Sage didn’t flinch.
“Why didn’t you?”
Sage exhaled slowly, like he’d already accepted how this sounded.
The breath echoed faintly, too loud in the tight stairwell.
“Ashley is Voss’s half-sister.”
It landed hard, the kind of truth that didn’t shift once said.
The words landed between them, heavy.
His jaw tightened.
“He kept her close,” Sage went on, steady. “Used that. Twisted it against me. I grew up with her on the streets—before Voss was even in the picture.”
Silence settled hard in the stairwell.
Contained. Pressed in. No space for it to dissipate.
“I didn’t know how far he’d take it,” Sage added, quieter. “Not until it was already too late to save Jade.”
“I don’t get it. She’s his half-sister? Why the hell would he send someone to kill her?”
“Because the last time I met with him, I told him I was done and taking her out of there.”
“The guy at Rusty Spur.” It wasn’t a question.
Sage’s gaze snapped up.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “You were there.”
“What was in the envelope you gave him?” he asked, nodding once.
“Cash. To keep Ashley and Jade safe.”
“So emotional blackmail.”
“Yeah. He kept threatening us all.”
“The phone calls,” Law murmured.
“Mhmm.” Sage released a deep breath.
Law squinted.
The decision settled in behind his eyes before he spoke.
“Then we go after him.”
No hesitation. No second pass.
“Yeah—and now that he tried to kill Ashley?” Sage’s hands closed into tight fists. “Nothing will save him.”
Somewhere across town…
“For fuck’s sake!” Frost growled. “Did you seriously just lose our suspect?”
