Fantine

The back alley behind the estate was quiet as I moved along the wooden fence line, and I kept my hand flat against the fence posts while Riley and Silas watched the perimeter from behind the parked truck across the street. I reached the small side door that led into the kitchen garden, and after checking that no guards were standing near the corner lamp, I slipped through the latch gate and stepped onto the paved stone walkway.

"Fantine, is that really you standing in the shadow of the garden shed, or are my old eyes playing tricks on me in the dark?" a quiet voice called out from...