Ryder’s POV

I did not sleep. I stayed in the clinic the whole night. The man on the table did not move for a long time. His breathing stayed slow, but his vitals kept shifting. I watched the screen. The numbers changed every few minutes. Too fast, then too slow. The line jumped, then dropped, then steadied again.

I prepared sedation, because I needed him to be calm. I needed the body still so I could watch what it could do on its own, so I set the dose low but steady. Enough to keep him under, not enough to harm him.

I put restraints on his wrists and ankles....