Chapter 81 The Break

• The safehouse hums soft after the coffee — the kind of quiet that used to feel like waiting for the next ghost to knock. But today, for once, it’s just… quiet.
• Decker kicks his feet up on the table — boots thunking wood with that reckless echo that says he knows he’s pushing Bishop’s last nerve. Bishop doesn’t even look up. He’s got his phone out, flicking through something that isn’t encrypted files for once.
• Ellerei curls deeper into the old recliner — legs pulled up under Knox’s oversized flannel that he draped over her shoulders when she tried to get up and make more coffee she didn’t need.