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We see you.

We know where you are.

And if you don’t come back, we’re coming to get you.

I fold the letter and slide it back into the envelope. Then I back away from the table and stare at it like it’s radioactive.

They think they’ve already won.

But they don’t realize who they’re fucking with.

Ani cannot know about this. She already has enough to worry about. But Boone and Jonah? They need to see it. They’ve beenrestrained in their approach to all of this. They won’t be once they read this.

Davit just gave them permission to go full nuclear.

I move fast down the hall, envelope tight in my grip. I push into Boone’s room without knocking, but what I see stops me in my tracks.

All three of them are in the bed.

Ani is tucked in the middle, one of Jonah’s arms wrapped around her waist. Boone is on the other side, flat on his back, the sheet barely covering him from the waist down. They’re all sleeping peacefully.

I stare at them, trying to figure out the right move. How do you wake Boone and Jonah without waking Ani? Perhaps nudge one of them on the arm and see if they’ll wake? Or whisper to them and hope Ani is a deep sleeper?

But instead, I do the dumbest thing I’ve done in a long time.

I slap Boone.

It’s not that hard, just enough to jolt him out of sleep. But who slaps a trained fucking assassin awake? Only an idiot apparently.

His head jerks toward me before his eyes even open. And then, in a move that should’ve surprised exactly no one, his hand shoots up and clamps around my throat.

I gasp, trying to shake him off.

His eyes open and instead of releasing his dear brother, his grip tightens when he sees it’s me.

Boone’s mouth opens like he’s about to yell something. So I slap my hand over his mouth.

“You are going to wake her,” I hiss, fingers prying at his wrist.

His nostrils flare. He growls against my palm, but he doesn’t make any other sounds. His eyes flick down to the envelope in my other hand, then back to my face.

Thank God he lets go of my throat.

Boone leans over Ani to flick Jonah in the ear. He just blinks, looks at the clock, then at the envelope. His face hardens.

I tilt my head towards the hall and head out of the room with the two of them following behind.

We don’t speak until we get to the kitchen. We don’t really even speak then. I slide the envelope across the table and they read it in silence. I watch their faces become more and more angry.

The next move is going to be ours—it’s written all over their faces.

We go about the morning as usual but Ani knows something is up. I can tell by the way she’s looking at all of us.

Boone hasn’t snapped at anyone in over an hour. Jonah’s not muttering about security feeds. And I can’t help but be more cheerful than I normally am. But it’s all fucked up and she can sense it.

Ani is in the kitchen with Mae, helping her sort a set of watercolor paints into some system only the two of them understand. I’m halfway through making pancakes when Boone and Jonah’s phones start alerting.

They’re both on their feet, with intense expressions as they head for the door before the knock even happens.