(Nolan)
Coming back wasn’t a decision I had to think through. It was already settled the second I drove off earlier. Leaving only gave me distance, not answers, and distance wasn’t doing anything useful anymore. If Belle had stepped into something here, then this was where I needed to be.
The street looked different now.
Not quieter, not louder, just more settled into itself. The Spoke carried the same steady noise as before, but it felt tighter now, like everything had fallen into place instead of building toward it. People moved in and out without hesitation, and nothing about it looked forced.
That was what bothered me.
Places like this usually slipped once the night settled in. People got careless, attention shifted, and small mistakes started to show. That wasn’t happening here,
