The silence that followed was the kind that hummed inside your chest . It was sharp and unsteady, like the world itself was holding its breath.
The echo of the last gunshot still rang faintly in my ears.
For a moment, I couldn't move. I couldn't even think.
All I could do was watch Jace standing there, chest rising and falling, his hand still clutching the gun. The veins in his arm stood out under the harsh light, his shirt torn and streaked with blood some of which were his.
He didn't move toward me right away. He just stared at Massimo's body for a few long seconds, like he was making sure it was real this time. That it was truly done.
Then, slowly, he lowered the gun and turned to me.
Our eyes met.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't even have to.
That one look said everything. The fear, the relief and the unbearable weight of what almost was.
