Her eyes searched mine. “Total honesty.”
“Total honesty,” I agreed. “Even when it’s ugly.”
A beat.
Mila’s fingers laced through mine. Warm. Certain. “Then start now. I’m still here. Don’t waste that. What are we actually doing?”
I tightened my grip once.
“We know where Dunn will be this week. Dominick will make sure they cross paths. Not accidentally. Not aggressively. Long enough for Dunn to understand who’s paying attention.”
“And Edwardo’s plan?”
“Edwardo keeps it contained,” I replied. “He controls who knows about the mob protection in place and how far it goes. Dominick shows up in public first. If Dunn misreads that, the next step happens in his office. With witnesses.”
Mila’s jaw flexed. “That’s not subtle.”
“It’s not meant to be subtle. It’s meant to be clear.”
“And the fallout?”
“Board members hear about it. Dunn loses the luxury of pretending Adriana’s isolated.”
Her breath caught slightly. “So this isn’t just intimidation.”
“No. It’s recalibration.” Plans were only clean until someone decided to bleed on them.
She studied me. “And the cost?”
“Dunn digs. He looks for leverage against us. Against my family. Against you.”
Her shoulders squared. “Fine. Let him look.”
That was my girl.
The bell cut through the air. We stood together, hands linked, and headed toward the doors.
Eyes tracked us from the steps. I felt them without looking.
The rest of the school day passed without incident.
Elise stayed in her circle and never approached us. She didn’t provoke. She didn’t perform. She watched.
That restraint told me more than a confrontation would have.
By the time I stepped into the locker room, the usual noise hit harder than normal. Gear hit the benches. Tape tore between teeth. Someone argued about music near the back corner. It was routine. Familiar.
Still, every conversation cut off half a second too early when I walked past.
Coach came in and clapped once for attention.
“High tempo today. Short shifts. I want clean transitions and hard finishes.”
We hit the ice.
The first drill focused on breakout speed. I pushed the pace deliberately, forcing the puck up ice before the lanes fully opened. If we hesitated, Coach reset the line.
Chase skated beside me after the third rep, breathing steady despite the pace.