"STOP CARING."
Grayson stared at Mailah. "You want me to pretend I don't care if you die."
"I want you to execute the plan the way it was meant to be executed. With cold strategic precision. No emotional compromise." She leaned forward.
"That's—"
"Smart," she interrupted. "It's smart, and you know it. Your past self wrote this plan assuming you'd stay detached. So stay detached. Let Theron think I'm just a tactical asset you're willing to sacrifice for the greater strategic goal."
Grayson's hands clenched on the documents. "And if something goes wrong? If you're actually in danger?"
"Then you stick to the plan anyway. Because that's what wins." Her eyes were steady, unflinching. "Unless you don't think you can do that."
It was a challenge. Deliberate. Pushing him to admit he'd gone soft.
