The gun stayed cold against Cedric's chest, a small steel mouth pressed just hard enough to remind him it could open at any second. The bar's bass thudded through the floorboards, through his shoes, up into his knees, but none of it touched the stillness inside him. His face stayed calm, carved smooth, like someone had switched off the engine behind his eyes years ago and never bothered to restart it. Underneath, though, underneath, his heart slammed against his ribs so hard he was sure Sarah could feel it through the barrel of her own weapon, could read it like a pulse against her trigger finger.He let the silence stretch. He'd learned that much from her, watching her work for three years before she ever knew his name: silence was a blade too, if you held it right."You want the truth?" he asked, finally, leaning in until her perfume, something sharp, like crushed citrus and gun oil, filled the space between them. His voice stayed low, level, a man laying down cards he'd already mem
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