Page 190 of Silver Fox Puck

Lauren’s eyes are sharp. Not wild. Not furious. Cold. Calculated.

The kind of calm that makes my muscles lock up.

Because if I’ve learned anything—

Lauren is most dangerous when she’s quiet.

“You think this is over?” she says, voice smooth as glass.

Kenzie stiffens beside me.

Marcus steps closer, ready to intervene.

But me?

I meet Lauren’s stare head-on.

“It is over.” My voice is firm. Unshaking. Final.

Lauren’s lips turn into a smirk.

“Oh, Grant,” she murmurs, tilting her head. “You’ve always been so naive.”

Kenzie bristles. “You lost,” she says, tone razor-sharp. “Take it and walk away.”

Lauren’s gaze snaps to Kenzie. A slow, eerie smirk spreads across her lips.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she purrs. “You think you’re permanent?”

Kenzie’s spine locks.

I step in front of her.

“I don’t care what game you’re playing,” I growl. “But Olivia isn’t a pawn in it anymore.”

Lauren’s smirk doesn’t falter. She just shakes her head.

And then—she drops the bomb.

“She’s six, Grant,” she murmurs. “She still has twelve years left with me. Twelve years for me to make sure she never sees you the way you want her to.”

My stomach clenches.

Because I know—

She means it.

My fingers flex. Not into fists. Not in anger. In restraint. Because every inch of me wants to react. To snap. To tell Lauren exactly where she can shove her manipulative bullshit.

But I won’t. Because that’s exactly what she wants.

Kenzie feels the shift in me. She places a hand on my arm. A silent reminder.

She’s here. I’m not in this alone.

I inhale slowly. Then exhale. And then?

I smile.

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