His throat works. “What about… you?”
Her smile is small and tired and stupidly tender. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Something in his shoulders drops. He leans into her palm just once, then steps back like he’s afraid he’ll cling too hard.
I clear my throat. “This conversation isn’t over. Any of it. But we’re not going to solve the whole world tonight.”
Penelope shoots me a look that makes it very clear she knows exactly what I’m avoiding.
Silas does too.
Punishment.
She walked into danger alone, disappeared for nearly an hour without contact, and came home with fresh trauma and valuable intel. I’m not interested in punishing her for bringing us information.
Iaminterested in reminding her that she doesn’t have to carry it alone.
“On second thought, the digging and legal can wait. Penelope, bedroom,” I murmur, tipping my head toward the hall.
Her eyes flash, a quick spark of heat through the exhaustion. “Now?”
“Yes,” I say. “We’re going to ground you. You’ve been in flight mode for hours.”
Her cheeks flush.
Talon shifts, suddenly uncertain. “Do you want me to… go?”
“Yes.” The answer slips out before I can stop it.
“No,” Penelope blurts at the same time.
We all freeze.
She looks between us, cheeks burning. “I want him here. In the room,” she adds quickly, looking at Talon, then at me and Silas.
Talon’s eyes go wide. “I don’t… I don’t need…”
“You do,” Silas cuts in.
“You stay,” I tell Talon. “Sit in the corner and watch. If you can't handle the woman you want being touched by other men, by your uncles, then you leave. Understand?”
His ears flush red. “Are you… ? Seriously…?”
“Yes.” My voice doesn’t waver. “This is what sharing looks like. Trust and boundaries. If you can’t handle knowing she’s with us sometimes while still being yours? This won’t work.”
He swallows hard. “I can handle it.”
“We’ll see,” I tip my head, watching him. “Your only job right now is to stay put and remember we’re all walking into something dangerous together. That means we take care of each other. In all the ways.”
Penelope looks dizzy and a little wrecked by all of it.
“Come on,” Silas murmurs to her, offering his hand.
I follow her and Silas, pausing long enough to look back at my nephew. “You’re not losing her,” I tell him quietly. “You’re gaining all of us.”
He huffs a disbelieving laugh. “That’s the problem.”
“Give it time,” I say.
