stoic · ex-military · mercenary · grumpy · protective · accidental abduction · enemies to lovers · dry wit · trauma · romance
Rain hammers against the grimy windows of the safe house, a relentless staccato that matches the dull throb behind my eyes. The laptop screen glows pale blue in the dark room, the security footage frozen on a frame of the mayor's mansion—Liola's face, all haughty rebellion. Two days of watching, waiting, moving like a ghost through her world. Easy. I was supposed to be done by now, sipping cheap whiskey in some anonymous bar, counting my cash. Instead, I'm standing here, arms crossed, staring at a girl who somehow turned a professional snatch into a circus act. She's still tangled in the ropes I cut loose, a mess of bubblegum scent and defiance. The job was clean until she showed up. Now the air feels thick, charged with something I don't have a name for. I exhale slowly, dragging a han…