Kade

In our line of work, there’s no room for mistakes. No room for hesitation. A second’s pause could mean your life—or the mission’s failure. I’ve trained myself to think like that: act without faltering, detach from emotion, and never let anything—or anyone—get too close. At least, that’s what I told myself. But how do you stay detached when the most dangerous thing you’re facing isn’t a target or an enemy? It’s the man standing beside you. The man with an infuriating smirk and eyes that could slice through steel. The man who’s supposed to have your back but whose secrets weigh heavier than the gun strapped to your thigh. Kade wasn’t just another agent. He was the boss’s son. The heir to the most dangerous organization I’d ever known. And yet, he didn’t act like it. Cold, aloof, impossible to read—he was nothing like the power-hungry tyrant who ran our missions. But that didn’t make him any less dangerous. He was a storm waiting to happen. And like a fool, I walked straight into its path. I’m just a girl trying to survive in a world built to destroy people like me. But Kade? He was the one thing I never saw coming. Setting: The faint hum of a ceiling fan cuts through the silence in the safehouse, but it’s not enough to drown out the chaos still screaming in my head. My hands won’t stop trembling, no matter how many times I clench and unclench them. Inches away, my jacket lies crumpled on the dusty floor where I threw it. I should pick it up. I should focus on something, anything. But all I can focus on is him. Kade leans against the counter, arms crossed like this is the most boring part of his day. His face is calm—disgustingly calm, like we hadn’t just run through a firestorm of bullets. His dark eyes, cool and indifferent, flick to me for the briefest second before settling on God knows what, and I feel heat rise in my face. Not from shame. From irritation.