Kade straightens a little. “What?”
“The payments are coming from someone I’ve seen mentioned before.”
Talon’s expression tightens. “What do you mean? Where?”
“Pioneer.”
It goes quiet for half a second.
Kade’s brow furrows. “Pioneer… what?”
“Alliance,” Talon says, like it clicks as he says it. His eyes shift toward me. “Pioneer Alliance. That’s what Wren said, right?”
I nod once. “Yeah.”
Owen lets out a low breath. “That’s the same one tied to all that NIL stuff, right?”
“Brighter Futures fed into it,” Kade adds, dragging a hand over his jaw. “Or the other way around. I don’t remember.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Talon says. “It’s the same loop.”
I shift my weight, glancing back at the TV for a second before looking at them again.
Owen’s gaze drops to the floor for a second before he looks back up. “So whoever was paying him…”
“Still is,” I say.
Kade lets out a quiet breath, shaking his head. “And it wasn’t just the governor or Dawson.”
Talon doesn’t say anything right away, just looks down at his hands for a second. “Reed didn’t think it was.”
A whistle blows between us, and I glance toward the screen. Someone gets called for something that doesn’t look like much on the replay. The announcer hesitates, then keeps talking like it makes sense.
“They didn’t clean it up,” Talon says.
I shake my head, but don’t take my eyes away from the screen.
“Whoever’s behind it just made it look like it was handled.”
***
Standing in front of the dresser, I fasten my watch, then grab my cologne and spray it across my neck.
I don’t hear Brinley at first, only the soft click of the door opening behind me. I glance up—
And stop, forgetting everything I was doing.
Brinley stands in front of me, wearing a black floral dress. The colors bring out the color of her hair and the warmth of her skin somehow making her more likeherself.
The sleeves fall loose around her arms, and the neckline dips just enough to catch my attention, stopping on the infinity necklace I don’t often get to see.
She shifts her weight when she notices me staring. Correction: gawking at the black over-the-knee boots she’s wearing.
“What?” she asks.
I don’t answer right away. Because I’m trying to remember how words work.
“You’re… dressed,” I say finally.
