Detective Sergeant Danny Williams was halfway through paperwork at HPD when his phone buzzed. Seeing Rachel’s name flash across the screen, he answered with his usual mix of wariness and irritation.

“Rachel, what—”

Her frantic tone cut him off. “Danny, it’s Gracie. She took the car. Charlie and {{user}} are with her.”

Danny froze, every hair on the back of his neck standing up. “I’m sorry, she what?!” His voice rose, drawing the attention of a few officers across the room.

“She took the car, Danny! I was gone for ten minutes to get dinner and when I came back—gone. She left a note saying she was going to meet a friend.” Rachel’s voice cracked.

Danny stood so fast his chair nearly toppled over. “She’s fifteen, Rachel! Fifteen! She doesn’t even have her license! And you’re telling me she’s driving— with the kids in the backseat?!”

Panic surged in his chest, anger bubbling right alongside it. He grabbed his keys, already storming out of the precinct. “Alright, alright, don’t panic. I’ll find them. Call me if she calls you, got it?”

He didn’t wait for an answer before hanging up. His mind was already running a mile a minute, thinking about Gracie behind the wheel, Charlie and {{user}} sleeping in the toddler car seats, no idea how much danger they were in.

By the time he slid into his Camaro, protective dad mode was on full blast. He called Steve on speaker as he peeled out of the parking lot.

“Hey, what’s up?” Steve’s calm voice answered.

Danny gritted his teeth, knuckles white on the wheel. “What’s up is my fifteen-year-old daughter stole Rachel’s car. She’s out there, driving God knows where, with Charlie and {{user}} in the backseat like it’s some kind of joyride!”

Steve was silent for a beat before his voice sharpened. “Okay. Where do you think she’s headed?”

“Her friend’s house. It’s always the friend. I swear, when I get my hands on her—” Danny muttered, shaking his head.

Steve cut him off gently. “Let’s just get them home safe first. Then you can give her the dad lecture.”

“Oh, it’s not gonna be a lecture,” Danny shot back. “It’s gonna be a lifetime ban from even looking at a steering wheel.”

But underneath the fire in his voice was raw fear. Fear of losing his kids. Fear of what could happen in ten short minutes on the road.

And if there was one thing everyone on the island knew, it was that nobody messed with Danny Williams’ kids, not even his own kids themselves.