The room stayed quiet except for Jayden's breathing.
Slow.
Uneven.
But steady.
Amara sat beside him, watching closely. She hadn't moved much since everything was done. Her hands were still stained, but she didn't seem to notice anymore.
She just kept looking at him.
Making sure he was still there.
Dre leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes low. His mind wasn't in the room.
Not fully.
The producer walked a few steps away, pulling out his phone, then putting it back again without doing anything.
Nobody trusted the moment enough to relax.
Jayden shifted slightly on the couch, his face tightening just a little.
Amara leaned forward immediately.
"Jayden?"
His eyes opened slowly.
Not fully.
But enough.
"You're still here," he said, his voice low and rough.
Amara let out a small breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"Yeah… I'm here."
He nodded slightly, then winced.
"Don't move too much," she added quickly.
"I wasn't planning to," he replied.
Dre pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer.
"You good?"
Jayden looked at him.
Really looked at him this time.
Longer than before.
"I'm alive."
Dre nodded once.
"That's something."
Silence settled again.
Not empty this time.
Heavy.
The producer finally spoke.
"We got a bigger issue."
Jayden didn't take his eyes off Dre.
"I know."
"They found you at the label," the producer continued. "That means they're watching everything now."
Amara looked between them.
"So there's nowhere safe?"
Dre answered this time.
"No."
Jayden let out a slow breath, then forced himself to sit up a little.
Amara tried to stop him.
"Don't—"
"I'm not laying here while they move," he said.
She hesitated, then helped him instead.
He sat there for a moment, steadying himself, then looked at Dre again.
"You said your brother."
Dre's jaw tightened slightly.
"Yeah."
"Where is he?"
Dre shook his head.
"I don't know exactly."
Jayden frowned.
"So you've been doing all this… without even knowing if he's still there?"
Dre didn't respond immediately.
"I didn't have a choice," he said finally.
Jayden looked away for a second, then back again.
"There's always a choice."
Dre met his eyes.
"And you would've done different?"
That question stayed in the air.
Jayden didn't answer it.
Amara watched both of them, the tension clear, even without raised voices.
The producer stepped in.
"Arguing about it won't change anything."
He looked at Jayden.
"You said you don't want to keep running."
Jayden nodded slightly.
"I don't."
"Then what's the plan?" the producer asked.
Jayden was quiet for a moment.
Thinking.
Not rushing it.
Then he spoke.
"We find them before they find us again."
Dre frowned.
"That's not gonna be easy."
"I didn't say it would be."
Amara looked at him.
"You're not even healed yet."
Jayden glanced at her.
"I don't need to be fully healed."
"You can barely stand," she said.
He held her gaze.
"But I'm still standing."
She didn't argue again.
Dre shook his head slightly, then looked at the producer.
"You got contacts?"
The producer hesitated.
Then nodded.
"A few."
"We're gonna need them," Dre said.
Jayden leaned back slightly, the pain still there but controlled now.
"This time," he said quietly, "we don't wait for them to make the first move."
No one disagreed.
Because they all understood now—
Waiting had already cost too much.