Page 98 of Begin Again

Orion just grins. “It’s a term of endearment.”

“No, it’s not, it’s demeaning.” His voice is low, warning.

Selene tilts her head. “So why do you get away with it?”

Orion shrugs. “Because I’m me.”

I shake my head, exhaling sharply. “And people thinkIhave issues.”

That earns a few chuckles, but the laughter fades fast, the reality of what we’re about to do settling back in. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing we have to jump but not knowing how hard we’re going to hit the ground.

Selene shakes her head. “She doesn’t need to crumble. She just needs to slip up. Give us an angle we can use.”

Bennett nods. “She will. She’s been careful for years, but that doesn’t last forever. People like her, they think they’re invincible. That’s when they get reckless.”

Mo straightens up. “So what’s the approach? Just hit her with everything at once?”

“No,” Orion says immediately. “We lead her into it. Let her think she’s in control of the conversation. If we push too hard, too fast, she’ll shut down or turn it on us.”

I let out a slow breath. “So we let her talk. Let her think she has the upper hand.”

Bennett smirks slightly. “Then we take it from her.”

The Mountain leans against the doorframe, watching us carefully. “Have you ever done this before?”

“No,” I admit.

He snorts. “Figured.”

Celeste tilts her head, studying him. “And what exactly doyoubring to the table, Lucy?”

The temperature in the room shifts.

The Behemoth’s smirk vanishes. His eyes cut to her, sharp as a knife, and for a second, I wonder if she’s about to regret that question.

“You get one warning,” he says coolly. “Don’t call me that.”

Celeste doesn’t blink. She just smiles—slow, knowing,challenging. “Noted.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then, to my absolute disbelief, Big Birdgrins. It’s quick, there and gone, but I see it. So does Celeste.

She leans back against the couch, looking satisfied, and for some reason, The Skyscraper suddenly finds the floor interesting.

Mo tilts her head, thinking. “We need to go slow and start with a topic she won’t immediately shut down. An emotional one. Gabriel is the perfect entry point.”

“She’s mourning him publicly,” Celeste adds, finally looking away from Lurch. “So we acknowledge that. Make her feel safe like we’re just there to pay respects too.”

“And then?” I ask, shifting forward.

“Then we remind her of what he was looking into before he died,” Orion says. “We talk about how he confided in people. How he had concerns about certain cases—”

“No,” I cut in, my voice low. “About my dad.”

Bennett nods. “And then we bring up Cassie. The lies she spread. Why she needed to turn the town against her in the first place.”

Selene rubs her arms. “And when she starts getting defensive, we drop the bomb about Bennett.”

Valkyrie perks up at the sudden change in Selene’s tone, tail thumping against the floor. I reach down, running a hand over her fur absentmindedly. “She won’t be able to dodge all of it at once,” I say slowly. “She’ll slip up trying to juggle it all.”