Naomi
I step out of the car and breathe in the night air.
It is cold. Sharp. The city glows around me. Lights from restaurants. Laughter from bars. The sound of normal people living normal lives.
I miss normal.
Marco insisted on driving me. Two guards wait down the street, hidden in a black SUV. Kaelen does not know I am here. He is still in the hospital, sleeping off his pain meds.
I need this. One night. A few hours. Time to remember who I am outside of the mansion. Outside of the danger. Outside of him.
The restaurant is small. Italian. Warm lights in the windows. I see them already sitting at a table by the window.
Mia. Tanya.
My girls.
I walk inside. The smell of garlic and bread wraps around me like a hug.
Mia sees me first. She jumps up. "Naomi!"
She runs to me. She wraps
