The click of the lock echoed louder than it had any right to. My breath caught somewhere between my chest and my ass, like my organs were playing musical chairs. Ryan turned... slow, deliberate, no expression... just that damn Glasgow calm that always felt like the precursor to something either orgasmic or catastrophic.
He stepped toward me. Quiet steps. Measured. His gaze didn’t shift. Didn’t twitch. Just boring straight into mine like he already knew the dreams I didn’t tell therapists. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t blink. My body went traitor again, spine straightening, lips parting slightly because... this was it, right? This had to be it. Perfect time. Perfect silence. Perfect unconscious best friend sprawled like a corpse on the couch.
Something was going to happen.
He stopped in f
