Dante set his phone on her desk at half past two.
No preamble. He never used preamble when something needed to land on its own. She picked it up and read it.
*The board held. Thank her.*
Four words. Roman's name at the top of the screen. Sent eleven minutes ago, which meant before the official confirmation had even finished moving through proper channels.
She read it once.
Something moved in her chest. Small and specific, the precise quality of a thing landing where it had been quietly aimed. She recognized it without looking at it directly. She put the phone down.
"Tell him good," she said. She picked up her pen. "Nothing else."
Dante looked at her.
"Just that?"
"Just that."
He typed. He sent it. She found the line in the document where she had been before he came in and she kep
