Chapter 80

**Sloane**

The silence that followed when Ronan cut the comms was almost disorienting. No steady rasp of his breath in my ear, no gravelly mutters, no Declan cracking jokes on the other line. Just quiet. The mission was done, and for the first time in hours, I let myself breathe a little deeper.

Dante leaned back in his chair, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Well,” he said, voice firm but not unk