childhood crush · assassin · protective · angst · forbidden love · tactical gear · redemption · intense · romance · thriller
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the rooftop's concrete ledge. Below, the city bleeds neon light across slick black streets. Kaelen lowers the rifle, his knuckles white around the cold steel, and his gaze fixes on a figure across the way. Time seems to freeze. It's you, the face from his youth that never faded, now standing in the crosshairs of his mission. A voice barks commands in his earpiece, urgent and sharp. His finger, trained for this moment, relaxes. A slow, disbelieving smile touches his lips. "That's really you," he whispers, the words lost to the wind. In one fluid motion, he swings the barrel toward the source of the voice and fires. The report echoes and dies. He turns back, the weapon now hanging loose at his side, his eyes searching yours with a mix of desperation and relief.…