and saw me talking to you, which is — apparently — a really big no-no in the Irish mafia. They tried to kill me, I escaped, but they sent two very scary dudes here for you guys and they’ll be here any second. Do you have handcuff keys?” he asks again.

I pause, staring into his dark, panicked face. This isn’t a joke or a sick game. He’s terrified… but he came out here because we were in danger.

He came here to save us.

“Yeah,” I answer, blinking out of it. “Up in my room.”

His brow arches in surprise. “Really?”

I roll my eyes. “Any second?” I ask.

“Any second,” he repeats, turning back to look out the windows. “We need to go.”

“Okay…” I run a hand over my head, feeling my ponytail. “Stay down here. Hit the rest of the lights. I’ll get Charlotte.”

He nods and beelines through the living room toward the kitchen. I look out the window and scan the street once before turning around the taking the stairs two at a time to the top.

What the hell am I doing?

I can barely think two steps ahead. I have no proof of any of this other than Milo’s word and his stupid, handsome, frightened face.

“Charlotte?” I stick my head in her room, my eyes instantly drawn to the open window shades. I rush over and slide them closed, making the room even darker.

“Mommy?”

I follow her voice to her bed in the dark. “Come on, honey. Mommy needs to run an errand, so get dressed, okay?”

I grab a random shirt from her dresser, along with the first pair of pants I feel. My eyes adjust to the dark, and I kneel beside her. Charlotte moves slowly, but she’s never been one to argue. She raises her arms and I slide her nightgown off.

“Just a quick trip into the city,” I say, forcing that soothing tone as I push the shirt over her head. “It’ll be fun.”

“It’s dark,” she says.

“I know, honey. Step in.”

She does as she’s told, and I help her slip her feet into her pants. I pull them up and grab her jacket hanging from the bed frame.

“Detective.”

I hear Milo whispering for me from the foot of the stairs, but I keep my focus on her. I take Charlotte’s hand and lead her out into the hallway.

“My scope!” she cries, reaching back into her room.

I spin back in and grab the stethoscope off her bedside table. “I got it. Here,” I say, handing it to her in the hall.