JAXSON
The house was silent when we got home.
Nobody was talking. The kind of silence that only happens when everyone’s waiting for Father to speak first.
Father sat behind his desk, cigar balanced between two fingers. He hadn’t said a word yet. Just leaned back in his chair, with his eyes locked on the cigar between his fingers.
Ryder sat across from him, shoulders square, hands resting on his knees. Cole had dropped into the other chair, leg bouncing just enough to show he wasn’t as calm as he wanted people to think. Nova and I stood behind them, side by side, not saying a damn thing.
The only sound was the clock ticking on the wall. Tick. Tick. Tick. Like it wanted to remind us of the kind of trouble the serpents had gotten into.
Finally, he lit the cigar, drew on it deep, and ble
