Page 54 of Razor Sharp Rivals

“I care,” she says, her voice low. “I just care more about stopping it than protecting myself from it.”

That lands.

Deeper than anything else she’s said.

I hold her gaze, something shifting in my chest that I don’t bother trying to name.

“That’s not how this works,” I say.

“Maybe that’s the problem,” she replies.

I let out a breath, slower this time, the tension pulling tight and then settling into something else.

“You’re not wrong,” I admit.

Her expression shifts slightly, like she didn’t expect that.

“But you’re not entirely right either,” I add.

“Then fix it,” she says.

I tilt my head slightly.

“Fix what?”

“The part where we both know something’s wrong and everyone else is pretending it isn’t,” she says.

I watch her for a long moment, weighing it, turning it over.

“They told me to stand down,” I say.

“They told me the same thing,” she replies.

“And you’re ignoring it.”

“Yes.”

I let a faint grin pull at my mouth.

“Yeah,” I say. “So am I.”

Her shoulders ease just a fraction, the tension shifting.

“That’s not a plan,” she says.

“No,” I agree. “It’s not.”

“Then we need one.”

“We do,” I say.

She studies me, something steadier settling into place behind the intensity.

“This stays off record,” she says. “No reports. No patterns they can track.”

“Agreed.”

“We verify everything.”