Page 101 of Collateral Love
Xavier’s eyes narrowed. “Show me.”
The screen zoomed in on the timing.
The freezes weren’t random.
They weren’t sloppy.
They were too clean.
They were… engineered.
Xavier stared at the data for a long moment.
Then he said quietly, “That’s Kenya.”
Channy’s eyes widened. “How?”
“She doesn’t just escape,” Xavier murmured. “She rearranges the room on her way out.”
I let out a slow breath.
Even half-dead on a gurney, my wife had been doing math.
I should’ve been relieved.
Instead, I was furious all over again, because it meant she’d been awake enough to know she needed to help us before we helped her.
I stood.
“Good,” I said.
The room watched me.
I walked to the board and placed my palm flat against it, grounding myself the way Kenya taught me when my rage got too loud in my body.
“We don’t hunt Charles tonight,” I said.
Channy snapped, “Zay?—”
“We don’t hunt him,” I repeated, harder. “We corner him.”
Xavier nodded, already with me.
Miles opened his mouth like he wanted to advise.
I cut my eyes at him.
He closed it.
“Pressure points,” I continued. “We squeeze what he loves.”
Channy scoffed. “He doesn’t love people.”
“He loves control,” I said. He loves money. He love image. He loves leverage.”
I pointed at Joel.
“Start the seizures,” I said. “Every asset we can touch without making noise.”
