The silence expanded. It thickened until my lungs strained. Adrian stared at the screen, and in the span of a single heartbeat, the tension in his face went sharp. His jaw clenched so tightly I heard the faint grind of his teeth. The muscle at the corner of his jaw pulsed once, twice, then went utterly still, the kind of stillness that only came before something erupted.
I reached for the phone, instinct, panic, self-preservation all wrapped into a single desperate movement, but his hand shot out faster than thought. His fingers closed around my wrist, not hard enough to bruise, yet firm enough to stop me instantly. The contact stopped me cold.
"Don't," he said quietly.
"Adrian," I whispered, trying to pull my hand back, but he didn't let go. His grip wasn't cruel. It was familiar. It w
