I curse and drag in a breath. “I know you’re right, E. I know you and Hudson are in deep with this.” I hesitate, then add quieter, “But what do we really know about them? We jumped in too fast.”
“Maybe we did, but we jumped in all the same. Are you really telling me you can walk away?”
That hits harder than I want it to. I stare at Hudson, fighting something inside myself, unsure which side will win. “I can’t argue about this right now, E.” My voice gives way to exhaustion. “I just need to know he’s okay.”
“Can I ask you something?”
I want to say no. I agree anyway.
“Assuming Hudson recovers like Doc says—he wakes up with all his normal bravado and shenanigans—are you really willing to walk away from what you have with him and Pippa?”
“Why would I have to walk away from Hudson?”
The look on her face tells me that wasn’t the answer she expected.
“Do you think Hudson will want to walk away from Pippa?”
I don’t answer.
The silence stretches. Then, quietly, more vulnerable than I’d like, I ask, “Do you think he’d pick her over me?”
Eva’s face softens. “Never, Enz. Hudson would never leave your side.”
Some of the tension drains from my body.
“But after all this,” she continues gently, “are you really willing to ask him to choose? You know he cares for her, too. And while you might be beating yourself up for getting us involved, you can’t tell me you don’t care about her. Could you really walk away?”
“I have to. I have to keep you and him safe, E. You’re my family. The only family I have left.” My voice cracks on the last word.
“I know, but no one ever said our family couldn’t expand.” She crosses the room and hugs me. I hold on longer than I expect to. I tell my sister I love her and she says it back.
When she turns to leave, she pauses. “Try to get some rest.”
I nod, though we both know I won’t.
I turn back to Hudson, grip his hand tighter, and wait for the next beep.
EIGHTEEN
pivot
Pippa
Friday Morning, Day 23
The patio outside the back den of Enzo’s house carries the smell of pine trees and the coffee my sisters and I have in our hands. The air is damp, charged, like the world hasn’t quite decided yet if it’s going to forgive us for surviving the night.
None of us have slept. We refuse to leave the Luciano mansion until we know Hudson is awake and okay. He is still unconscious one floor down, but Doc expects he’ll wake soon.
Every time I blink, I see him in the back of the van, bleeding. Watch the stain spreading under my hands.
Sitting around an outdoor table, Jules, Luna, and I plan for the day. Luna and I both know we’ll be called in to work as soon as the news hits. Only a couple of hours likely remain until the chaos begins.
Luna sits cross-legged in a bright, oversized hoodie with her curly hair in a knot at the top of her head. She’s vibrating withleftover adrenaline, one leg bouncing as she nurses her third cup of coffee. Her laptop glows between us, containing spreadsheets and code.
“In Malin’s files I found receipts,” Luna says finally. She taps the trackpad, a scanned ledger glowing in the dawn light. “A warehouse in Ivy City, paid for in cash through one of his shells. He’s been making regular payments for over a decade.”
That piques our interest.
