Dale’s hand slid along the edge of Oren’s jaw, then to Ty’s shoulder, pulling them both in so close the floodlights haloed them in silver.“Yeah.Definitely the exception.”
The kisses they shared then weren’t gentle—they were a seal, a mark, a silent promise that whatever was stirring in the shadows, whatever came next, they’d meet it together.
When they broke apart, Oren was smiling.Ty was, too.And Dale—Dale just felt like maybe, for once, he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
“Go shower, and we’ll meet back at mine for dinner,” Dale said, anticipation thrumming through his blood
****
The south module waseasy enough to slip into.No one was watching the west approach—not at the exact moment he’d chosen.Timing was everything.Carson crouched just inside the service entrance, listening.The faint hum of the motion sensor he’d bypassed earlier that week was right where he’d left it.He reconnected a single wire, enough to make it live, then laid a thin tripline across the shadowed aisle.
Two more minutes, and he’d shifted the position of a vent cover, slid a bolt from a lock housing, and swapped the markings on two crates in the corner.To anyone else, it would look like clutter.But in the right moment, that clutter could slow a response team, reroute them, or worse.
He kept his movements deliberate, careful.Left one toolbox just far enough out of place to make someone wonder—a breadcrumb for the observant, bait for the cautious.
And then he tripped the sensor himself, knowing exactly how far he could get before the first boots hit the door.
By the time Dale, Ty, and Oren swept in, he was pressed flat against the roof of the maintenance annex, invisible in shadow.He could hear them below—Ty’s voice sharp, Oren’s low, Dale’s clipped and steady.
They’d found nothing.Good.
As their footsteps receded, Carson smiled to himself.They were quick, disciplined, dangerous.But even the best could be steered.
And Oren?Oren still moved like a man who’d been hunted before.The same tells.The same wariness.
Carson eased down the back side of the module, slipping into the dark without a sound.The game had started.And they didn’t even know the rules yet.
Chapter Five
Ty had barely steppedthrough the door of Dale’s suite after a quick shower, before the smell of garlic and cream sauce wrapped around him like a damn hug.His stomach growled audibly, and Dale smirked from the stove, wooden spoon in hand.
“Perfect timing, soldier,” Dale said, nodding toward the counter.“Dinner’s just about done.”
Oren was already seated at the breakfast bar, a beer in one hand, his other drumming restlessly against his thigh.He looked good.Too good.Jeans, snug t-shirt, damp hair curling at the edges like he’d just showered.But Ty saw it immediately—tightness in his shoulders, the distracted way he stared at the floor between sips.
“Hey,” Ty greeted, crossing to him, brushing his fingers against Oren’s wrist.
