Calm. Controlled. Dangerous.
“We need to talk.”
?
The late afternoon sun filtered through heavy curtains, catching on the cup and saucer in her hand. Evelyn sat perfectly still as though sitting for a portrait; every movement was calculated down to the tilt of her teacup.
Colton lounged across from her with the ease of a man born into power and shaped by shadow. He didn’t posture. He radiated presence.
“So,” she murmured, placing her cup down with a gentle clink that carried more weight than porcelain should, “how is my wayward son?”
Colton’s smirk was slow, indulgent. “Predictable. Still brimming with that signature moral superiority. And clinging to that bartender like she’s the last hill he’ll die on.”
Evelyn’s fingers drummed once, light and rhythmic, against the chair’s armrest. “Is thatso?”
“He told me to keep my distance,” Colton drawled, leaning forward enough to show he was paying attention. “But I’m guessing you knew that.”
Her smile was a flicker. Polished. Practiced. Devoid of warmth.
“Gideon has always confused loyalty with weakness,” she said smoothly. “It makes him easy to wound.”
She studied Colton with a gaze sharpened for weakness.
“And what do you make of her?”
He gave a low whistle. “Arden Rivers.”
A pause as he considered the name.
“Not your typical distraction. She’s got grit. Doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t fold. I’ll give her that.”
He tilted his head. Almost admiring.
“She’s not easy to shake.”
Evelyn’s expression sharpened. “Perhaps it’s time someone did.”
Colton’s brows lifted, amused. “Is that an order?”
Her eyes didn’t flicker. “A suggestion. A pressure test. You’ve been watching her. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”
He didn’t bother denying it.
“But observation is passive,” she continued. “What I want is impact. Nudge where it matters. Apply weight where it fractures.”
She took a slow sip of tea.
“And if she proves…fragile?—”
Her cup landed gently in its saucer.
Colton’s grin stretched, edged with something feral. “She breaks. I’ll make sure of it.”
Evelyn reclined, the embodiment of satisfied calculation. “That’s what I expected to hear.”
Colton rose, straightening the cuffs of his shirt with a bored elegance. “Gideon thinks she’s untouchable. Gideon thinks she’s untouchable. As if distance could protect her from bloodlines.”
A pause. A smirk.
