Chapter 82 Takeoff

• The safehouse hums like an old engine winding down — Decker’s voice somewhere in the hall, Bishop’s laptop snapping shut for once instead of hissing out new ghosts for them to chase. The boys drift like smoke, all quiet nods and a thousand unsaid watch your backs that slip into the walls instead of the air.
• Ellerei’s room is a mess — her bag half-flung open on the bed, clothes scattered like she’s picking her cover for a mark instead of trying to decide which sundress Knox will let her keep on the longest.
• She’s bent over the open drawer when his shadow cuts the light behind her — his palm warm at the small of her back before she even hears him breathe.