Page 81 of The ARC Unit: Breach

“See? Worth it.”

His head turned toward me slowly. I continued because survival had never been my strongest social instinct.

“We got the security company, a vehicle move and Südweg because I stayed.”

Wolf leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

“You think that makes you right?”

“I think results matter.”

“So does coming home.”

“I was never in immediate danger.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you.”

His eyes hardened.

“That’s the fucking point.”

The vehicle went silent.

He looked at Raven. “How long dark?”

“Forty-eight seconds without usable audio. Hawk lost visual before that.”

Wolf returned his attention to me.

“Forty-eight seconds with Kade, unknown security and no clean route to you.”

“I knew where I was.”

“I didn’t.”

The answer came so fast that it stopped the next argument before I could form it.

Something about his reaction felt larger than this party. I studied him more carefully and he seemed to realize the same thing, because whatever had almost surfaced disappeared behind the mask again and his posture locked down.

“You were given a boundary,” he said calmly. “You crossed it because you decided your judgment mattered more than the plan.”

“My judgment is why we have the lead.”

“Your judgment is why I had to enter a property we spent three days trying not to touch.”

“Oh, poor you. Had to walk fifty feet through a hedge.”

Raven shut his eyes.

Wolf sat back very slowly.

“Keep talking.”

I recognized the threat in it and kept going anyway.

“You told me I had one job you couldn’t do. I did it. Luca talked, Kade talked and nobody made me. You’re angry because I didn’t do it exactly the way you wanted.”