Max blinked, one hand still on the doorframe. “Define ‘detour.’”
“We’re hitting the compound,” Landon said, tone flat and final.
Max’s mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again. “I thought I had misheard you. Say that again. Slowly.”
“We’re going back to the compound,” Landon repeated.
Max stepped fully into the room, eyes darting between Landon and Daphne. “That compound? The fortress crawling with Marquez’s most loyal psychos? The one we escaped by the skin of our teeth two days ago?”
“That’s the one,” Landon said grimly.
Daphne lifted her chin. “There’s a child there. Ella. She’s… she’s in danger. We’re not leaving her.”
Max stared at her. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.”
Max looked like he was weighing the risks on an invisible scale, then promptly dropped the whole thing and r
