Page 67 of Somno Slave

I shift my weight, uncomfortable now for a different reason. I need to sit. Make myself useful.

I glance sideways at the seat next to Sean, angled slightly, not directly facing the screen, but enough that I can watch without making it obvious. I move before I’ve fully decided to.

“Sorry,” I mutter. “Can I—”

He shifts without question, dragging his chair back with a quiet scrape. “Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

I sit quickly, steadying my breathing before it can give too much away.

Peter turns.

“I’m not going to bullshit you guys,” he says, his tone cutting clean through the space. “I’ve got people asking me where this is going.”

Mike lowers his cup slightly. “Already? We’ve only just started.”

“They don’t like unknowns,” Peter says. “Especially not this kind.”

My fingers curl faintly against my side before I realise I’m doing it, like I’m trying to hold onto something that isn’t there.

Sean glances over. “What are they asking for?”

“A direction,” Peter says. “They want to know if we’re building toward sentencing.”

Sentencing.

It doesn’t sit in my head where it should, neat and clinical. It drops lower, heavy, pulling something tight in my chest before I can stop it.

No.

The reaction hits too fast.

Not because I care what happens to him. I don’t. But because the idea of this ending now makes something ugly tighten in my chest.

We barely understand him.

I barely understand why my mind is so fixated on him.

Mike swears under his breath. “We’ve barely scratched him.”

“I know.” Peter’s jaw tightens slightly, but his voice stays controlled. “That doesn’t change the fact they want an answer.”

“We don’t even know if he’ll talk,” Sean says. “This is ridiculous. They can’t possibly expect us to—"

“He will,” Peter interrupts.

The certainty in it slides under my skin before I can block it.

Mike huffs. “You sound confident.”

Peter’s gaze shifts back to the screen, and I follow it without meaning to.

“I’m not confident,” he says. “I’m realistic.”

My focus tightens, something in my chest pulling too taut. I flatten my fingers against my file to stop them shaking.

“Everyone breaks eventually.” Peter doesn’t move for a second. “We’re going to test that today.”