Page 50 of Falcon’s Forever

Nothing moves outside the fence the rest of the shift, no engines, no headlights, and that bothers me more than if I could see something coming. When my shift ends I hand the south line off to Rook instead of staying another six hours. Small decision. Nobody else would notice it. I do.

The front door of the women’s house opens as I make my way back toward the clubhouse.

Cara steps onto the porch, and I stop.

She sees me standing in the yard, but neither of us moves closer.

“How are they?” I ask.

“They’re settling down,” Cara replies. “Emily’s doing better.”

“Good.” I glance toward the kitchen window. “The latch is being replaced tomorrow.”

“I saw the message,” she tells me.

“Condor is adding a second camera,” I add.

“I saw that too,” Cara says.

Something about her already knowing makes me smile.

She notices. “What?”

“Nothing,” I reply.

Cara tilts her head. “That word again.”

I shove my hands into my jacket pockets. “I like that you already knew.”

Her expression softens. “So do I.”

Twenty feet of yard separates us. Neither of us tries to close the distance. For a moment, we simply exist in the same place.

Cara looks toward the tree line. “Do you think they’ll come back?”

I could lie, but she would know.

“Yes,” I answer.

“Me too,” she says calmly.

There’s no panic in her voice. Just the truth, shared between us.

“But next time, we’ll be ready sooner,” I promise.

Cara looks back at me and nods. “We will.”

The word settles somewhere beneath my ribs.

We.

Not me. Not her. Not the club on one side and the women on the other.

Us.

“I should go,” I say, turning toward the clubhouse.

“Falcon?” Cara calls after me.