“I’m not.”
I step closer.
Close enough she can feel me there.
“You’re not doing this alone.”
Her gaze flicks to mine.
“I know.”
And she does.
That’s the difference.
That’s what Sentinel doesn’t understand.
“She’s not just leverage,” Scout continues, already thinking, already moving past the emotional hit. “She’s a message.”
“What kind?” I ask.
“That he can reach past me,” she says. “That he doesn’t need proximity anymore.”
A pause.
“Which means he’s confident in the line.”
The leak.
I nod once.
“Then we use it.”
Boone looks between us.
“You’re not pulling back,” he says.
“No,” I reply.
“Not a chance,” Scout adds.
There’s no hesitation in her voice now.
None.
Sentinel didn’t create doubt.
He removed it.
“She’s family,” Boone says carefully.
“I know,” Scout replies.
Still steady.
Still controlled.
“But if I lose control now—he wins.”
