phin

erve him more than any tears or accusations ever could. He searched my face for an emotion he could understand-an

ss. He was trying for gentle, but it came out as strained

. He was flying to meet Aria, to tak

a," he continued, misinterpreting my silence as acquiescence. "She's just a tool. A vesse

as as hollow

en, entered. "Boss," he said, his eyes flicking to me for a

arm, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and st

onnecting my heart to his snapped. It didn

ners" had already been there. They were professionals, ghosts. My clothes, my books, my personal effects-all packed

, social media, cloud storage. All of it gone. I left only a single, em

. He walked straight past me into the kitchen, his back t

gurt, the imported water... everything will be perfect

e eye. "Just finalizing details for the West Coa

s almost peaceful. I saw him for what he

devoid of all emotion. And I did.