“So you guys all share a girl,” Minxy says casually as she snacks on some veggie straws. “How would a wedding work? Do you take turns? Do two walk her down the aisle and one carries the rings? Would she get pregnant? Who’d the dad be? Do we draw straws? Spin a wheel?”
Talon chokes on the drink of water he just took so violently Penelope has to thump his back.
Silas freezes mid-stir and stares at Penelope’s stomach like she’s carrying his child right now and I don’t miss the heat in his gaze.
I shrug. “Legally? A nightmare. Logistically? Very doable. Biologically? We’d handle whatever happened.”
Penelope turns the deepest shade of red I’ve ever seen.
“Can wenottalk about my uterus during dinner?” she squeaks.
Minxy lifts her hands. “I’m just planning ahead.”
Silas steps behind Penelope and wraps a hand around her waist. “Don’t worry. She’s getting ahead of herself.”
“Yeah,” Talon croaks. “Way ahead.”
I plate the spaghetti. “Eat. We’ll deal with existential family planning later.”
Dinner is perfect with the five of us—bread passed around, Minxy teasing Talon, Penelope laughing against Silas’ shoulder whenever he murmurs something dirty in her ear just to watch her blush.
For the first time all day, everything feels almost normal.
We clean up together, bumping hips, stealing kisses, trading soft touches across the kitchen.
By the time we crawl into bed—Penelope between Silas and Talon and me at the foot of the bed, not because I’m unwanted,but because I sleep lightly when the world is shifting under our feet.
And tomorrow?
Tomorrow we show the truth to Chad, and then we go to the cops.
Chapter Forty-Two
PENELOPE
Silas parkson the far side of the lot, half-hidden beneath a line of old oaks that creak in the wind. The branches sway overhead, scattering sunlight across the dashboard in broken stripes. I’m already sweating through my shirt. My hands won’t stay still. My knee bounces, and I try to force it down, but it doesn’t stop.
Talon pulls into the lot a minute later in my car. He kills the engine and stays inside with Minxy, both of them ducked low enough to stay out of sight. Gideon stands in the tree line, hands in his pockets, pretending he’s on a call but watching everything that’s about to unfold.
They’re close, but they’re not supposed to be seen unless things go sideways.
Silas turns toward me, resting on hand on the center console. “We’re right here with you.”
“I know,” I whisper, staring as my dad’s SUV pulls into the lot. “But I want to start this part alone.”
“You’re not alone,”Silas says. “You’re just walking out first.”
A shake laugh escapes me. “That does sound slightly less terrifying.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he promises. “Ten feet back. I know he’s your dad, but he even looks at you wrong and I’m closer.”
“And the others?”
“Talon and Minxy stay hidden unless they’re needed,” he says. “Gideon’s watching every angle. You’re covered.”
“That’s the problem,” I murmur. “I’m covered. Abi’s going to spin that as proof I’m unstable.”
Silas’ gaze sharpens. “She can spin whatever she wants. We’re here to destroy her, anyway.”
