"You wouldn't."
"Try me."
Callum's face goes white.
"This isn't over." He wrenches open his truck door. "You think you've won? You think you're the heroes of this story? You're nothing but vultures. Circling a wounded animal. Takingadvantage of a confused omega who doesn't know what she wants."
"She knows exactly what she wants." I speak over the roar of his engine. "That's what scares you."
He slams the door. Throws the truck into reverse. Tires spin on gravel, spraying rocks across the lawn as he tears down the driveway.
We watch until his taillights disappear around the bend.
Silence settles over the porch.
Carlos exhales. "Well. That went well."
"Could have been worse." Pedro scrubs a hand over his face. "Could have been violent."
"I was hoping it would be violent." Nacho tucks his phone back in his pocket. "Wanted an excuse to arrest him."
"Do you have footage?" I ask.
"Store owner sent it to me this afternoon." His mouth curves slightly. "Callum's not wrong about his family's connections. But connections don't matter when evidence is crystal clear."
I nod. File the information away.
The adrenaline is fading now. Leaving something hollow in its wake. Years of friendship. Gone in fifteen minutes.
I should feel grief.
I don't.
"Sergio." Carlos's hand lands on my shoulder. "You okay?"
"Fine."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have."
The front door opens behind us.
Jessica stands in the doorway. Bare feet. Oversized sweater that belongs to Nacho. Hair loose around her shoulders, blonde waves catching the porch light.
Her eyes are red. She's been crying.
"I heard everything." Her voice is small. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize."
"He was your friend."
I turn to face her fully. "A friend wouldn't have treated you the way he did."
"But..."
I close the distance between us. Take her face in my hands. Her skin is warm. Damp from tears. "You mean everything. Don't you understand that yet?"
