Back at the diner, Emma had fallen asleep in Lucy’s lap, her small hands still clenched as if bracing for danger. But when Mike returned and told her everything was okay, she whispered softly, “Did you get him?”
He nodded. “He’s gone, sweetheart. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Healing and Hope
For Emma, what mattered most wasn’t the leather jackets or the roaring engines. It was the feeling of finally having safe shoulders to lean on, of knowing there were adults who wouldn’t turn away.
For Big Mike, it became a turning point. He had carried regrets from his past, scars from combat, and memories of hard times. But this moment gave him a new mission.