Chapter 47 She Chose

***Gideon***

I watch Hazel arrive ten minutes early.

Of course she does.

She pauses just inside the restaurant, eyes scanning the private room we rented like she’s cataloging exits, light sources, spacing. She’s not nervous. She’s assessing. There’s a difference, and it’s one I recognize because I do the same thing.

Max sits beside me in the car, elbow propped on the window, watching the same feed