POV: Maximus
The cheap motel room smelled like dust and cigar smoke. But this was the only place I could hide right now.
I’d been pacing the cracked tiles for hours—forward, back, forward again—my nerves shot to hell. The curtains were drawn, the lights off, only the flickering glow of the old TV filling the room. I kept glancing at the screen every few seconds, waiting for something… anything.
The news had become my lifeline.
Like my personal curse.
My only damn window into how badly things were falling apart.
I dragged a hand through my hair for the hundredth time, pacing again. My body felt like a live wire about to snap, and the silence of the room was suffocating me.
Then—
“Breaking News.”
The words cut through the air like a blade.
I froze.
My heart hammered against my ri
