Chapter 16
Remedy
By the time breakfast ended, Charlie had declared the repaired sleepover a complete success, though her standards appeared to depend almost entirely on the number of pancakes consumed and whether Mr. Pickles received his own plate.
The kitchen remained crowded long after everyone finished eating, filled with the lingering warmth of coffee, rain-damp jackets, and conversations that wandered from security rotations to whether guardian ladybugs required their own clubhouse patches.
Outside, the morning brightened beneath a clearing sky, but the threat beyond Harbor House had not disappeared with the storm.
Brothers continued changing shifts near the entrances, Cipher’s cameras covered every path leading toward the property, and two sheriff’s vehicles remained parked where residents could see them without knowing why they were there.
We were trying to preserve normal life without pretending normal still existed.
Charlie sat at the table beside Sunshine, carefully arranging blueberries into what she claimed was a portrait of Pancake the dragon.
The resemblance required an imagination more generous than mine, but Sunshine studied the plate with complete seriousness while my daughter explained why one uneven blueberry represented a royal horn.
Watching them together sent the same quiet ache through me that had become increasingly familiar over the past few weeks.
Charlie leaned against Sunshine without hesitation, confident that the woman beside her would remain long enough to finish the story, clean the spilled syrup, and remember every important detail about imaginary dragons.
Sunshine accepted that trust with a tenderness that never felt borrowed.
The night had changed something between us, though neither of us had named it beyond honest, careful, and real.
I could still feel the warmth of her body curled against mine on the sitting-room couch, the softness of her mouth beneath mine, and the restrained tremor in her hands when desire became something she recognized instead of something she feared.
More than any kiss, I remembered waking to find her still there.
Sunshine had not slipped away before dawn or rebuilt the distance between us while I slept.
She had opened her eyes in my arms, considered what the moment meant, and chosen not to run.
I knew better than to confuse one safe night with a healed lifetime. Fear did not disappear because tenderness arrived. It simply learned it was no longer the only thing allowed inside the room.
Sunshine glanced toward me from across the kitchen, and something private softened her expression.
The look lasted only a second before Charlie held up another blueberry and demanded help deciding whether dragon eyebrows should be symmetrical.
Even so, that single glance steadied me more than I wanted anyone else to notice.
Daisy noticed.
Of course she did.
She stood near the sink drying dishes, her attention apparently fixed on a stack of plates while the faint smile at the corner of her mouth said otherwise.
Bishop noticed too, though he showed more mercy by remaining near the back door with his coffee and pretending to review the security report in his hand.
Steel lacked either woman’s restraint. He leaned against the counter, followed Sunshine’s gaze toward me, and smiled like a man who had just solved a problem nobody had asked him to investigate.
I pointed one warning finger in his direction.
Steel’s smile widened.
Charlie looked up. “Why are you pointing?”
“Your uncle is being annoying.”
“He does that.”
“Exactly.”
Steel pressed a hand to his chest. “I come here to protect this family and receive nothing but disrespect.”
Daisy handed him a wet dish. “Dry.”
“I’m on security.”
“You’re standing in the kitchen.”
“I can secure the plates.”
“Start with that one.”
Laughter rolled through the room, easy enough that the previous night’s fear momentarily loosened its grip.
Sunshine’s shoulders relaxed beside Charlie, and I found myself listening for her laugh beneath everyone else’s.
It came a second later, warm and unguarded, and the sound made the morning feel almost ordinary.
Almost.
My phone vibrated against the counter.
Cipher.
Every conversation inside me stopped before I even looked at the screen.
I answered while moving toward the hallway. “Tell me.”
“We found where the SUV turned off.”
My pace quickened. “Where?”
“An abandoned sawmill road about nine miles east. Mace and Gage are already there with Carson.”
“Vehicle?”
“Gone.”
“Tracks?”
“Enough to confirm two people exited. One came back.”
I stopped beside the clinic doorway. “What do you mean one came back?”
“There are two sets heading into the woods and only one set returning to the road.”
The implication tightened every muscle across my shoulders.
“One could’ve left another way.”
“Could have.”
Cipher’s tone said he did not believe that was the most likely explanation.
“Any sign they came toward Harbor House?”
“We’re mapping the trail now. The second set heads northwest.”
Toward us.
