His eyes soften at that.
I keep going. “We get her into the car and leave. No stopping. No talking. We go straight to Penelope’s place. She lies low there until we decide our next move.”
“What if they notice she’s gone too fast?” Penelope asks.
“Then the first call goes to the clinic desk,” I answer. “Not the school. They’ll assume a paperwork error, a misplaced patient. We’ll be gone before anyone calls St. Helen’s.”
“And if they do call St. Helen’s?” she presses.
“Then St. Helen’s calls Abi,” Silas says. “And that’s when things get interesting.”
“We’re not letting it get that far,” I cut in. “Which is why no improvising. No detours. No one is doing anything alone.”
Her jaw tightens. “You’re looking at me.”
“Because you’re the one most likely to decide you can handle something by yourself,” I point out. “You’re not. Not this. None of us are.”
She exhales through her nose. “I hear you.”
“I want more than hearing,” I say. “I want agreement.”
Her throat works once before she squares herself, sitting taller, eyes shining but unblinking. “Okay,” she says, voice a touch too calm to be natural. “I won’t run off. I won’t go inside. I’ll stay in the car.”
“Good,” I say.
Talon’s fingers twist on the lanyard of his badge. “What do I do? Besides, sit there and try not to puke.”
“You keep your shit together,” I tell him. “You make sure Abi doesn’t sniff out that anything’s wrong. When we get back, you go to class, dinners, answer her calls and texts. You give her nothing to question.”
He nods slowly. “Right. Normal. Totally fine while we plan a felony.”
Silas’ mouth quirks. “Misdemeanor at worst.”
“Kidnapping is not a misdemeanor,” Penelope mutters.
“It isn’t kidnapping when we’re taking her from a facility that shouldn’t have her,” I counter. “It’s a gray area.”
Penelope stares at the map. Her hand drifts toward mine on the table and rests there. Not gripping, just touching. “I’m scared,” she admits. “For her. For you. For all of us. I keep imagining that something goes wrong and we lose her and then I lose my dad.”
I flip my palm and wrap my fingers around hers. “We’re not losing her or your dad.”
“You can’t promise that,” she whispers.
“I can promise we won’t fail through laziness or ego,” I say. “Fear is allowed. Half measures are not.”
Silas reaches across and lays his hand over both of ours, warm and solid. “We have each other. We have a plan. We have proof. Abi’s been operating in the shadows for years. She won't get that advantage tomorrow.”
Penelope notices me scrutinizing her and scrunches her nose, instantly defensive. “What?”
I lean back in my chair. “Nothing. Just observing.”
Silas snorts. “He’s lying.”
Talon folds his arms, bracing for impact. “Okay, what?”
I tap my fingers lightly on the table. “Our Little Menace walked in looking suspiciously relaxed. And you look like a teenager who got his first taste of honey.”
Penelope smacks my shoulder. “Gideon.”
