67

Asher

She’s safe.

So many things have become uncertain as of late, especially as my world flipped upside down over and over again. But from the second I jump from my car and wrap my arms around Camila, familiar certainty surrounds me once more.

She is safe.

A part of me knows that she won’t be forever, not while Yannick is allowed to run free. But in this moment, it’s enough. Cupping the back of her head, I stroke her hair while my eyes search the playground. There’s no one here but us. Unable to convince myself, I look again, scouring bushes, trees, and even the distant buildings fringing the area. My ears strain for the sound of Yannick’s wretched voice.

But still, nothing.

My hand slows its stroking of Camila’s hair. “He wasn’t lying.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, turning her face upward at me.

I relax my grip enough for her to shimmy out from it, even though it pains me to do so. “He sent me a text telling me to come here and get you,” I explain. I didn’t think it was real.

Somew