She had accepted the location request.
And now—
Nothing.
No follow-up.
No pleading.
No attempt to negotiate terms.
That wasn’t fear.
That was resolve.
Thomas seated himself at the table and unlocked the secondary device, scrolling through the live feed. The signal from her phone pulsed once, faint but present, then stabilized.
She was moving.
Alone.
His mouth curved into a slow smile.
“Smart girl,” he murmured. “You understand pressure.”
One of his men stepped closer. “She didn’t ask for protection. Or money.”
“No,” Thomas agreed. “She asked forcontrol.”
That was unexpected.
Most people who reached out did so because they wanted something.
Rylie Tate had reached out because she intended totakesomething.
Time. Space. Leverage.
Thomas leaned back in his chair, studying the map as her signal traced a narrow route through forest roads and backways no one used unless they knew exactly where they were going.
“She’s not running,” the man said.
“No,” Thomas replied. “She’s repositioning.”
That pleased him.
It also concerned him.
“Rangers?” the man asked.
“Quiet,” Thomas said. “Too quiet.”
He drummed his fingers once against the table, thinking.
Trigger would be losing his mind by now. Or worse—he’d already forced himself calm. Men like that didn’t lash out first.
They hunted.
Which meant Thomas needed to move before the board fully revealed itself.
