Ronan was already moving before the sound of the engine had fully faded, crossing to the window with the kind of controlled speed that made the air in the room feel suddenly thinner.
"Stay here," he said, not looking back.
"Absolutely not."
"Vera—"
"You can either waste ten seconds arguing with me about it, or you can let me follow you and save the ten seconds." I was already on my feet, the ledger clutched against my chest like it might anchor me to the floor. "I've watched you die once already this week. I'm not sitting in an office wondering if it's about to happen again."
Something flickered across his face — frustration, maybe, tangled up with something gentler he didn't have time to name. "Fine. Behind me. Not beside me."
His father was already reaching for a radio on the desk,
