“Sorry.” Hadley looked at Lennon. “It annoys her how I make jokes in tense situations.”

“I actually find it kind of comforting.”

“Thank you.”

Maisie closed her eyes and took a breath. If Declan had staged this whole attack, it could only mean one thing.

He was moving to overthrow Lopez.

“Was he still at my apartment when you left?” Maisie asked. “He didn’t see you, did he?”

“No, I was around the corner. He said he’d wait for you at the garage.”

Right. She was supposed to do her daily check-in soon.

“Okay,” she said. “You two, go hide at my apartment.”

Hadley nodded her agreement.

“Where are you going?” Lennon asked.

“To check in with Declan.”

—

Declan was pretending to work on a car when she arrived. She knew that he could see through to the street from a small window at the back of the garage, so he would have noticed her coming.

He stood over the open hood, frowning like he was trying to figure something out. She’d learned quickly what actual concentration looked like on Declan—it was a more subtle, less self-aware expression.

This expression, with the deep frown and the intense gaze, was for show. It was what he did when he wanted to get out of going somewhere with her.

“Hey, Maisie.” He straightened and smiled. “How’s it going?”

She took a beat before answering. She had to play this right. “There was a shoot-out at the family meeting.”

His face turned into a mask of surprise. This expression could have been real or genuine. She really didn’t know. Declan was actually a pretty good liar, and she’d only learned a few of his tells over the course of their relationship.

“Was anyone hurt? Are you okay?” He did a quick sweep of her body.

“Lots of people were hurt. Several are dead.”

He held her gaze.

“They were Reaper guys.”

“Christ. What a fucking mess.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He sighed, running a hand across the stubble on his jaw. “Let’s get an official tally of everyone who died so we can let their families know. I’ll go over to the hospital to visit the injured ones.”

“Why weren’t you there?” she asked. “At the family meeting?”

“I had some things to take care of. And I knew it was just going to be Beto posturing, trying to act like Lopez would want him to take over.”

“Do you know who Lopez actually wants to take over?”

“No.” Declan looked down at the car. “Listen, do you still have that guy? Pierce?”

She hesitated, considering. “No.”

“Weren’t you keeping an eye on him?”

“I had to leave him alone while I went to the meeting. He took off.”

“Find him for me, will ya? Throw him in lockup. None of us have time to babysit him right now. He’ll be safe in there.”

“Sure.” She eyed him, wondering if maybe Declan had reconsidered whether letting an outsider leave the Q was a good idea. Safe might have been the entirely wrong word for his experience once he got to lockup.