“I’m telling you the truth, not what you want to hear.” His voice stayed level. “You’re tying yourself to her at the worst possible moment. If she goes down, you go with her. You want to protect her? Don’t hand them an easy way to use you both.”
“Maybe you’re right, but she’s not the problem.”
“I didn’t say she was.” His gaze cut to the dark window, our reflections layered in the glass. “But her family, our family, Dunn’s—those lines are crossing in ways that don’t end clean. You’re worth more than getting caught in the grind.”
“You talk like you’re not part of it.”
“I am. But I also know what to watch out for.” His tone stayed even. “So hear me—keep your head. Don’t throw away leverage because your heart is involved. And don’t give Lorne a reason to go after her.”
“I won’t.” The weight of it settled, heavy.
“Make sure of it.”
He clapped my shoulder once—firm enough to anchor, soft enough to pass as brotherly—and walked out, leaving the hum of the appliances and Dad’s words still clinging to the walls.
I leaned back against the counter and swiped out of Mila’s contact information to Marcus’s then sent my PI a message.Keep digging into Darren’s house sale. Follow the notary. I want the escrow officer, the recorder’s timestamp, everything that touched the wire.
Three dots. Then:Copy. Already on escrow. Notary looks dirty. Will confirm.
If the notary was dirty, the rest of the trail wouldn’t stay clean for long. I pocketed the phone and went to the window. My reflection wavered over the glass, pale and doubled. Somewhere between the study and the kitchen, the part of me that wanted to be the son my father recognized had left the room.
I heard Drew’s warning, but I couldn’t make myself heed it. I wasn’t stepping back from Mila. And I wasn’t giving Lorne a reason to make her his target.
“Protect yourself. Don’t let Mila be the reason you go down.”
I understood the love under Drew’s words. I did. I just didn’t agree with it. You could run from a fire or learn where the accelerant was stored.
I killed the kitchen lights and left. Upstairs, the house stretched silent around me, all polished surface and hollow space. I didn’t look at the ocean strip beyond the windows.
I lay back in the dark, every nerve wired. If fire was coming, I wasn’t running. The flames were already encircling me.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
MILA
Luke’s audio hit my phone at 12:17 a.m.
I was in bed on top of the covers, lamp off, house quiet except for the hiss of late-night sprinklers outside and a neighbor’s garage door grinding open somewhere nearby. My screen lit around me in a pale glow when the voice message notification slid across.
I thumbed it open, expecting his usual—home, you okay?
It wasn’t.
Drew’s voice filled my room instead. Low. Controlled. “Protect yourself. Don’t let Mila be the reason you go down.”
My blood iced.
Rustle on the line. Then Luke, so quiet I had to lift the phone to my ear. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Doesn’t matter how it starts,” Drew said. “If you’re standing too close when it blows, you’ll take the hit too.”
A breath from Luke, too long, too thin. “She’s not the problem.”
“I didn’t say she was,” Drew returned. “But her family, our family, Dunn’s family? Those lines are crossing in ways thatdon’t end clean. You’re worth more than getting caught in the grind.”
“You talk like you’re not part of it.”
“I am. But I also know what to watch out for.” Drew’s tone stayed even. “So hear me: keep your head. Don’t throw away leverage because you’re leading with your heart. If you need to worry about someone, don’t start with Dad.”
