Chapter 217

“Right,” Zeke says, already pulling out his phone. “Here’s what’s happening. I need to get this to Marcus properly, not as a half-filed footnote you mentioned to me in passing three weeks ago.”

“I love how personal that felt,” I say.

“It was meant to.”

He scrolls to find the number and then looks up at all three of us like he’s addressing a small, unruly platoon. “We’re not standing in an alley for this. Let’s move somewhere public, somewhere with actual sightlines, and nobody wanders off on their own.” His eyes land on me specifically. “Phones stay on. Location shared with me the entire time. I’ll be back in twenty five minutes, tops.”

“You’re leaving?” I ask.

“I’m calling Marcus from somewhere I can actually hear myself think, and I’m not doing it with the four of us huddled in an alley like we’re planning a heist.” He looks at Garvin. “You stay in visual range of her the entire time. Not down the street. Not in a shop. Visual range.”

Garvin