She’s sitting cross-legged at the dining table, hair messy, hoodie too big, a cup of coffee in her hands. Not hiding. Not timid.
She looks pissed.
Talon sits beside her, elbows on the table, watching her like she might break or explode. Gideon is at the end of the table with his laptop open, reading something with a tight jaw. Silas leans against the counter pouring another mug of coffee.
All three men look up the second I sit up. Talon’s dark brown eyes soften behind his glasses; Gideon’s storm-grey onessharpen like he’s assessing the room for threats; and Silas… Silas watches me with those sea-glass eyes that always see too much.
Talon smiles. “Hey. Morning.”
Minxy lifts her chin. “Your house needs more cereal options.”
Silas smirks. “What do you want, kid?”
“Lucky Charms,” she says flatly. “And justice.”
Talon groans. “She’s been awake for twenty minutes.”
“And she’s been talking nonstop,” Gideon adds. “She has opinions.”
“I have facts,” Minxy corrects. “And rage. Mostly rage.”
She takes a slow drink of her coffee. Her hands are steadier than last night.
I pull myself off the couch and tug my blonde hair into some semblance of order as I shuffle toward them. “How’d you sleep?”
She shrugs. “Better than I did at school. No one woke me up to talk about progress charts.”
“That’s a win,” Talon mutters.
Minxy fixes her gaze on me. “When are we sending that woman to prison?”
Her glare hits me full force, and for a second I wonder if my own brown eyes look half as fierce when I’m pissed.
Gideon closes his laptop, eyes sharpening. “We aren’t rushing into anything today. Step one is keeping you hidden. Step two is getting Penelope through her meeting with her dad aka that woman's fiancé. Step three is collecting every piece of evidence before we go to the police.”
Minxy frowns. “That sounds slow.”
“It’s thorough,” Silas says.
“It’s boring,” she counters.
“It’s how we win,” he returns.
She folds her arms, not convinced but listening.
I move to the kitchen, pour coffee, then sit next to her. “My dad—Chad—wants to meet me today. Two p.m. At the park.”
Minxy’s expression coils tight. “She’s already spinning something. I know she didn’t tell him the truth. She probably made up some story about you disrespecting her or stealing something or sleeping around.”
Talon mutters, “She did say some of that last night.”
Silas snorts. “She said all of that.”
Gideon leans forward, elbows on the table. “Penelope is not walking into that meeting alone. One of us will be nearby.”
Minxy brightens. “Me.”
“No,” all three men say at once.
