“Isa,” I say, quieter now. Not commanding. Asking. “Please.”
Something shifts behind her eyes. Not softening—recalculating. The same way she recalculated that first night in the kitchen when Sera didn’t flinch.
“I’m glad you’re not asking me to trust you,” she finally says to Sera. “Because I don’t. And I won’t help you destroy this family.”
Then she turns without another word and leaves the room. Every eye in the room watches her leave, every ear listens to the fading echoes of her footsteps.
“Fuck,” Logan breathes into the silence.
“Not good,” Gunner says.
“We can’t do this without eyes and ears.” Logan bangs his fist on the table. “Fucking Isa.”
I’m on the verge of calling the whole thing off. We can’t give Sera into Reyes’ control without knowing exactly who he’s talking to every single second, and without advance warning of any potential betrayal.
I stand up and pace, trying to find the words to tell Sera she can’t pursue the goal she’s been chasing for half a year.
“Ask that New York Rosetti brother,” Sera says. “Milo. He seems to know his way around a computer.”
I share a glance with Logan, while Gunner grunts in appreciation.
I snort. “Emilio Rosetti proposed to his wife by hacking every billboard in New York City.”
“After he’d cyber-stalked her for a few years,” Logan adds. “Yeah, you could say he knows his way around a computer.”
“And he’s based in New York anyway,” Sera adds. “So…”
A few beats of silence, and Gunner is the one to break it.
“Yes,” he says. “That‘ll work.”
"Where will you be?" Logan asks me, though he already knows the answer.
"I fly separately. Commercial, one hour ahead of them. Shadow position. If institutional weight is needed, I'm there. But I can't be seen with them. Reyes might recognize the Delgado face, and that blows Sera's cover instantly."
"So I go in alone with him," Sera says, the first time she's spoken. "Into a bank vault with a man we think might sell me out."
"Not alone," I correct. "The entire team is with you. Just invisible."
She nods, but I see the tension in her shoulders. She's done more dangerous things. Lived with Julian, navigated mob dinners, survived six months on the run. But this feels different. This is walking into a trap with our eyes open.
"The vault's in Midtown," Logan continues. "Forty-third and Madison. Ground floor of the Excelsior Building."
"And those black sedans that were following Sera in Homestead?" I ask, something clicking. "The early surveillance. That was Reyes's people, wasn't it?"
Logan nods. "Confirmed last week. He had eyes on her from the moment she started using the Marin alias in Miami. Probably hoping she'd lead him to the vault without his involvement."
"But she came to him instead," I say. "Which means he thinks he's in control."
"Let him think that," Sera says quietly. "Men like Reyes are easier to manage when they think they're winning."
More data flows across the screen. Building layouts, exit routes, traffic patterns. Logan has been thorough. Gunner asks about service entrances. Milo Rosetti confirms he is available to help and he can track Reyes's phone in real-time. The operation takes shape with competence from people who've done this before, in different contexts, with different stakes.
"Questions?" Logan asks, but it's really directed at Sera.
She shakes her head. "It's solid. As solid as a plan built on trusting an untrustworthy man can be."
The meeting breaks up slowly. Gunner disappears first. There one moment, gone the next, already thinking about Manhattan logistics.
