Dawn slid through the gaps in the curtains like thin ribbons of gold, touching everything with a hesitant warmth. For the first time in what felt like years, the light didn’t sting my eyes. It whispered instead. I blinked into it, disoriented by the stillness. No sirens. No engines. No orders barked into radios. Only the creak of the old safe house settling and the slow, steady rhythm of Dante’s breathing beside me.

We had collapsed sometime after midnight, both of us too exhausted to speak. I remembered his hands shaking as he’d locked the final bolt, my knees giving out when I finally let myself believe we were safe....