Dom’s expression stays flat. “We hand this over raw, it disappears into procedure. Best case, they’re too slow. Worst case, someone inside their chain is already bought.”
Logan nods once. “We keep it internal for now.”
“Agreed,” Landon says.
The conversation shifts. Surveillance. Routes. Alliances. Known targets. Safehouses.
Then Carter, who stepped in late and has stayed quiet near the door, says, “What about Olivia?” No one says anything.
My gaze moves to him. He holds it. Not challenging. Asking. “She doesn’t move,” I say.
Logan’s eyes sharpen. “We’re discussing all options.”
“No.” The word is flat. Final. “She doesn’t move.”
“Why?” Landon asks.
I look at him. “They built around her routine,” I say. “We control that here.”
Landon nods slowly, accepting the logic. It is logic. Not all of it. The truth sits under it, colder and simpler.
I control her environment here. I know the doors. The windows. The men posted. The blind spots. The way the hallway sounds when someone tries to move quiet. I know who enters, who leaves, who gets close enough to breathe the same air she does. Here, I can keep her alive. Outside is too open. Too many variables. Too many fuckers thinking they can touch what’s mine.
Logan studies me. “She’s going to want her life.”
“She has it.”
“No,” he says. “She has a version of it with you standing between her and the door.”
My jaw tightens. He isn’t wrong. Doesn’t matter. “She doesn’t move until we know where the next play is coming from.”
Shadow speaks before Logan can answer. “He’s right.”
Logan’s gaze cuts to him.
Shadow continues. “They know her old life. Not this one. Moving her to a safehouse gives them another location to find. Keeping her here gives us numbers.”
Hammer nods. “Fortified property. Armed men. Cameras. Prospects. Dogs soon, if I get my way.”
Joker glances at him. “You want dogs?”
“I want something that bites before it asks questions.”
Joker’s faint smile appears. “Relatable.”
Logan exhales hard. “Fine. She stays.”
I don’t react. The decision was already made.
The conversation moves again.
Dom pulls up another screen. “The takedown has to start with the lower layers. We find one hub. One handler. One transport route that isn’t fully insulated. Then we work upward.”
“We find the top,” Logan says.
Dom nods once. “It’s layered.”
“Then we peel it,” I say.
