The heavy steel wheel of the bunker door turned with a dull mechanical groan. Dominic pulled the door back.

The emergency amber lights inside the panic room cast long shadows across the reinforced walls. Grace was sitting on a low bunk, her arms wrapped around all three girls. Sophie had her face buried in Grace's lap; Nora was asleep, her small body exhausted by the tension; Olivia was staring directly at the doorway, her small hands clenched into fists.

When Dominic stepped through, Olivia’s shoulders dropped. She let out a ragged, trembling sigh that broke Dominic's heart.

Dominic had stripped off his tactical vest and washed his hands and face in the hallway bathroom. He smelled of soap and cold water, not gunsmoke.

He knelt down on the linoleum floor.

"It's over," he whispered.

Sophie raised her head. "Daddy?"

"They're gone, sweetheart. Sal sent them away. They aren't ever coming back."

Grace looked at him over the children's dark heads. Her face was pale, her hair slipping out of its pins, but her gaze was sharp, probing his eyes for the truth. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Dominic said softly. "None of us are hurt."

Grace let out a breath she seemed to have been holding since eight o'clock that morning. She gently disentangled herself from the girls, letting them rush to their father.

Nora woke with a start, blinked at Dominic, and immediately reached her arms out. "Daddy home."

Dominic gathered all three girls into his chest, holding them so tightly he could feel their ribs expanding and contracting against his ribs. Three small hearts beating against his own battered, scarred heart.

Grace stood near the bunker entrance, watching them. A soft, weary smile touched her lips. "I think that's enough excitement for one night. Come on, girls. The generator will be back on in a minute. Let's get you into your own beds."

"No," Olivia said clearly, her voice gaining strength with every passing hour. She reached out and grabbed Grace's wrist with one hand and Dominic's sleeve with the other. "Stay together. All of us."

Dominic looked up at Grace. The vast social chasm that usually separated men like him from women like her had collapsed under the weight of shared survival.

"The master suite has three beds," Dominic said quietly. "Bring them in there."

***