Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down at it as we walked.
Mom:Stay in class. Do not engage. I’m home today.
Edwardo wasn’t scheduled to move in until this afternoon. But what needed to be done to stop Charles Dunn should happen sooner. I scanned the corridor again. No unfamiliar faces. No campus security hovering where they shouldn’t be.
“She’s not at work,” Mila said quietly.
I’d already read the text over her shoulder, but I knew what her real concern was. “She won’t be alone long,” I replied.
We didn’t stop walking. I kept hold of her hand.
The rest of the day passed under scrutiny.
Jax clapped my shoulder between classes like I’d just won something. Theo said nothing, which meant he approved. Avery avoided my eyes at lunch—careful, measured—but she didn’t pull away from Mila. That was enough.
Elise didn’t make another move. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t.
Practice gave me something to focus on. It didn’t bring answers. I was still waiting on my PI, Marcus.
My phone vibrated with his call before I’d finished unlacing my skates. I answered immediately. “What did you find?”
There was a quiet clack of keys on the other end before he spoke.
“I started digging into Darren,” Marcus said, voice low and controlled. “Something’s off with his records.”
My hand stilled on the laces.
“I think he may have used another name.”
Cold pressed beneath my ribs. Something about the way he said it didn’t sit right. Not proof. Not yet. But enough to make me pay attention. “Keep digging.”
We ended the call.
I messaged Mila before I could overthink it.Marcus is still digging. Nothing solid yet.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Mila:Okay.
I stared at the screen a second longer than I should have, the unease still sitting heavy in my chest.
There was nothing I could act on yet. So I shelved it—for now.
I shoved my gear into my bag and stood.
“You coming?” Jax called from across the locker room. “I’m starving. If I don’t get a burger in the next ten minutes, I’m fighting someone.”
“That tracks,” Theo muttered.
Chase slung his bag over his shoulder. “Grill Shack?”
I grabbed my keys. “Yeah.”
The Grill Shack smelled of hamburger grease and fryer oil embedded into wood grain. Neon beer signs buzzed softly against the windows. It was loud. Familiar.
I dropped into the booth across from Jax and Theo while Chase crowded in at the end, fries already disappearing from his tray.
“You look murderous,” Jax observed, mouth half full.
