Page 48 of Somno Slave

My head snaps up.

“She observes,” Peter says. “Fresh perspective is more useful than interference at this stage.”

The word interference settles badly under my ribs.

Mike bobs his head, already turning back to his crisps. “As long as you keep the food coming, I’m fine.”

Sean mutters something under his breath and Mike flips him off without even looking away from the monitors. Peter keeps turning pages in the file.

My phone buzzes softly against the desk. My hand moves immediately.

Olivia’s name flashes across the screen. The brightness of it feels jarring after hours beneath fluorescent lights and silence. There’s a picture attached underneath the message—blurred club lighting, Olivia grinning into a mirror in a tiny black dress, curls bouncing around her shoulders while somebody beside her lifts a cocktail into frame.

Warmth and normality.

The image feels so disconnected from the room around me that for a second it almost doesn’t register as real.

Her message reads below.

Already started without you. Hurry up, birthday girl deserves attention xx

My stomach drops.

Shit.

That’s tonight.

Now.

I completely forgot.

Guilt hits first and then something sharper.Relief.Because part of me suddenly wants out of this room so badly my chest physically aches.

I look toward Peter before I’ve fully decided to speak. “Peter.”

He doesn’t glance up from the file straight away. “Mm?”

I swallow hard. My throat feels strangely tight. “I need to leave early tonight.”

“For?”

“My friend’s birthday.” The words come out too fast. “I forgot it was tonight.”

Sean lets out a quiet laugh somewhere behind me. “Jesus Christ.”

I ignore him.

Peter studies me for a second too long.

“We’ll be running late,” he says eventually. “Rotations don’t stop because you’ve got plans.”

My grip tightens around the phone.

“I know.” My voice sounds thinner now. “I just need a few hours. I’m really sorry.”

He keeps looking at me.

“When do you need to leave?”