away.
“Hi there,” she said gently. “I’m Officer Daniels. Are you Lily and Owen?”
Lily leaned slightly into my side but nodded.
“We’re going to help figure out what happened, okay?”
Owen asked, “Do we have to go in a police car?”
“Not unless we need to,” Daniels said. “Right now, we just want to make sure you’re safe.”
Safe.
That word seemed to move through the children without landing.
I knew what that felt like.
Safety was just a word until someone proved it.
Daniels glanced at me. “You witnessed the woman leave them?”
“Yes.”
“Relationship?”
“None.”
Her eyes sharpened slightly. People recognized me sometimes. Not always from photographs, but from the way other people behaved around me. Marco, the tailored suits, the quiet men positioned at a distance—those things created an impression.
“What’s your name, sir?”
“Ryker Steel.”
The younger officer looked up quickly. Daniels did not.
“You
