Chase leaned forward, voice lower. “You think she’s feeding intel to her dad?”
I shook my head. “She doesn’t need to. He moves the pieces—she just plays the role. That’s what makes her dangerous.”
Theo shifted against the bumper, arms folding tighter. “And that’s where Tori comes in.”
I nodded once. “She’s inside Dunn. She might not have declared a side, but being with you? That puts her in our orbit whether she realizes it or not. And that makes her visible. Exposed. Elise has been watching her closer—as if she’s keeping score.”
Theo’s jaw ticked, the muscle working as he looked away. He didn’t argue.
“She’s got a weakness where you’re concerned,” I pressed. “That’s leverage. Use it.”
Theo’s head came back around, eyes narrowing a fraction. Not denial. Not agreement. Just that guarded middle ground that said he’d already thought about it. Or maybe that flicker in his eyes meant something else was going on that he wasn’t ready to put into words.
I caught it. The way his jaw tightened a moment too long, the way his shoulders pulled back as if bracing for a hit that hadn’tlanded yet. Not about Dunn. Not about Elise. This was Tori. And Theo.
I didn’t press. Not here. But I filed it away. Whatever Theo thought he was keeping casual, it wasn’t. Not anymore.
“You want me to push,” he muttered.
“I want her to choose,” I corrected. “Not drift. Not dodge. Make a decision—and make it with her eyes open. With you, not against you.”
Chase gave a low whistle, leaning on his stick. “Guess that means you’ve got homework, Theo. Hope you brought your charm.”
Theo shot him a look, but it was without his usual edge.
Jax cracked his knuckles. “Just don’t shove too hard. Push someone like Tori, you risk snapping the line instead of pulling her in.”
Theo’s mouth twitched, the ghost of a smirk. “I know what I’m doing.”
But the way he said it—clipped, deliberate—told me he wasn’t talking to us. He was trying to convince himself.
“I want you to keep that door open,” I said. “Not just about Elise. About Dunn. New hires. Visitors. Security. Anything. Even whispers.”
Theo’s eyes stayed steady, but his tone carried weight. “And what if she won’t talk?”
“Then you get creative,” I said evenly.
His jaw flexed again. “She talks to me more than anyone. But don’t confuse that with leverage.”
I held his stare. “I’m not. I’m asking you to listen.”
The silence that followed wasn’t just about strategy. Chase’s gaze slid toward Theo, measuring. Jax shifted too, catching the tension.
Theo kept his expression even, but his shoulders stayed rigid, arms locked too tight at his sides. “It’s just information,” he muttered at last. Then, quieter: “For now.”
For now.
Jax gave a low whistle, half-smirk tugging his mouth. “Sounds as if you’ve got your own angle, my guy.”
Theo didn’t rise to it, just stared past him at the dark line of trees beyond the lot. Which said more than words.
I let it drop—for now.
Chase rubbed the back of his neck, gaze drifting as Jax shifted beside him, arms crossed tight. The crackle between them wasn’t about Dunn or Elise. I saw it in the way Chase’s jaw tightened—and in the way Jax hadn’t bothered hiding where his attention kept landing earlier that afternoon.
Avery had caught up with Mila outside school before practice, blond hair flashing in the sun as she laughed at something Mila said. Jax’s gaze had tracked her more than once, and Chase had seen it.
Now the silence stretched, heavy with the argument neither of them was ready to have.
