*Aria*
Just saying the name, Victor Dragovich sends a shiver down my spine, and I can feel Ryder's eyes on me, heavy with unspoken questions.
He breaks the silence, his voice low and steady. "Victor Dragovich, the Croatian gangster? That's who you're talking about?"
My heart sinks. Of course, he knows him. Ryder is too informed, too smart not to have heard about him. I nod, unable to meet his gaze, the weight of my past crashing down around me. I expect anger, or worse, judgment, but instead, Ryder surprises me.
"We better hurry," he says urgently, his tone shifting from questioning to command. "I want you all out of here, now."
His urgency fuels my own, and I quicken my pace, throwing in the last of the essentials. As I zip up the suitcase, Ryder's next question catches me off guard.
