Page 73 of Never Say Never

"My sneakers are double-knotted. Navy makes them too hard to undo."

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"Hey, no need to fight," I interjected. I crouched down and patted my leg. "Foot."

"Daddy, can I start the car and listen to the radio?" Navy asked.

"This will only take a second."

"Please?" she begged.

I tugged my keys out and handed them to Navy. Nyra put her foot on my thigh and I unlaced it. Carefully, I pulled it off and dumped out the huge rock that was in her shoe.

"That had to hurt," I said.

"It did." She nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, princess. You want to tie it or do you want me to do it?"

"I can do it."

"Oh, here's the button!" Navy said.

The beep sounded twice and the world erupted into chaos. A loud boom echoed in my ears as I snatched her and Nyra against my body. My heart pounded, my lungs tight as I panted. Fear raced through my body, my hands shaking as I clutched my daughters to my chest. Nausea took hold of me, choking my throat as flames licked the air and smoke started to fill the parking garage. Shakily, I pulled my phone out, dropped it, and picked it up again.

"Daddy, what's happening?" Nyra cried.

"I'm scared!" Navy added.

"I know, I know. Shhhh." I tried to soothe them as I stood up. "Hold each other's hands. Navy, your hand in mine, now."

The one thing about my daughters was that when things really happened, if something went wrong, they listened to me and entrusted that I was right when the world was in shambles. I led them to the entrance to the garage, but tucked them out of sight. I was afraid someone could still be around, watching. Waiting. If this plan failed, who was to say that they wouldn't be around the corner ready to put a bullet in our heads? I wasn't paranoid after all, I had been right.

Someone really wanted us dead.

"Wait here," I said, my voice trembling despite how badly I tried to keep it stable.

"What's happening?" Navy cried, tears racing down her cheeks.

"It's okay," I whispered, not feeling like anything was all right at all. "One moment, I need to call someone."

People had started to gather, but I made them step back. This was a crime scene, one I wanted my people on, not a bunch of strangers. I needed to control this, to focus on the job, to do something I knew how to do well before I freaked out. My chest tightened, my breathing short as I was reminded of Dawn. The day she was murdered, a robbery gone bad, it had felt like this. Sirens in the distance, shouting, mayhem. I couldn't take it.

I couldn't take it.

I couldn't?—

I dialed Paul's number. The phone rang twice before he answered, his voice cautious and reserved.

"My place," I managed to get out despite the fact that my throat felt as if it was closing. "Now."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone, uh..." I stumbled, my feet unsteady. "Someone tried to kill us."

"Us?"