“She already was,” he shoots back.
Rage hits hard.
“You’re done.”
He smiles.
Even now.
“You think this ends with me?”
That stops everything.
“What does that mean?” I demand.
He glances at Tessa.
Then back to me.
“It means,” he says slowly, “you’re still missing the bigger picture.”
“Then show me,”Tessa says.
I stiffen.
“Tessa—”
“I need to know.”
I hate this.
But I see it.
The need.
The truth pulling at her.
So I don’t stop her.
I stay close.
Where I can end this if I have to.
“Talk,” I say.
He leans forward slightly, restrained but calm.
Like he’s been waiting.
“Then you better start asking the right questions,” he says.
A beat.
Cold.
Controlled.
“Because the next answer…”
