The kind of arrogance that made men sloppy — and made my job easier.
A slow smirk pulled at my lips.
I took a moment, letting my eyes adjust as I surveyed every inch of the space. Rooftop access points. Fire escapes. Sewer lines. Exit routes. My mother used to tell me that a true professional never stepped foot on a site without memorizing every way out. I followed her lead — once upon a time. Before her voice became just another echo in the back of my mind.
Now, she barely looked at me.
Too busy chasing her own ghosts, too far gone to notice the daughter walking in the path she carved and then abandoned.
I shoved the thought down. No time for old wounds. Not here. Not tonight.
“This one’s supposed to be clean,” I muttered under my breath, slipping my gear out of the duffel. “Accident, maybe suicide. Nice and tidy.”
This was what I was best at — making death look like something it wasn’t. The blade of my legacy was sharp, precise, and cold.
I crouched beside the wall and started laying out my tools, fingertips brushing metal and memory. I could already see the scene in my mind, how it would all unfold, what they'd find when the sun rose.
Then…
Something shifted.
A prickling sensation at the base of my neck. The air thickened — not with danger, but withpresence.Someone watching.
I didn’t hesitate. Instinct took over. In one smooth motion, I reached down, drew the knife from my boot, and spun around, releasing it with all the force my body had learned over years of surviving.
“Whoa there,Sunshine,no need to stab me.”
The voice hit me like a spark.
I blinked, heart catching mid-beat.
From the shadows stepped a tall figure, familiar in every line, every cocky, careless breath. That damn smirk. That voice that lived in the center of my chest, even when I didn’t want it to.
“Noah?” I breathed.
My knife was already embedded in the wood beside his shoulder. Too damn close.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, not trusting the tremble that wanted to sneak into my tone.
He took a step closer, hands raised in mock surrender. “Couldn’t let you haveallthe fun, could I?”
But it was more than that — I could see it in his eyes. He wasn’t just here for backup.
He was here forme.
And in that moment, with my pulse still racing and the mission barely begun, I felt the shift again — the undeniable pull of the one person who saw through all of it.
The knives.
The plans.
The shadows.
He sawme.And still… he stayed.
Noah
A day before.
