I felt my own voice drift away from me as I spoke, like the words weren't coming from my mouth but from some distant corner of my mind.

"I appreciate the offer… but I can't accept it."

Even to my own ears, I sounded detached. Blurred. Like I was watching myself from outside my body.

But nothing softened Adrian Sterling's reaction.

He looked at me like I had just committed an unforgivable betrayal.

His expression turned to stone, hard as a mountain worn down by centuries of storms.

Hi