The room was dim, only pale moonlight slipping through the sheer curtains to cut across the floorboards. Aira sat on the edge of the mattress, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, staring into the dark. Her eyes were glassy, her lips trembling. The silence in the house pressed down on her chest like an unbearable weight.
The door creaked open.
She didn’t look up. She didn’t have to.
Dominic’s heavy presence filled the room long before his footsteps crossed the threshold. He shut the door softly behind him and leaned back against the dark wood, watching her in silence. His suit jacket was off, the dark sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his forearms. He looked calm on the surface, but his dark eyes were sharp and unyielding.
"That’s a lot of silence," he said, his voice dropping lo
