[Jake's POV]
The drive back down the Coloane hills was cloaked in heavy silence.
Inside the Maybach, the only sounds were the tires on wet asphalt and the low hum of the engine. The partition was still up. The air smelled like leather, cold metal, and the faint trace of incense that had clung to Li's suit.
The windows were fogged at the edges. Outside, the mountain bled into the city. Mist clung to the bamboo, then broke apart under the headlights.
Li sat in the corner. Her head rested against the tinted glass. She watched the ancient bamboo forests give way to neon. The adrenaline was gone now. What was left was bone-deep exhaustion. Her face looked pale in the dim light.
Her knuckles were still white. The adrenaline crash left her brittle. Every few seconds her jaw would tighten, then release.
I sat beside her, eyes on the dark road ahead. My hands rested on my knees. In my head, the summit replayed on a loop.
