The night air was cold, thick with the scent of rain that hadn't yet fallen. Maya sat on the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse, her rifle disassembled beside her, and her thoughts louder than the city below. She had always been taught to keep her emotions locked away — that feelings were fatal for people in her line of work. But ever since Alex had come into her life, the walls she built had begun to crack.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number: "We need to talk. Alone."
She didn't need to guess who it was. Alex.
Maya's chest tightened. She shouldn't go. Every fiber of her training told her to stay away, to protect her cover. But her heart had long stopped listening to logic. She grabbed her jacket and disappeared into the night.
---
The warehouse where Alex had asked her to meet was dark except for a single bulb swinging from the ceiling. He was already there, leaning against a pillar, his expression unreadable.
"You're hard to find," he said quietly. "Almost like you're hiding from me."
Maya forced a smirk. "Maybe I am."
He stepped closer, eyes glinting with something she couldn't quite name. "You're not who you say you are, are you?"
Her heart skipped. "What do you mean?"
"I've seen things," he said, voice low. "The way you move. The way you disappear. The way you kill."
Maya froze. He knew.
"I should hate you," he continued, "but I can't." His voice broke slightly. "Because every time I look at you, I see the same pain I carry. You're just like me."
The confession hit her harder than a bullet. She looked away, fighting the tremor in her hands. "You don't know what I've done, Alex."
"Then tell me," he said, stepping close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath. "Tell me everything."
Her throat tightened. For the first time in years, she wanted to. She wanted to lay it all bare — the lies, the missions, the blood on her hands. But she couldn't. Not yet.
"I can't," she whispered. "Not tonight."
He nodded slowly. "Then promise me one thing — that whatever you're running from, you'll let me in before it's too late."
She wanted to promise him. But promises in her world were just ticking bombs. Instead, she reached up, brushing her fingers against his jaw. "If you knew who I really was," she murmured, "you'd run."
He caught her hand gently, his touch lingering. "Then maybe I'm tired of running."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The silence was electric — a fragile thread between danger and desire.
Then, a faint beep echoed from the device in her pocket. A coded alert. A target had been sighted.
Her body stiffened. Her mission — his mission — had just been activated.
"I have to go," she said abruptly, stepping back.
"Maya—"
She turned away, forcing herself not to look at him again. "If we meet again," she whispered, "pretend you never knew me."
Then she was gone, swallowed by the shadows she was born from — leaving Alex standing alone beneath the flickering light, wondering if he'd just fallen in love with the woman sent to destroy him.