“Because,” he said evenly, “whether you like it or not, Archie is part of the situation we’re dealing with.Which means he’s involved and he needs to be here for this meeting.”
Her laugh was sharp.
“Since when?”
“Since it became necessary.”
“We’ve never had an outsider sit in on a family meeting,” she challenged.
“Things change.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you need.”
Silence stretched for a beat.
Then she huffed, shaking her head as she dropped into a chair, crossing one leg over the other with a sharp, agitated movement.
“Un-fucking-believable.”
I watched her openly and didn’t even bother hiding it.
The tension in her shoulders.The way her fingers tapped once against her thigh before going still.The anger simmering just beneath her skin like it was always there, waiting for an excuse to rear its head.
“Good,” Atlas continued, like nothing had happened.“Now that we’re all here, we can move on.”
The meeting shifted, but the tension didn’t ease.It coiled tighter.Because then Atlas said her name again.
“Tone.”
She looked up, already irritated.“What?”
“I want clarification.”
Her expression darkened, a neat crease scaling the terrain between her her eyebrows.
“On what?”
“France.”
The word settled in, and no one rushed to fill the silence that followed.I felt it immediately—the shift.Subtle, but undeniable.Everyone was listening now.
“I’ve heard,” Atlas went on, “that you’re considering going there.Not for a visit this time.Something more permanent.”
Tone leaned back in her chair, folding her arms.
“I’m considering it,” she said.“That’s all.”
Raze snapped.
“No.”
The word came out harsh.Immediate.Final.
Her head turned slowly toward him, her expression sharpening.
“Excuse me?”She looked at him in disbelief.
