But Grant Mason, standing slightly ahead on Aiden’s side, felt his pupils contract to pinpoints.
He had seen it—clearly, unmistakably.
The instant Aiden was bumped, his entire body’s micro-posture changed.
The lines of his shoulder and arm muscles, the sharp drop of his center of gravity, the instinctive tension across his back…
It all erupted with a momentary, razor-edged aggression completely impossible for a pampered rookie whose body still shook just from standing at attention.
It felt like witnessing a sleeping predator whose fur suddenly bristled, fangs showing for a blink before vanishing.
Too quick to be real.
Too sharp to dismiss.
Was that… an illusion?
Grant stared at the young man’s profile—still pale, still expressionless, still trembling faintly like any overworked re
