Lena’s POV


    Five years ago


    The rain fell in sheets, thick and heavy, drowning the city in darkness. Neon signs flickered against the wet pavement, turning puddles into pools of electric blue and crimson.


    Lena tightened the strap on her duffel bag, her pulse an unsteady rhythm against her ribs. One more hour. Then they were gone.


    “Kai, we need to move.” Her voice was steady, but only because she forced it to be.


    He stood by the window, shoulders tense beneath his jacket, scanning the street below. A predator’s stance. Ready. Waiting.


    They had planned for everything. New passports. A safehouse in another country. A future beyond the underworld.


    But Kai wasn’t moving.


    “Something’s wrong,” he murmured.


    A chill settled in her bones.


    Not now. Not when they were this close.


    She stepped toward him, touching his arm. “We don’t have time for second thoughts.”


    His gaze snapped to hers. That was the thing about Kai—he didn’t hesitate. Not unless he had a reason.


    “I’m not having second thoughts.” His fingers ghosted along her wrist. “I just—”


    A phone buzzed.


    Not hers.


    Kai pulled his from his pocket, reading the message that flashed across the screen.


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    His expression turned to steel.


    And in that instant, she knew.


    They weren’t getting out.


    <hr>


    Present day


    Lena should have walked out the second she saw him.


    She should have dropped the whiskey bottle, stepped over the shards, and disappeared like she had for the past five years.


    Instead, she was still here.


    Heart pounding. Breath too sharp. A thousand ghosts clawing up her throat.


    She forced herself to move, stepping away from him like he was nothing more than another customer. Nothing more than another mistake she refused to make twice.


    Kai’s voice followed her. Low. Dangerous. A quiet storm.


    “You’re not going to run?”


    Run.


    She wanted to. God, she wanted to.


    Instead, she turned. Let the whiskey settle on her tongue before she swallowed it down. Let it burn through the ice in her chest.


    And then—


    “No, Kai.” Her lips curled. “I stopped running a long time ago.”


    His eyes flickered, just for a second. Not surprise. Something darker.


    Something that looked like a challenge.


    He stepped closer. Too close. Close enough that she could see the way the neon light carved over his jawline. Close enough that she caught the scent of whiskey and steel and something unnameable—something that had once meant safety.


    That was a long time ago.


    She tilted her head. “You’re in my bar, Kai. You came to me.”


    A muscle in his jaw flexed.


    Her pulse betrayed her. A single, stuttering beat.


    Kai didn’t reach for her this time. He didn’t have to. His silence was the grip around her throat.


    Say something. Break the moment. Break him before he broke her.


    “I’d offer you a drink,” she said smoothly, sliding another glass toward him, “but I don’t serve ghosts.”


    Kai caught it before it hit the edge. Smooth. Effortless. Dangerous.


    He tilted it once, watching the amber liquid swirl. His expression gave nothing away, but his voice—that voice—was a blade to the ribs.


    “And yet, here you are, drinking with one.”


    Lena swallowed.


    Damn him.


    Damn him for still knowing exactly where to hit.


    She pushed off the bar, turning away before he could see the war raging beneath her skin. Before he could hear the words she refused to say.


    Kai’s gaze followed her like a noose.


    “You’re not leaving,” he murmured. A promise. A threat.


    Lena glanced over her shoulder. Met his stare with fire instead of frost.


    And lied through her teeth.


    “Watch me.”


    Then she walked away.


    But this time, he let her.


    For now.