Of course that is where his mind goes. I look at him and his face doesn’t change, but I see it anyway. The hit of concern. The immediate calculation. If Bliss is in trouble, Aura is in it too. If Aura is in it too, Easton Wade is already half a step from losing his mind.
“Aura and Charm know more than anyone,” I say. “They’ve been with her through it. Which means they’re in his orbit too.”
Easton nods once, sharp and silent.
Briggs pushes off his locker. “Where is he?”
“No.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You asked where he is with your felony voice.”
“I have several voices.”
“That one was felony.”
Rider glances at him. “It was a little felony.”
Briggs points at Rider without looking away from me. “Don’t police my tone when I’m being loyal.”
“This is exactly why we’re talking,” I say, and my voice comes out hard enough that they all still. “Nobody goes rogue. Nobody corners him. Nobody decides they’re going to handle this alone.”
Briggs stares at me. “You serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“That guy put hands on Bliss.”
“I know.”
“And you’re telling me we’re not touching him?”
“I’m telling you that if we touch him wrong, she pays for it.”
That lands because it was meant to.
I can see the same instinct in them that’s been chewing through me all morning. The simple version of justice. Find him. Hurt him. Make sure he understands.
But simple is dangerous here.
I look at Briggs first because he is the most likely to turn protective anger into a plan built entirely out of impulse and gasoline. “This isn’t a drunk asshole who needs his teeth knocked in behind The Sin Bin. This isn’t some guy mouthing off because he got jealous at a party. He’s calculated. He’s been at this a long time. He knows how to look clean while making her look unstable.”
Rider’s expression darkens. “That’s fucked.”
“Yeah,” I say. “It is.”
Ryan’s voice cuts in, low and steady. “What do you need?”
“I need the ABC’s covered on campus,” I say.
Easton goes completely still.
I keep my eyes moving between them because this part matters, and it matters more than whatever satisfaction any of us would get from putting Luke through a wall.
“He knows Bliss’s routines. He knows where she works. He knows her apartment, her family, her friends, the arena, The Sin Bin, probably knows where she buys tampons and the brand. And after yesterday, he knows I’m watching him.” I exhale slowly through my nose. “If he can’t get to her cleanly, he may try to scare her sideways.”
Ryan’s gaze sharpens. “Aura or Charm become scare tactics.”
