Like a woman who knew safety was a myth and was trying to choose the least dangerous blade.
“You’ll stay away from her,” she said.
It was not a question.
Edge’s stare cut into me.
Nate suddenly became very interested in the ceiling.
I held Regan’s gaze.
“Yes.”
The lie sat clean on my tongue because the words were simple.
Stay away from her.
Physically, yes.
Emotionally, I already had a problem.
But that was mine to bury.
Regan studied me for another second, and I had the uncomfortable feeling she saw the grave before I dug it.
“She’s hurt,” she said.
“I know.”
“She’s seventeen.”
“I know.”
“She’s Edge’s daughter.”
I looked at Edge.
Then back at Regan.
“I know that best of all.”
Something in her face shifted.
Not approval.
Never that.
But acknowledgment.
JD clapped his hands once, sharp enough to break the moment. “Good. Then we stop arguing like we have time.”
Hacker looked up from the laptop. “I can start resort options.”
“No,” JD said. “You can start by copying evidence, preserving metadata, and not committing twelve new crimes before breakfast.”
Hacker muttered, “People really underestimate how useful crimes are.”
“People really overestimate how cute they look in federal court,” JD shot back.
