Page 16 of Theirs to Hunt

Grayson, Monday 08:00 p.m.

"Report," I bark into the phone when Brooks calls.

I don't tolerate loose ends.

This isn't a thread.

It's a fuse.

Already lit.

I listen as he walks me through their interaction.

Tone even, controlled.

But I know him.

I hear the undercurrent.

The pull.

"Don't push too fast, son," I say, voice calm but cold. "We need her steady. Not suspicious."

She can't see us coming.

Not yet.

"Dial it back. So far, she doesn't know you were the second man. But she knows your name. No one used mine, so she can't tie me in." I pause.

Let it hang.

I don't have to raise my voice to make it land.

"But once she figures you out..things will escalate. Quickly."

I don't say the next part out loud.

This isn't just strategy.

This is protection.

I won't let him be blindsided by trust the way I was.

Won't let him be gutted by the people who are supposed to keep you safe.

He'll learn control.

Precision.

Loyalty where it's earned.

Not every man gets to be a good father.

Some of us have to become one on purpose.

Chapter sixteen

Reagan, Monday 08:30 p.m.