No hesitation.
I step closer, closing the distance until we’re standing just inside each other’s space, the air between us charged in a way that has nothing to do with the environment.
“He knew,” I say.
Her expression sharpens immediately.
“Knew what?” she asks.
“That Tury was flagged,” I reply. “That he was asking questions. Talking to people he shouldn’t have been.”
Jolie sneers, her gaze locking onto mine.
“And?” she presses.
“And he didn’t stop,” I continue. “That’s what got him noticed.”
“That’s not enough to get someone killed,” she says.
“It is if what he found mattered,” I reply.
She exhales slowly, her gaze flicking downward for a second before snapping back up.
“You believe Kronin?” she asks.
“I believe he wasn’t the one who did it,” I say.
“That’s not the same thing as trusting him.”
“No,” I agree. “It’s not.”
She steps closer, closing what little distance remains, her voice dropping.
“What else?” she asks.
“He knows more than he said,” I reply. “But he’s not touching it. Whatever this is, it sits above him.”
Her expression tightens, something sharper cutting through it.
“That narrows the field,” she says.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Not in a way I like.”
Silence settles between us, but it’s not empty.
It’s active.
Turning.
“You think Tury found something specific,” she says.
“I think he got close enough to something important,” I answer.
“And that was enough to make him a problem,” she says.
“Yeah.”
We stand there, closer than we should be, neither of us stepping back.
