"She'll be protected," Kade says. "And out of the operational zone."
Angelina's jaw works. Her fingers flex against mine, then still—a decision settling into place.
"And if she doesn't come?" Steady voice, but something underneath—a hairline crack. "If she waits us out?"
"She will not." I meet her eyes. "You are too perfect a target. Harsh sentencing. High conviction rate. The DeLuca case alone puts you at the top of her list."
"Flattering."
"It should be. You are exactly the kind of judge she hates." I squeeze her hand once. "And exactly the kind we protect."
"She stays at CPG," Angelina says. "Not Sal's. I want her close. I want to know she's safe."
"Done."
"It could work." I do not like that it could work. "But you are not alone for a second. Not one."
"Focus." Kade's voice carries warning without heat. "Asher—Victoria's patterns. Known associates, anything we missed. Jax—rotation at the house with Mira. Damian—your contacts, anyone heard whispers about Victoria's next move."
Nods around the table.
"Cole—you're on Angelina."
"That was never in question."
"I know." Kade's mouth twitches—there and gone. "I just like saying it."
"Xander—you're on Chesca."
"When do we move?" Jax asks.
Kade looks at Angelina. "When do you want to tell Chesca?"
"After she wakes up. Make it sound like an adventure, not a lockdown."
"Then we move tonight." Kade straightens. "Victoria Lockwood thinks she's the hunter. She's about to learn otherwise."
The briefing disperses into purposeful activity. The room shifts into motion. Coffee mugs refilled, queries launched. The rhythm of a hunt beginning.
Angelina stays seated, hand still in mine. Her thumb moves absently across my knuckles—the same gesture I gave her minutes ago, returned without thinking.
"You okay?" I ask quietly.
"I just agreed to be bait for a serial killer." She exhales. A sound that's not quite a laugh. "After spending the night in a mercenary compound with my ex-lover who killed my ex-husband yesterday." She turns to look at me. "I'm so far from okay that okay is a foreign country I can't find on a map."
"That is a lot of exes in one sentence."
Another almost-laugh. "You're not an ex."
"No?"
"Exes end." Her eyes hold mine. "We never ended. We just... paused. For twelve years."
Juni-nen.The number sounds different in Japanese. Heavier.
"Longest pause of my life."
"Mine too." She squeezes my hand once, then stands. "I need to talk to Chesca. Make this sound exciting instead of terrifying."