I nod.
He stands, wobbling a little, and walks to his SUV. He gets in without another word and drives off, faster than usual, gravel spitting behind him.
I exhale a long, shaking breath.
Silas slips his arm around my waist and pulls me in until my cheek meets his chest.
“You were incredible,” he murmurs.
“I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“You won’t.”
I look up at him. “He believed us.”
“He believed enough,” Silas says. “Enough to be dangerous. Enough to stop protecting her.”
We start walking back to the car.
“Tomorrow,” he says, “everything changes.”
“And today?” I ask.
He smirks. “Today we go home and tell the others your dad didn’t implode.”
Chapter Forty-One
GIDEON
Silas driveswith both hands tight on the wheel, shoulders tense, eyes unfocused in the way people get when they’ve held themselves together too long.
Penelope doesn’t speak for the first mile. I watch her. The curve of her jaw, the pulse in her throat, the faint tremble in her fingers. She just stood in front of her father and detonated every secret Abi tried to bury.
Shechoseherself.
“Little Menace,” I murmur. “Breathe.”
She exhales shakily. “I’m fine.”
“You’re vibrating.”
“I’m vibrating internally with great composure.”
I huff a short laugh. “Sure.”
She glances at me, eyes bright with the adrenaline crash. “He believed me, Gideon. He actually believed me.”
“I know.” I reach forward, between the seats, and brush a thumb along her thigh. “You did that. You also told him about us. About yourself.”
She lets out a shaky laugh. “I felt like I was going to throw up the entire time.”
“You didn’t,” I say. “You were steady. You were brave. And you didn’t back down.”
She swallows, eyes flicking to me. “Are you proud of me?”
There’s a beat where something hot and protective surges through me.
“I’m beyond proud,” I say. “I’m fucking done for, Penelope.”
