“Well, I thought about it a bit. I’ve been building a good relationship with an editor from the Washington Post.” She hesitated. “And then I realized I could do something like this.”

She showed him the email she’d been preparing, just in case.

He looked at the email, and his eyes widened. “I wondered why you wanted Pat and me to go to that café. There were so many people and reporters. You’d been trying to keep a low profile . . .”

Nita smiled slightly. “There’s a reason for everything.”

Kovit was silent a long moment. “Why didn’t you tell me what you planned?”

“I didn’t want to mess up your big day with Pat.” She looked away. “And I kind of hoped I’d never have to use this backup plan. For obvious reasons.”

His mouth pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were not quite looking at her. “What happened to discussing plans beforehand?”

She bowed her head, guilt twisting in her chest. How quickly she slipped back into old patterns when she wasn’t thinking. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have told you. I’ll do better.”

“Do you have other plans I don’t know about?” he asked softly.

She shook her head. “No. Just this one.”

“Did you think I would veto it?”

“You still can.” Nita put her phone away. “I haven’t done anything yet. I won’t press Send until you tell me it’s okay. This is your life we’re talking about.”

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, shaking. Finally, he pulled away from her and looked down at the email.

“If you send this . . .” His voice caught. “Pat will be in as much danger as me. If the mobs find out we’re related, even just that she knows me . . . it paints just as much of a target on her back as on mine.”

“Not just as much,” Nita said, though she’d thought something similar when she’d first crafted this plan. Perhaps that was the real reason she hadn’t talked to him about it—because at its core, it endangered his sister, and Kovit wouldn’t want to do that, even to save his own life. “It’s still a crime to hurt her. Many people won’t want to deal with murder charges.”

“And many won’t care about the consequences.”

“Perhaps.” Nita met his eyes. “But Pat can take care of herself. And besides, she’s your sister. Do you really think she wouldn’t do anything she could to help you?”

He bit his lip. “We can’t make that decision for her.”

“She’s already said as much. She said she’d do anything to help you when I spoke to her.” Nita inclined her head slightly. “But you know her better than me. Do you think she’d take this risk?”