The one who “couldn’t handle the pressure” and “took his own life.”
I’ve never wanted to break a phone over my knee more.
Talon staggers back half a step, like the air just got knocked out of him. “Dominic,” he whispers. “She said my dad’s name.”
Penelope nods helplessly. “Talon…”
He looks like he might vomit. Or punch the wall. Or both.
“She killed him.” The words crack out of him, wild and raw. “She fucking killed him and called it a breakdown?—”
“We don’t know that yet,” Silas cuts in sharply.
“We do,” Talon snarls. “You heard her. ‘Lead to Dominic.’ Like he’s a goddamn breadcrumb on her crime trail. Minx saw something. Something with Todd. Something with my dad. And now she’s locked up in that school because Abi doesn’t want?—”
His voice breaks.
He throws a hand over his mouth and turns away, shoulders shaking.
It guts me.
I move without thinking, crossing the space between us. I don’t grab him—we’re not those kind of men with each other—but I stand close. Within reach. Solid.
Silas goes to Penelope. She folds into his side like it’s the only stable thing in the room.
My brain is sprinting.
Todd.
Dominic.
Witness.
Almost done with the program.
Abi isn’t just manipulative.
She’s dangerous.
Penelope lifts her head from Silas’ shoulder. “She’s going to hurt her,” she says hoarsely. “If she thinks Minx might talk? If she thinks the evaluation is a chance to ‘fix’ it?” Her eyes jump to mine. “We can’t wait, Gideon. We can’t sit here and play it safe. She as good as admitted there’s something to hide.”
“I know,” I say.
“Then—”
“But we still stick to the plan.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
She stares at me as if I slapped her. “How can you say that?”
“Because charging in headfirst without backup or a plan is dangerous. We know when she’ll be moved. And as of now, my sister has no idea we know what we do. We can’t just break into the school and take Minxy tonight. The plan is solid. We need to stick to it.”
Penelope’s face crumples. “But?—”
“We have the USB,” I force out, keeping my tone level. “We have the printed files. We have the intake notes. We have enough to prove the school isn’t what it claims to be. We have Minxy’s name on a list that might as well be a fucking hit list. And now we have your eyewitness account of Abi panicking about two men whose names are already connected to her life.”
Dominic and Todd.
“We’re not walking in blind,” I finish. “We’re walking in prepared. One day. We follow the schedule. We get her at the clinic, away from the school, away from Abi’s direct reach. Then we hide her somewhere safe. After that, we take our evidence and strangle this quietly with lawyers and cops who owe me favors. Not before.”
