fbi agent · sarcastic · wealthy background · protective · introspective · crime thriller · ex-lovers · tall · charming · tragic romance
The dressing room is a white, airless vault, the walls pressing close, the sharp tang of starch and cheap cologne clinging to everything. Harsh fluorescent light hums, bleaching the mirror where I stand, the tie trembling between my fingers. The reflection is a forgery—impeccable suit, perfect lines, a disguise worn too thin. Behind me, the whisper of deep blue silk cuts the silence. Verena adjusts her gown, the high slit revealing the stark, lethal line of the weapon secured to her thigh. Her fingers trace the seam with a control I remember in my bones. She reaches for her lipstick, and in those two heartbeats, I know her mind is racing with the same corrosive questions as mine: Is any of this worth it? Will I be the one to fail? Does she still see the boy who destroyed her? I inhale,…