I paced the length of the dimly lit safehouse, my fists clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms. The air was thick with unspoken sentences, tension suffocating. Julian sat cross-armed on the couch, his eyes stormy. Jasper leaned against the wall, his jaw tight. Neither had said a word since we got back, but their silence was louder than an argument.
Finally, Julian snapped. "You could've gotten yourself killed, Jasper." His voice was low, measured, but the edge in it was unmistakable.
Jasper let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were actually trying to win. Maybe if you hadn't been too busy playing tech support, we wouldn't have lost everything."
Julian stood, stepping forward. "You think I wanted that? You think I don't hate that we failed?
"You hesitated." Jasper's words cut through, quick and razor-sharp, as if slicing through Julian's defenses. "And because of that, the bastard got away."
