“Yeah,” I said, and my voice came out rougher than I meant it to.“It makes you realize you don’t get to assume there’ll be time later.”
Twister stared at me for a long moment.Then he gave a slow nod.“Yeah,” he said quietly.“I get that.”
We fell silent for a beat, both of us watching the women at the table without letting them see the heaviness behind our eyes.
Britta laughed softly at something Tempi said.It wasn’t her full laugh, more like a test run.Like she was seeing if it still worked.
It did.
Twister’s voice cut in again, dragging me back to what mattered.“You got any opinions on where she should be?”he asked.
I frowned.“What do you mean?”
“If she’s staying here,” Twister said, “or going back to her place.You got thoughts?”
I did.Plenty.But thoughts didn’t matter as much as Britta’s choice.“I’ll keep her safe either way,” I said.
Twister’s mouth pulled to the side.“That’s not what I asked.”
I looked at him.I didn’t have to say much for him to read it.“This house is harder,” I admitted.“More angles.More windows.More ways someone could watch without being seen.”
Twister nodded.“And her apartment?”
“Contained,” I said.“One entrance.One hallway.People notice strangers.”
Twister’s gaze sharpened.“You’re saying she’d be safer there.”
“I’m saying it’d be easier to control.”
Twister’s eyes flicked back to Tempi.
“And what about Tempi?”The question carried weight.
Someone had burned her bar down.Someone had dragged her into this whether she wanted it or not.
Twister’s jaw flexed.
“Have you heard anything?”I asked, shifting topics before we spiraled into the part that made my blood run cold.
Twister’s expression hardened.“Nothing.”
He took a sip of coffee like it was the only thing keeping him from ripping someone’s throat out.“Everything’s silent.I can’t get a word out of anyone.”
I didn’t like hearing that.Silence meant planning.Silence meant eyes and ears closing ranks.
With us being new in Madison, we were the outsiders.Even if we were posted up downtown and wearing our cuts like a warning sign, that didn’t make us insiders.It just made people wary.
“We need someone local,” Twister muttered.“Someone who knows things.Someone who hears things.”
I let out a low laugh, humorless.“Tempi,” I said.
Twister’s eyes flicked to mine and he snorted quietly.“Yeah,” he said.“That didn’t exactly work out.”
I glanced toward the table where Tempi was talking, her hands moving as she spoke like she couldn’t help it.“Hard to buddy up with someone after you light her bar on fire and try to kill her best friend,” I murmured.
Twister’s laugh came out dry.“Yeah,” he agreed.“Little hiccup in the friendship-building plan.”
My mouth twitched despite myself.
