He peered back at me, lifting his chin a fraction. “Five minutes, and you make sure you remember whose roof you’re under.” I had to fight a grin. Val was just like her father. I could only imagine the battles they’d probably had over the years. I followed him inside and quietly made my way upstairs. A soft patch of light filtered from the first door on the right. When I poked my head in, I found my girl asleep, propped up in her bed on a mountain of pillows. She hadn’t changed her clothes and still had her phone clutched in her hand. I had no doubt she’d been worried sick and had fought to stay awake as long as she could. After her own traumatic scare earlier in the day, she’d been unable to withstand her body’s need for rest. Her eyes fluttered open the second I sat on the edge of the bed
