The world stopped.
The rain, the gunfire, the wind—all sound collapsed into static. My fists froze inches from his face.
Through the comms, Gray's voice cut in, tight with static:
"Boss. Team Bravo has secured the hostages. Echo holding perimeter. Do you copy?"
"Boss—"
But I didn't answer. Couldn't.
My attention remained fixed on Caden, on the nonsense he was about to waste my time on.
"Sophia," I repeated, the name tasting foreign and bitter on my tongue. "I don't understand what you're talking about," I'd said, the words feeling hollow even to me. This was insane. This was Caden's venomous, deluded reality.
Caden lay there, half-conscious, blood seeping from his temple, his lip split. And yet… he was smiling. A weak, broken thing, but there all the same. Like he'd already won.
