Whiskey steps into view, phone in hand, hair damp, face calm. “Good morning.”
August waves his dinosaur. “Hi.”
Whiskey looks at Blue Rex. “Good morning to you too.”
August whispers to me, “He looks fancy.”
Whiskey’s mouth curves. “I am.”
Derby rolls his eyes. “He ain’t. He just owns shirts with buttons.”
Whiskey ignores him and looks at me. “Jeremy already started the concerned husband routine. He’s not filed for emergency custody yet, but he has made calls about it. If he photographs you leaving the clubhouse with Derby, he will spin it. If he photographs you at Derby’s house, he will spin that too. The question isn’t whether he twists the truth. He will. The question is whether we give him enough rope and keep August physically safe while we build our own record.”
“Record?” I ask.
“Proof that you left because you had reason. Proof he tracked you. Proof he threatened you. Proof he has dirty financial ties that make his clean-husband act vulnerable.”
My stomach turns. “I don’t have proof.”
“Maybe you do,” Whiskey says. “Maybe you don’t know what matters yet.”
I think of emails. Bank transfers. Texts I deleted, maybe not fully. Photos I never took because I was too ashamed. The neighbor who saw him grab my arm once and looked away. The doctor who asked if I felt safe and accepted my lie because I smiled when I said it.
Proof.
It feels like trying to build a house out of smoke.
“I don’t want August in court,” I whisper.
Sophie’s face tightens. “We are not there yet.”
“But we could be.”
“Yes.”
I appreciate the honesty.
I hate it, but I appreciate it.
Derby pushes off the doorframe. “Then we move them before Vale gets ideas.”
Sophie nods. “Pack what she needs first. Clothes, papers, August’s things. Leave the rest until we sort it.”
“I don’t want everyone touching my stuff,” I say.
“Then tell us what to touch,” Derby says. “Or don’t. I’ll carry what you hand me.”
That is the second time he gives me control without making a speech about it.
I notice.
I wish I did not.
Sophie turns to Whiskey. “Have Legend send two men ahead to check Derby’s house.”
Derby scowls. “My house is fine.”
Sophie looks at him.