I looked through the clinic window toward the gardens, where sunlight had begun reflecting across wet leaves and flower beds. Anyone hiding inside the woods could have watched the farmhouse while children played only yards away.
“How recent?”
“Tracks survived the rain beneath tree cover. Probably from the same window as the camera images.”
“Then someone may still be out there.”
“Yes.”
The simple confirmation carried more weight than panic would have.
“What does Toxic want?”
“Lockdown remains. Nobody moves between Harbor House and the clubhouse alone. He wants Sunshine transported to the clubhouse until we clear the woods.”
My first instinct agreed before the rest of me could think.
Get her away from the property.
Get Charlie with her.
Surround both of them with walls, brothers, weapons, and every layer of protection we could create.
Then I remembered the east trail, the way Sunshine had looked at me when I told her I would not decide for her, and the trust in her voice when she said she could face the meeting because I would be there.
“I’ll tell her what we know,” I said. “She decides where she stays.”
Cipher was quiet for half a beat. “Toxic won’t like that.”
“Toxic doesn’t have to.”
“He’s president.”
“She isn’t patched.”
“That argument should go well.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Cipher sighed. “Call me after.”
The line disconnected.
I remained in the hallway while the old instinct to take control fought with everything Sunshine had taught me about the difference between protection and choice.
The danger was no longer theoretical. Someone connected to the Order might still be moving through the woods around Harbor House.
Every part of me wanted to remove her from the threat before she could object.
But fear did not give me ownership of her decisions.
I returned to the kitchen.
Sunshine knew something had changed before I spoke. Her smile faded, and her hand moved instinctively toward the silver paper guardian badge she had transferred from yesterday’s sweater to the pocket of today’s jeans.
“What happened?”
The room quieted around us.
Charlie continued arranging blueberries until Daisy quietly guided her attention toward another plate.
I kept my voice even. “They found the road where the SUV stopped. Two people entered the woods, but only one set of tracks returned.”
Sunshine’s face lost color.
“Toward Harbor House?”
“Possibly.”
Steel straightened away from the counter. Bishop folded the security paper in his hand and moved toward the back windows.
“Do they know where the second person is?” Sunshine asked.
“No.”
The truth landed hard, but she deserved it without softening.
“Toxic wants you at the clubhouse until the search is complete.”
Her eyes shifted toward mine. “What do you want?”
Every person in the kitchen became very still.
“I want you and Charlie somewhere no one can reach you.”
Charlie looked up at the sound of her name. “Where are we going?”
I crouched beside her chair. “Maybe the clubhouse for a little while.”
“Can Sunshine come?”
“If she wants to.”
Charlie turned immediately. “Do you?”
The question was so innocent that Sunshine’s expression nearly broke. She reached across the table and took Charlie’s syrup-sticky hand.
“I do.”
Relief moved through me before caution could hide it.
Sunshine looked back at me. “But I want to know what happens here.”
“You will.”
“I don’t want people deciding I’m too fragile to hear the truth.”
“They won’t.”
Her gaze remained steady. “You won’t?”
“No.”
The answer cost me something because part of me still wanted to shield her from every new detail. Yet withholding danger would not make her safer. It would only leave her dependent on men to decide when she deserved information.
Steel stepped toward the doorway. “I’ll call Toxic and let him know we’re moving them.”
Sunshine’s fingers tightened around Charlie’s. “The residents?”
“Full rotation stays,” Bishop answered. “Lark and Daisy can relocate anyone who feels safer at the clubhouse. Nobody is being forced to leave.”
“Will the children know why?”
“No,” Daisy said. “We’ll call it a movie day.”
Charlie brightened. “With popcorn?”
“Probably.”
“Then we should go now.”
Steel smiled faintly. “Strong tactical reasoning.”
She nodded. “Popcorn gets cold.”
The humor eased enough tension for everyone to move again. Daisy began gathering jackets, Bishop checked the side entrance, and Steel disappeared toward the porch with his phone already in hand. Sunshine remained beside Charlie, though her gaze had drifted toward the windows overlooking the woods.
I moved closer.
“You alright?”
“No.”
The honesty no longer surprised me. It made me proud.
“What do you need?”
“To see the map.”
“Cipher can show you at the clubhouse.”
“And the tracks?”
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you in the woods while someone may still be there.”