Page 28 of Free to Judge

“We’re nothing together right now, Jon.” I watch as my words strike deep.

He flinches before he continues, “Hudson is chasing something huge—bigger than you can imagine. But one false move, and it all falls apart.”

“Falls apart?” I repeat softly, my fury about to boil over at the idea me and my loved ones are in danger because of a case—a fucking case.

“I’ve got informants, placements. Declan is our in. One miscalculation and everything collapses.”

“So, you’re gambling with everything? With our damn family?”

His silence hollows the room with unspoken dread.

“All for some vague promise of an in?” I demand, incredulous.

“Yes. No!” He rakes his hand through his hair, frustration raw in his tone. “This is so far beyond anything you can possibly imagine.”

Disbelief mingles with the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. “And that means trusting him?”

“It means trustingme,” he insists fervently. “Stop making mistakes, Kalie.”

“Trust you?” My laugh is brittle and riddled with scorn. “Right.”

He steps closer, and for a fleeting moment, the cousin I once cherished flickers in his eyes. “Kalie, you are what I’m fighting for.”

My anger falters, but only just. “Then why does it feel like you’ve gone over to the other side?”

Before he can say more, my phone shatters the tension with its ringing clamor. My father’s number flashes on the screento AWOLNATION. Jon’s eyes dart from the phone to mine, urgency and dread coalescing on his face. “Answer it.”

I lift my chin, defiant. “Get out.”

“Kalie—”

“Out!” My command cracks like a whip, leaving no room for negotiation. He retreats, his eyes a swirling tempest of emotions I can’t untangle. Alone now, I snatch up the phone and bark into it, “Dad?”

His voice is an anchor in the chaos, steady yet laced with worry. “Kalie! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I insist, though each word feels like I’m stretching the truth so thin you can see through it. “Someone tried to run me over.”

“We know,” he replies grimly. “I just got word. They’re getting desperate.”

“They?” My heart sinks as dread seizes me.

“Conian called Jon, who called me before he came to see you. You didn’t take your protection with you.” His tone is a mix of disappointment, fear, and something unspoken. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

“He saved me,” I admit, reluctant but truthful.

My father mutters to himself, “They’re more unstable than we feared.”

“Who?” I snap back, bitterness seeping into my voice.

“Kalie,” Dad’s tone softens, “please listen to everything we tell you to do. Don’t act out because you’re angry. We cannot afford to lose?—”

“I wouldn’t give someone the satisfaction of dying.”

“They’ll do whatever it takes. You know that.”

“Yeah,” I murmur, images of that speeding car and Declan’s choking warning flaring in my mind. “I do.”

“We need to talk about this,” Dad insists gravely.