เข้าสู่ระบบ“Shit, another one?” Beck muttered under his breath, a flash of apprehension washing over his face as he read the news blog talking about the official found dead on his phone.His jaw tightened as he stared at the screen. “Can’t wait for them to get that fucking Voss next, though,” he hissed as he lowered his phone.He pressed his fingers into his eyelids with a tired sigh before dropping his phone, looking back down at the laptop balanced precariously on his lap. He cringed as he rested his fingers on the keyboard. They were trembling faintly with an erratic rhythm he couldn’t seem to turn off, the nail beds raw from being bitten to the quick.Shaking off the discomfort, he continued his task. He froze, quickly lowering the brightness of his laptop screen, and he held his breath when footsteps suddenly echoed through the hallway outside the broom closet he was currently hiding in, hoping it wasn't Myla looking for him again. He was already in trouble with her for refusing to take
“Two weeks,” Hayden muttered with a sigh as he leaned back in his office chair and stared at the ceiling, counting the days the way he had started doing without meaning to. Thirteen days since Jared had disappeared for his lone wolf mission. Ten days since his video interview aired, and that single text that had arrived on Beck’s burner number warned them about aerial surveillance and snipers before going silent again completely.Two weeks of managing Beck… which was more like trying to drive a car with a stuck gas pedal and no brakes He closed his eyes briefly and pressed two fingers against the bridge of his nose.Hayden had always known Beck was deeply codependent on Jared, especially when it came to managing his mental health struggles. But he had not realized how much deeper that dependency had grown during their years alone, when he had pulled back when courting Myla.When Jared was present, Beck’s particular brand of restlessness had somewhere to anchor. When Jared was not, i
Troy chuckled. “You really think surrendering yourself is going to make all of this disappear?” Troy hissed, his voice devoid of any warmth.Jared’s expression hardened.“No.” He replied, casting a glance at Brandon, who was glaring at him with pure hatred, before looking back down at the phone screen. “I think it gives you what you’ve wanted from the beginning. Me.”A heavy, suffocating silence stretched over the line. For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the refrigerator somewhere in the kitchen and the soft purring of the cat curled against Jared’s lap.Then the cat finally seemed to grow bored with Jared’s lack of attention. It stretched lazily, climbed down from his lap, and disappeared through the curtained doorway again.Jared barely noticed, his entire focus on the phone.“I have more pressing issues to deal with first, Sergeant.” Troy finally replied, his voice completely indifferent to Jared's offer. "I'll let you know when I’m ready.”Jared’
“Well,” Brandon said, his voice dry as he theatrically swept his hands in front of him as though he were a butler welcoming guests into a palace ballroom. “Welcome to my humble abode.”Jared ignored him, his eyes scanning the modest living room as he shut the door behind him. The room was sparse enough that he could see every corner in it. It had just one curtained exit leading into other sections of the house. Brandon quietly set his keys on the narrow table beside the entrance. “I know it’s different from the luxury you’re used to after selling your soul,” he muttered as he walked deeper into the room, as if there wasn’t a knife at his neck. “But you don’t have to be such an obvious snob.”“Who else lives here?” Jared asked, eyeing the man’s movement intently. “My wife isn’t home at the moment,” Brandon replied evenly. Jared took in the dusty furniture, clean squares on the wall that showed that there used to be pictures there before, the empty beer bottles, and clothing article
Brandon froze, realizing his captor wasn’t joking.“W… work for?” he stammered, raising his hands in the air to show surrender. “What do you mean? I’m just… I work at this hospital, man.” Jared kept his head down, using the bill of his ballcap as a shield. Coupled with the face mask, his face was practically unrecognizable. “See man,” Brandon continued, his eyes darting around for a witness or anything he could quickly grab and use for defense. “If it’s money you want, I don’t have much, but I have $200 in the car.” He slowly started lowering his hands. “If you let me…"“I told you,” Jared hissed, his voice frighteningly calm as he eased the tension on the blade before dragging it down a little, giving him a shallow cut. “No sudden movements.” Brandon winced when more ribbons of dark crimson bled down the side of his neck, staining the blue collar of his orderly uniform.“Fuck, fuck, calm down,” he pleaded quickly, his voice low and slow like speaking to a spooked animal. As a tra
“What the—” The young nurse yelped as she spun around violently, her back slamming against her car door as she raised her car key in front of her in defense. Jared halted two steps away and quickly pulled down his face mask. “Sorry to startle you, ma’am.” "Oh my God. I almost attacked you!" she gasped, clutching her chest as her eyes swept over his broad frame, recognition clicking in her features. Jared’s eyes twinkled with silent amusement at her words. He placed his hands loosely in his jacket pockets, his dark eyes studying her face carefully. "Wait, you are... you are Mr Jared, right?” She asked, her posture relaxing, her tense shoulders dropping. “You were in the hospital room the other day with Mr. and Mrs. Oakley. You have been all over the news recently."He eyed the blank, bubbly, innocent curiosity in her eyes. There was no tenseness in her frame to show she was on guard towards his presence. If anything, she was too trusting around someone who had just snuck up behind







