Callie doesn’t sneak up on us.
She never has.
She lurks out of sight until the garage door is almost done rising, like it’s the curtain for her stage. Or until we’re parked and trying to climb out of a vehicle to go inside…
But today, she appears while we’re in the middle of unloading groceries, stepping into view like she planned the natural lighting herself.
She is a walking billboard, showcasing her parents’ money in a town she really shouldn’t flaunt wealth in so casually. That prep school confidence is honed into a blade that she wields like an actual weapon, even though everyone in the Bay is made out of kevlar.
Her timing is too precise. Suspiciously so.
Which tells me everything I need to know.
Jace stiffens beside me. Silas keeps moving, lifting thirty-four bags at once like nothing is wrong, but the muscle under his eye twitches as he takes stock of everything around us, the way he does when he’s already mapping exits and contingency plans.
I set the carton of eggs down carefully in the back of the SUV with the rest of the groceries we haven’t unloaded.
Callie is the same kind of ambush predator as Daniel, always popping out from behind something, using scare tactics or bullshit to push you into fight or flight. They’re hoping for a mistake that will allow them to sink their claws into us. Then they’re mad when they miss.
“Interesting timing,” I say. “Daniel at the market this morning. You here now… Guess you’re not trying to hide the acquaintanceship any longer?”
Her smile doesn’t falter. “You boys are predictable. Don’t you know routine is a weakness.”
“So is coordination,” I reply. “And you’re bad at concealing it.”
She laughs, but her eyes flick to the loft entrance. To the bags just inside the open door. To the fact that Eris isn’t standing with us.
Callie already knows where she is.
Silas finally turns. “Say what you came to say. You’ve got twenty seconds.”
Her gaze slides straight past him to Jace. Always Jace. She likes his reactions too much to ignore him.
“Do you know about Daniel?” Callie twirls her sunglasses in one hand, and I imagine it winding up her brain so she can think like a functioning adult. “Eris isn’t as clean as she’s led you to believe. They lived together for years. She so enjoyed that obsessive streak of his.”
Jace scoffs at her but says nothing.
“Did she leave him?” Callie asks, raising a brow. “Or did she find better entertainment?” Her grin widens as she watches us. “Don’t act like she doesn’t have a type. Obviously, she’s got a thing for my seconds, sloppy or not.”
“What did you just say?” I ask, taking a step forward.
She turns her full attention to me. “Daniel and I. We go all the way back to boarding school and shared family secrets. He’s got a way of digging his fingers into people, doesn’t he? Makes for good business, but I’m sure it would be more helpful to you if you have someone who can call him off.”
I can’t decide if I want to throw her off a building myself or thank her for finally making it easily acceptable to want her dead.
“I’m only going to warn you once.” Jace’s voice is flat. “Watch your mouth in our house.”
“Oh, relax,” she says, flicking her hand dismissively. “I’m just doing you a favor, lover. You don’t really think he followed her all on his own, do you?”
I step forward before Silas can. His raging energy fills the garage with a thrumming violence that makes it hard to breathe.
“You showed up today because he did,” I point out, nodding as I speak. “You told him where we live. And I’m betting you put all these pieces together because you saw him following Eris around like a kicked puppy.”
Her lips press together. That’s all I need for confirmation.
“They talk,” she spits, truly believing she’s going to get what she wants out of this interaction, even if it takes more time. She’s trying to plant a seed of doubt without realizing how much we know about the situation. “He gets obsessive. I got curious. It’s been efficient for both of us.”
“Efficient,” Silas repeats. “How so?”
