Kael Maddox – POV
The tires screeched as I brought the car to a hard stop just outside the abandoned textile building. Dust rose in a cloud around us, swallowing the rust-stained structure in a haze of silence.
I killed the engine and leaned forward, eyes scanning the rooftop edges, the shattered windows, the silence.
Too quiet.
I reached for the door, hand on the handle, then turned to Darren.
“You coming with me, or staying here to play corpse?” I asked flatly.
Darren’s eyes darted around the building, still wide with adrenaline, but he swallowed whatever fear he had left and popped the door open without a word. “Hell no. I’m not sitting here like bait.”
Good.
We moved fast across the parking lot, boots slapping cracked asphalt. I kept my body low, scanning for movement—anything
