The safehouse was dim, lit only by the flicker of an old desk lamp.
Rain slid down the windows, blurring the city beyond.
Elijah stood by the table, stripping off his jacket. He could still feel the ghost of Luca's touch from the club hours ago, like the warmth had burned into his skin. He hated how his mind kept replaying it, over and over, like it meant something.
Luca sat across the room, phone in hand, speaking in low tones. He looked tired, the kind of tired you couldn't fix with sleep—only with winning.
---
When Luca hung up, Elijah couldn't help asking,
"Who was that?"
"Our contact," Luca said simply, avoiding his gaze.
Elijah's jaw tightened. "Funny. I didn't know we had other contacts besides me."
Luca finally looked at him, brows raised. "Are you accusing me of something?"
"I'm just saying," Elijah said, stepping closer, "you're not exactly the most transparent partner."
---
Before Luca could answer, the safehouse door opened.
Agent Reyes—lean, sharp, and all business—stepped in, shaking the rain from her coat.
She looked between them, sensing the tension instantly. "Am I interrupting?"
"Always," Luca muttered.
Reyes ignored him and pulled a flash drive from her pocket. "We've got a problem. Someone's feeding Virelli inside information—locations, times, even our decoys. And it's coming from our side."
Elijah's blood ran cold. "You mean there's a mole?"
Reyes nodded grimly. "And unless we find them fast, this whole operation is dead."
---
As Reyes booted up the laptop, Elijah caught Luca watching him.
Not the casual kind of watching—more like measuring him.
"What?" Elijah snapped.
"Just wondering if I should be asking you the same question you just asked me," Luca said softly.
For a moment, Elijah couldn't breathe. "You think I'm the mole?"
"I don't think anything," Luca replied, standing. "I just know you've got secrets. And in this business, secrets get people killed."
---
The words hit harder than Elijah wanted to admit.
Because the truth was—he did have secrets. Ones Luca could never know.
Reyes interrupted their standoff. "The mole used an encrypted channel. I traced it back to this sector… and guess whose ID logged in thirty minutes before the data leak?"
She turned the laptop toward them.
Elijah's heart dropped.
On the screen, in bold letters, was his name.
---
Luca's voice was quiet, dangerous. "Tell me this isn't you."
Elijah swallowed hard, forcing himself to meet his eyes. "It's not. But someone wants you to believe it is."
Luca stepped closer, so close Elijah could see the storm brewing in his gaze. "Then you'd better prove it. Fast. Because right now, you're the only one standing between me and pulling the trigger."
---