Page 69 of Penn

“I played along,” Peter continues. “I told him I agreed. Wrote back, let him believe I was on his side. I needed to understand what he was planning.”

“You just played along?” Penn growls. “Or were you actually in on it and now that Jameson is involved, you’re just saving your own skin? Because it seems to me if you were reallyconcerned about your sister, you could have reached out to her while in prison to let her know.”

“I was playing along,” Peter says with a hard edge to his voice, eyes lasered onto Penn. “I didn’t take it seriously. I honestly thought he was just venting. Angry now that he was out and realizing that his life was shit. But Malik told me all the things he’s been doing, and I knew the situation was dire.”

“Did he offer specifics?” I ask.

Peter shakes his head. “No. But when I realized he wasn’t just blowing off steam, I told him to drop it. Told him I wasn’t part of this. He ghosted me after that.”

Penn’s voice is like ice. “And you expect us to believe you’ve changed?”

“I don’t expect anything,” Peter says, meeting Penn’s glare. Then he turns to me. “But I want to help.”

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Penn retorts. “Isn’t killing someone enough?”

Peter goes paler than he already is and his eyes fill with sadness. “That’s a mistake I have to live with every day for the rest of my life. But maybe I can make things up to Mila by helping. If Jace still trusts me, maybe I can draw him out. Get him talking again. Help set up something that ends this.”

I glance at Kynan, and I can tell by his expression he’s on board with this plan. I look back to Peter, studying him carefully. His words. His face. I try to see the brother I used to idolize—the one I lost the day I told the truth.

“I know I don’t deserve anything from you,” Peter adds. “I let you become the pariah. I stayed quiet. I didn’t defend you when Mom and Dad turned their backs. I was a coward, and I thought silence would make it all go away. But it didn’t.”

He falters. “I’m sorry, Mila. For everything. For Nathan. For our family. For not being your brother when you needed memost. I am so very fucking sorry for everything, and I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m hoping one day you can forgive me.”

His emotion breaks something in me. Cracks my heart in half and intense pain hits right in the center of my chest. But something else fills up inside, and if I had to guess, it feels a little like empathy.

I stand slowly from my chair. Penn takes my hand, tugs on it to get my attention. I can see how concerned he is, but I squeeze back. “It’s fine.”

He nods, releases his hold on me. I walk toward Peter who watches me warily, but I can see the hope swelling within eyes the same blue as mine.

He stands when I reach him and then… I simply hug my brother. He’s stiff at first, as if personal contact is foreign to him, and I suppose it is. He’s been in prison. “I forgive you,” I murmur.

Peter exhales roughly and clutches me tight. “I’m proud of you,” he whispers into my hair. “I hope I can be part of your life again.”

I step back, my eyes stinging. “Maybe. But let’s bring Jace down first.”

“Absolutely,” he says.

When I return to my seat beside Penn, his jaw is clenched so tightly I’m afraid he might crack something.

“I don’t trust him,” he mutters, and not quiet enough that Peter can’t hear it.

“I know,” I reply softly. “But if he’s being truthful, this is the fastest way to stop Jace.”

Kynan speaks again. “We won’t move forward without your approval. But using Peter is absolutely the best way to get to Jace.”

I look at Penn, then at Peter, who’s sitting with his shoulders hunched, remorse thick in every line of his face.

Penn leans back in his chair, arms crossed. Skepticism pours off him, but he goes into planning mode. “Okay… what’s the next step?”

“We use Peter to lure Jace to Pittsburgh,” Kynan says, and I can tell they talked about this before we arrived. They already have a plan.

“And do what once he gets here?” Penn asks.

“Peter gets him to confess on a mic that he’s the one behind the threats and that he wants to harm me,” I say, excited about the prospect of a quick resolution.

Kynan shakes his head. “Should be that simple, but that’s not a serious enough crime to take him out of circulation. A slap on the wrist probably.”

Penn barks out a mirthless laugh, his tone laced with sarcasm. “Maybe we should just let Mila be the bait and then you can swoop in and catch him right before he kills her.”

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