“Odex target pairs. Lone wolves are a red flag. Couples, not so much.”
“Are you saying I make you look harmless?”
“I’m saying you make me look unavailable.”
She huffs, presses her cheek to mine. I feel her breath, hot against my jaw. Her hand slides over my chest, slow and theatrical. Too good.
“Convincing enough?” she purrs for show, voice syrupy.
“You’re killing me,” I say, voice tight.
“Better than the Odex doing it.”
I feel him move. Not with my eyes—my instincts. A shift in air, a break in noise.
“He’s close,” I mutter. “Don’t react.”
She goes still. I count three seconds. Four.
The Odex moves—and the world turns into a war zone.
There’s no warning. One heartbeat he’s standing, assessing, calm. The next, the booth beside us erupts into fire and splinters. A woman screams. A body flies. I shove Rhea down, shield her with my body as a blast rips the air where her head just was. Tables flip, glasses shatter, and the hum of music dies in a strangled static screech.
“Move!” I bark, dragging her behind the smoking remains of a serving station.
She stumbles but finds her footing. “What the hell was that?!”
“Welcome to my world,” I growl. My left shoulder screams—torn muscle, deep scorch—but I bite it down. Pain’s a distraction. Rhea is the priority.
“I thought we were pretending to be lovers,” she pants, hair wild, cheek nicked with blood.
“He didn’t buy it.”
“Clearly!”
Another blast scorches the wall above us. She yelps, grabs my belt, yanks me lower. “This was your plan?”
“It worked until it didn’t.”
“You’re insufferable!”
“And you’re beautiful when you’re furious.”
She glares at me like she’s about to stab me with her shoe. “Are you seriously flirting while we’re being hunted?!”
“Multitasking.”
Her eyes narrow, but the corner of her mouth twitches—just a little.
I scan the wreckage. Odex is smart—sticking to shadows, keeping the angle. He doesn’t waste energy. He’s waiting fora clean shot. Surgical. That’s what makes them so dangerous. They don’t miss.
“Any chance you packed explosives?” I ask.
“What do I look like, a demolitions expert?”
“I don’t know, you’ve got that glint.”
She rolls her eyes but digs into her jacket and produces a compact fusion block. My brow lifts.
