Mia whimpered. “Luci. I don’t have Luci.”

“There she is,” Will said, darting into the office to grab the kitten.

Mia kept shaking her head and tugged on my arm. “I want you to come with us.”

I crouched, framing her face in my hands. “I need to wait for the sheriff, okay? Everything’s going to be fine. And there are games down there. Will is going to play with you. Right, Will?”

He nodded, Luci squirming in his arms. “Yeah, Mi. Let’s see what he’s got.” Will ushered Mia and Ava downstairs, but Caelyn remained.

She was still pale, but her jaw had tightened. “I’m staying with you.”

“The hell you are. You’re going down there and you’re going to keep those kids calm.”

Her hands fisted in my shirt. “What if something happens to you?”

I pulled her to me. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“Swear it.”

“I swear.” I released her, heading to the gun safe on the wall. I punched in the code, and it unlocked. I grabbed my Glock and shut the door. “See, completely protected. Now, go downstairs. Keep them calm.”

“Griffin?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

I froze. The knowledge of her words seemed to zing through my body as if someone had lit a series of fireworks in my bloodstream. “What did you say?”

Caelyn pressed her lips together. “I love you. I just needed you to know that. I know you might not be ready—”

I kissed her, quick and fierce. “I love you. I think a part of me loved you from the first moment I saw you. Some part of me recognized that you were the one person who could understand me. Who could help me find my way back.”

Caelyn’s eyes filled with tears, but a sharp knock sounded on the front door. We froze. I brought a finger to my lips and then pointed down the stairs. She paused for a moment, but when I squeezed her arm, she followed my instructions. As quietly as possible, I closed the door to the panic room, then slid the bookcase back in place.

Another knock sounded. I eased towards the doorway of the office but stayed protected by the wall. “Who is it?”

“It’s Parker.”

The tension in my muscles eased a fraction. “You alone?”

“What the hell is going on?” he barked.

I quickly made my way to the door, unlocking it and creating just enough of an opening for Parker to slip inside. As soon as he passed the threshold, I shut and locked it behind him. He scanned me from head to toe, his gaze lingering on the gun in my hand. “What happened?”