Page 94 of On a Fault Line

I nod. “Yes. I missed Penny’s initial reaction and was on location after she was already in a bad state of mind.”

Graham nods. “None of us expected it. I just hope Penny understands why Nic and I didn’t hover after it happened. We didn’t want to upset her or cause her any more stress.”

“I almost guarantee she understands.”

“Who’s with Penny now?” Nic asks, glancing at his watch.

“I have someone shadowing her. And then another person shadowing him. Everyone’s already on the payroll. I just shifted responsibilities where I saw fit.”

The men nod. They understand that my instincts are rarely wrong, and when it comes to Penny, I don’t want to make any casual mistakes.

“And she’s cooperating with all of that?” Graham asks.

I nod. “Yes. She’s been very agreeable.”

Nic lets out a huff of air. “How did you manage that?”

Well, I threaten to redden her ass cheeks if she dares to try to lose her guard.

I bite back a smirk and settle for a half-truth. “I explained in loose terms the consequence of not accepting her security detail.”

Graham bumps fists with me. “Threats must be best coming from you versus us.”

“It’s true. You must have a magical way of getting her to comply,” Nic says with a laugh, “because she basically exerted all of her energy to disobey her guards prior to you.”

“I try my best.”

“Any updates on the visitation?” Graham asks, changing the subject back to the real problem—eliminating Mark Tanner from the face of this earth.

“All my eyes on the prison and sources inside have reported that Tanner is quiet. He does not step out of line,” I provide.

“He is a rule follower,” Graham says with contempt.

Nic snarls, “Yeah, a real model citizen.”

“He’ll be a dead one very soon,” I say under my breath.

I’m not sure why I even bother lowering my voice. The entire gym is empty but for us, and Nic has already made sure that it’s a safe place for us to conduct business when we need to have a meeting place away from our homes.

The last thing we need is to have anything get in the way of our ultimate goal or worse—get caught.

While I’m sure the Hoffmans have some safeguards in check, it’s always best not to utilize anything that may disrupt the lives of those they care about most.

Fleeing the country and getting a new identification doesn’t sound like something any of us really want to do to avoid prison time if caught, but that’s the risk we are willing to take to fulfill the revenge plot.

Tanner deserves to rot in prison, but the longer he is kept alive, the more of a chance that something goes wrong.

“So where does everything stand?” Graham asks, pushing hair off his forehead.

I hate seeing him in so much turmoil.

Penny’s latest episode has shaken us all up.

“All plans have been finalized, and the payment cycle has been set, with the final installment given upon receipt.”

“As long as everything looks like an accident,” Graham says, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck while pacing. “And nothing leads back to us.”

“It won’t,” I reassure.

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