…Daniel’s jaw tightened. He looked at me, not like a stranger anymore, but like someone who had just realized he’d been speaking out of turn in a room he didn’t understand.

“Permission to speak freely?” he asked.

It wasn’t directed at Maya.

It was directed at me.

—

I held his gaze for a second.

Then nodded once.

“Go ahead.”

—

He turned back to her.

“That patch,” he said carefully, “isn’t just a county insignia.”

Maya crossed her arms. “Oh my God, Daniel, don’t start—”

“No,” he cut in, firmer this time. “Listen.”