The tension in the room didn't ease. It thickened like smoke, heavy, sharp, and suffocating, pressing down on everyone until the air itself felt too thick to breathe. It was the kind of silence that wasn't truly silent, filled with the metallic tang of blood, the low hum of distant generators, the faint dripping of something wet on the floor, and the unspoken threats hanging between three dangerous forces.
Raya felt every ounce of it.
The unyielding weight of Adrian's body against hers. The burning intensity of Luca's gaze from across the room. The dozens of guns still raised, fingers hovering near triggers. The way every man in the space seemed coiled like a spring, waiting for one wrong word to make everything explode again.
It pressed against her chest until simply breathing became exhausting work. She couldn't stay here any longer. She didn't want to hear more confessions, more threats, or more promises wrapped in violence. She didn't want to feel anything else tonight.
