There it was.
The truth neither of us needed to say out loud.
“You know who I am,” he said.
“I know what you leave behind,” I answered. “The patterns. The fractures. The control loops.”
“Then you know why you’re here.”
“Yes,” I said. “Because you’re about to escalate.”
Silence stretched.
Then he laughed—softly. Once.
“You really are dangerous,” Sentinel said. “You see the board.”
“I see the flaw,” I corrected. “You mistake fear for obedience.”
His gaze hardened.
“And you mistake insight for protection.”
He stepped closer—not invading my space, just enough to shift the air.
“Your tracker,” he said. “Logan Carter. He’s already moving.”
I didn’t react.
Didn’t need to.
Sentinel’s eyes flicked to the wall for a fraction of a second.
Confirmation.
“You wanted him to find me,” he said slowly. “But not fast enough.”
“You left him a whisper,” Sentinel said. “You should’ve screamed.”
“No,” I replied. “If I screamed, you’d move me.”
His stillness was absolute now.
“Won’t you?” I asked.
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Soon.”
I met his gaze without flinching. “Then you’d better hurry.”
He leaned in just enough that only I could hear him.
“You think he’ll save you.”
“I think,” I said quietly, “that you miscalculated who you took.”
