LOGINI sat at the counter in the kitchen, waiting.Jaylen asked me to trust him one last time and he said that if he failed me, I should never trust him again. “You should get some sleep.” I turned to Spade. He was the one watching me, Jaylen had assigned him to the duty. Although he would never admit it if I asked him. The scar that ran across his face was less gruesome than it had been the first time I saw him. “Are you worried about me?” He huffed and pulled the cup to his mouth. I didn't know what was inside but I knew that he didn't drink alcohol. Jaylen and Blade didn't either. I didn't know if it was a rule that they had gotten used to or they wanted a clear head at all times. I, on the other hand, was itching for something strong to wipe memories and hopefully take out my anxiety too. My hands were trembling but not as much as I thought it would be. Jaylen had been gone for about three hours now and I was still composed. Maybe I had gotten stronger. “I worked with Storm on
The car pulled up to the curb and came to a quiet stop. The engine hummed for a few seconds before fading into stillness. A dog barked somewhere down the street, its voice cutting through the fog that had begun to gather around the hill.Storm opened the door and stepped out. The night air was sharp, laced with the faint scent of rain and smoke. The sound of gravel crunching beneath her boots was louder than it should’ve been. Everything else felt too quiet.It was too repetitive, this street, this house, this moment.Ark felt it too. His jaw flexed slightly as he leaned over the steering wheel, staring at the house perched ahead of them like it didn’t belong. He had driven her here just yesterday morning and watched her walk through that same door, her hair tied up, an apple in her hand, and something that looked like calm on her face.Now, that calm was gone.He got out of the car and followed her closely. The way she moved, it was swift, tense, scanning… reminded him of the nights
“A house at the top of the hills isn’t really what I had in mind when you said we were going somewhere discreet.”The words leave my mouth softer than I intended. The terrace stretches before us, wide enough to host a small party. The marble floor gleams faintly under the moonlight, and the railings catch the silver glow like polished bone. Below, the city sprawls in silence, the faint hum of distant cars carried up by the wind.Above us, the sky is drawn and heavy, the stars scattered across it like grains of sand on dark glass.Jaylen doesn’t react to what I said. His eyes are fixed somewhere far away, his expression carved from something colder than stone. For a second, I wonder if he even heard me.“Jaylen?” I reach out and touch his arm.He jerks slightly, like someone waking from a bad dream.“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “Are you okay?”He turns to me with a smile, small and tired. “I’m fine. I was just… thinking.”I study his face, the faint stubble that shadows his jaw, the qui
The Escape was not planned, although Dan was not too surprised when he heard of it. The morning light spilled through the tall windows, painting the marble floor in sharp rectangles. Dan sat behind his desk, a cup of coffee untouched beside his right hand. The steam had already faded, the liquid gone cold. He didn’t drink coffee for the taste, he liked the ritual of it. The stillness. The discipline.A man stood before him, one of the seven he’d sent.The man’s hands trembled. Not from fear. Oh no, not yet, but from the effort of trying to hide it.Dan leaned back in his chair, eyes steady on the faint scratch across the man’s cheek. “You lost them,” he said. His tone wasn’t angry. It was quiet, deliberate, like he was speaking to someone about a simple business error.“Yes, sir. We had them cornered in the hotel, but… ”“But?” Dan’s gaze lifted.The man swallowed. “They were fast. The girl, Storm, she noticed the perimeter team before they closed in. They fled before the rest of us
The first thing Storm felt was heat. A sharp, sickly heat that pressed against her chest as if the air itself had turned into smoke. She was standing in an empty hallway, the walls rippling like water. A door stood at the end. It was half-open, humming faintly.When she pushed it, the hinges wailed.Jaylen was inside.He was sitting on a chair, head tilted back, eyes glassy. Blood trailed from his temple in a slow, steady stream that pooled beneath his shoes. His lips moved, but there was no sound. Only the low hum that filled the room like the vibration before a scream.Storm stumbled forward, choking on the heat.“Jaylen?”He looked at her. Or rather, he looked through her, as if she wasn’t supposed to be there, as if she’d arrived too late. His fingers twitched once. Then something dark, a shadow shaped like a man, stepped out from behind him, and the dagger in his hand glinted.The sound of the knife slicing through skin tore through the silence.Storm screamed.The room collapsed
The room was silent except for the slow, rhythmic hum of the projector. The light carved pale shapes on the opposite wall, a looped recording of Bruno’s death. The sound was muted, but the image was clear: the tremor in Bruno’s hand, the brief flicker of defiance in his eyes, and then the stillness that followed the flash.Dan leaned back in his chair. His hands rested loosely on the armrests, fingers tapping once, an absent gesture of thought, not emotion. The house was mostly empty now. The auction had ended hours ago. The guests had been ushered out, drunk on blood and spectacle, leaving behind the stench of perfume, sweat, and fear.He had watched the entire thing unfold in real time, yet he played it again. Not because he needed to see Bruno die. He already knew the outcome. He was studying what came before. The hesitation. The weight of a man who finally understood he was outmatched.He couldn’t believe that Bruno was once loyal to him until he pulled out and entered the shado







