Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Mila’s hand found mine as she laughed. “I could say the same for you guys.”
Avery blushed then rolled her eyes. “Text me later.”
Mila’s voice stayed calm. “I will.”
Avery hesitated, observing Mila for a second, then stepped back, her hand in Jax’s.
When they walked away, Mila’s shoulders loosened, as if she’d been holding herself upright through sheer will.
“She’s scared,” Mila murmured.
“Does she know about Dominick?”
Mila shook her head. “No. I’ll tell her. She knows something’s up because, you know… the car that showed up with the muscle.”
“It’s all over the school. Kind of hard to miss.” Still, I found it hard to believe Mila hadn’t spilled everything to her best friend. But maybe she was as sick of the bullshit we had to deal with as I was. That was the thing though; it had to be dealt with.
We headed toward my car since Avery had picked up Mila and Tori before heading to the rink.
The call from Marcus came as I got behind the wheel. I answered immediately and put it on speaker, letting him know Mila was listening.
A faint clack of keys came through the line, steady and controlled. Marcus didn’t waste time. “I’ve got the alias,” he began. “Darren’s.”
My fingers gripped the wheel. “Let’s hear it.”
“David R. Lyle,” Marcus said.
Mila’s breath caught softly beside me.
I kept my voice even. “What else?”
There was a brief pause on the other end. “It’s clean,” Marcus replied. “Too clean. Minimal footprint but deliberate. Whoever set it up knew how to keep it off radar.”
Mila shifted beside me. “So Darren wasn’t just hiding. He was… planning something.”
Exit strategies weren’t built overnight. Not unless you’d been planning to leave someone—or something—behind.
Marcus paused. “Seems that way.”
I stared through the windshield without seeing the lot. “Any hits on the name elsewhere?”
“Not yet,” Marcus said. “But I’m still digging. There’s more here.”
Mila’s fingers curled around mine.
I exhaled slowly. “Keep going.”
“I will.”
The line went quiet for a beat before he added, “This isn’t random.”
“I figured.”
I ended the call and set my phone down. The SUV felt too still—too enclosed. The world outside moved on as though we hadn’t just uncovered a name that could change everything.
Mila’s hand remained in mine. “I wonder if my mom knew.”