Chase swore under his breath. “Chloe.” His date.
I stepped inside without waiting. “Where’s Chloe?” I asked.
Chase followed on my heels. “Kitchen.”
We found her near the island, phone in hand, screen glowing. She looked up too slowly. “What’s going on?” she asked, tone pitched high.
“Hand me the phone.”
Her grip tightened fractionally. “Why?”
“Now.”
The music cut off completely behind us. Theo must’ve killed it. Outside, car doors slammed. More than a few.
Chloe hesitated. Chase stepped forward and plucked the phone clean from her fingers before she could react.
“What the hell?—”
He was already scrolling. His expression darkened. “There it is.” He turned the screen toward me.
Panoramic shot from the deck railing. Full sweep of the house with Mila and I wrapped in each other’s arms. Geotag active. Caption:Mountain nights with Blackwood’s finest.
Tagged accounts. Including mine. Posted an hour ago. Boosted ten minutes later.
Chase’s jaw ticked. “Why the fuck did you do this?”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think?—”
“No,” I cut in. “You didn’t.”
Car doors slammed again outside. Voices drifted through the open windows. Uninvited. Unvetted.
Jax stepped in from the back hall. “At least fifteen people already in the driveway.”
Theo muttered something vicious under his breath.
Avery moved toward the blinds, peeking carefully without exposing herself. “More are coming.”
Mila hadn’t moved. She stood near the edge of the room, watching Chloe, assessing her.
Chloe’s composure cracked. “It was just a picture. I didn’t send it to anyone specific.”
“Boosting doesn’t happen accidentally,” I replied.
Her silence confirmed enough.
Chase dragged a hand down his face. “You just compromised a private location.”
“I didn’t know it was private.”
“That’s the point,” I snapped.
Outside, someone whooped loudly. A car engine revved. The mountain air no longer felt isolated.
I turned to the guys. “Lock the side entrances. No one inside that we don’t know personally.”
Theo moved instantly. Jax headed toward the back.
