Different girl. Same war.
“It’ll work out,” he told me.
I turned toward him. Moonlight carved sharp lines across his features—determination etched into every angle.
“I won’t let Dunn touch you or your mom.”
A small breath left me. “You can’t control everything.”
His jaw flexed. “No. But I can control how I respond.”
The waves punctuated the silence, and we resumed walking, hands linked. I studied the horizon, trying to picture a future that wasn’t shadowed by threats and leverage.
“They’re going to expect me to disappear,” I reiterated. “Not show up at school like their threats don’t matter.”
“But that’s not what we’re doing. We’re changing the playing field.”
The plan made my stomach tighten. What if didn’t work? What if Luke’s play wasn’t enough to hold them back?
He squeezed my hand. “It’ll work. We’re forcing moves.”
I faced him fully now. “How? By letting Dunn realize who we’re connected to?”
His focus locked in, strategy falling into place with unsettling ease. “First, we confront Elise at school. Publicly.”
My brows lifted. “It would be better if I did all the talking for this initial one.”
His jaw flexed. He didn’t like it, but he inclined his head. I was right on this.
“She doesn’t get to operate in the shadows anymore,” he went on. “If she wants to escalate, she does it in front of witnesses.”
Yeah, that was not going to go well. “She’ll twist it.”
“Probably. But we won’t be hiding.”
The thought sent a ripple through me. No more being careful not to touch. No more pretending we weren’t already intertwined.
“United front,” he added. “No space for them to wedge in.”
The wind whipped harder off the water, tugging at his tux jacket around my frame.
“And your parents?” I asked carefully.
His expression shifted, not softening but recalibrating. “Not yet.”
“Luke.”
“I won’t bring them what Dunn threatened until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
A flicker of relief passed through me before I could stop it. Facing Dunn was one thing. Facing the King empire head-on was another. And to be honest, I doubted they would help. Their son, yes. But my mom and me, absolutely not—they would hang us out to dry and make sure the effort benefited their son in some way.
“But I will talk to my brother,” he continued. “Drew is useful in these types of situations.”
My pulse skipped. “You really think that’s our best move?”
“Yes.” His answer came without hesitation.
I held his gaze longer than necessary. “I don’t want this pulling you further in,” I admitted before I could stop myself.
