I keyed the mic again. “Thomas just exposed his endgame.”
Saint’s voice was grim. “Yeah?”
“He’s out of time,” I said.
Because the moment Rylie sent that message—
The moment Thomas involved a newborn—
This stopped being a chess match.
And became a reckoning.
54
Thomas
The delay told him everything.
Not panic.
Not retaliation.
Coordination.
Thomas stood very still as the runner’s voice came through his earpiece, low and uncertain.
“He hasn’t moved,” the man said. “Not toward her. Not away.”
Thomas’s fingers tightened slowly around the edge of the table.
That wasn’t how this was supposed to go.
Trigger should have rushed. Should have pulled back. Should havechosen—because choice created weakness.
But instead…
“He split the board,” Thomas murmured.
“Yes.”
That was the problem.
Thomas had expected anger. Fear. Even grief.
What he hadn’t expected was discipline.
Another report came in—this one from Eagle River.
“Sheriff’s units repositioned,” the voice said. “Quietly. No escalation. The house is secure. No engagement.”
Thomas closed his eyes for a brief moment.
That meant Trigger hadn’t broken formation.
It meant Rylie’s message had landed.
And it meant Thomas had just burned his strongest pressure card without getting the reaction he needed.
