Ryder
“For f**k’s sake. Can we get this show on the road already?” I snap, pacing in tight circles around the old table. My boots scuff against the concrete floor, the sound grating on my nerves. Every second wasted feels like Nico’s laughing in our faces—and worse, like Tori’s suffering more because of us. I’m ready to rip into someone, anyone, just to release this unbearable pressure building in my chest.
“Ryder,” Blaze says, his voice quiet but firm, like he’s trying to ground me. He leans forward, bracing himself on the table, though I don’t miss the subtle wince as the movement pulls on his stapled-up abdomen. “We’re going. But if we rush this, it’s going to blow up in our faces again.”
I stop pacing, rounding on him. “If we wait any longer, we’ll lose her! We’ve already got th
