The drive from Bellini’s to my apartment took twelve minutes and a lifetime. Kyle’s hands stayed at ten-and-two, the way they do when a security consultant is also a brother. “Police are already on site,” he said, choosing words like stepping stones. “Locks changed. Mom and Dad are right behind us.” I watched the city smear past the passenger window and felt the line between before and after sharpen until it could cut. The parking lot looked wrong. An unfamiliar car in my space. Two cruisers idl

At 3:17 AM, my nephews knocked on my door, wearing only pajamas! Their parents had locked them out... again. They had no idea I was about to make one phone call that would change all our lives forever...//..."Ariel, please, we're so cold." The voice was so thin, a bare scratch of sound against my apartment door, but it cut through the silence of the night like a siren. I bolted upright in bed, my heart instantly hammering against my ribs. My phone screen glowed: 3:17 AM. A cold dread, faster and