Avery:
Cruz nodded to me to enter. I stood still for a second longer than him. My hands gripped my thighs, trying to stop the nerves crawling under my skin. I didn’t know what was waiting for us inside, only that Cruz had looked like he wanted to put a hole through the wall after that talk with Prez.
“You okay?” he asked, already watching me.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just... it’s a lot.”
His jaw flexed, but he didn’t push. “You don’t have to say yes. He just was a proposal for you.”
I nodded again, lips pressed tight. Cruz walked ahead, giving a sharp nod to the two guys nearby before pushing through the office door again. I stood there for a second, feeling the weight of their eyes, the air thick with cigarette smoke and engine oil.
This place, the compound, felt like its own world. The air
