The rain had turned the streets into black glass by the time they reached Eden Hotel.
The building didn't look like a crime scene. It looked like money. Polished marble steps. Floodlights still working. A soft gold glow spilling from the lobby like a mouth that smiled too wide. The hotel was supposedly "closed for renovations," but in Verrin, that usually meant something worse than construction.
Liam parked two streets away, engine still running. Ava stared through the windshield at the glowing sign. She hadn't realized she'd clenched her fists until he reached across and covered her hand with his.
"You don't have to go first," he said.
"Yes," she whispered. "I do."
Behind them, Milo was crammed into the back seat with a messenger bag full of everything he owned that could cause trouble. "Just saying," he piped up, "I've seen enough spy movies to know this is the part where the rookie dies."
Liam glanced back. "You're not a rookie."
Milo grinned. "Even worse."
They split up near the east wing, where half the windows were covered in tarp. Liam climbed the fire escape while Ava slipped in through the service door. Milo followed her, muttering something about ghosts and bad life choices.
The interior was half-lit, half-abandoned. Plastic sheets flapped like breath in the stale air. The smell of wet paint mixed with something colder, metallic, wrong.
They passed through a hallway lined with mirrors. Ava caught her reflection and almost didn't recognize herself, with wet hair, bruised jaw, and eyes too sharp. Milo walked behind her, flashlight trembling just enough to give away how fast his heart was racing.
"Why do bad things always happen in fancy places?" Milo whispered.
"Because that's where power hides," Ava answered.
They reached the basement access door. The lock had already been cut. Liam's voice came through the comm. "Someone's here."
The staircase down was narrow and steep. At the bottom: humming machines, faint blue lights. A hidden server room. Rows of screens ran code too fast to read. Revenant's fingerprints were everywhere.
Milo crouched by the wall, his eyes wide. "Okay… this is way above my 'unpaid super' job description."
Ava stepped closer to one of the screens. A flicker of surveillance footage rolled backward on loop: the night of the hotel bombing. A man was stepping through the corridor three minutes before the blast. Black coat. Familiar shoulders.
Liam Ward.
But it wasn't him.
"No," Ava breathed. "That's"
"Mal," Liam's voice said softly behind her. He'd made it down the stairs without her noticing. His face was stone.
His brother had the same walk. Same jaw. The footage didn't lie.
Milo looked between them. "Plot twist," he muttered.
Liam's hands tightened on the rail until his knuckles went white. "He's alive."
"Or Revenant's using him," Ava said.
"They can't fake this," he whispered. "That's him."
On the far wall, one of the screens blinked and went black. A single raven symbol appeared. Then a line of text.
"HELLO, LIAM".
Ava spun. "They're watching us."
The lights overhead buzzed and dimmed. Doors upstairs slammed. A generator growled to life.
Liam's gun was already up. "We need to move."
"Wait," Milo said. He had plugged his small, cracked tablet into one of the servers. "I think I can pull something."
"Now, Milo."
"Fine," Milo muttered. "But I'm keeping this for my memoir."
They ran for the east exit as security shutters began to roll down. Somewhere above, a drone whirred. Liam grabbed Ava's hand. Milo swore under his breath and chased after them.
They slipped out seconds before the steel gate slammed shut. Behind them, the hotel lights died, one by one, like a beast closing its eyes.
Rain had soaked their clothes by the time they reached the car. Milo tossed himself in the back seat, panting. "Okay. So. What the hell was that?"
Liam didn't answer. He just stared straight ahead, jaw clenched. His brother's face lingered on the back of his eyelids like a wound.
Ava touched his arm. "Liam."
He didn't move. "If Mal's alive… it means Revenant isn't just erasing people. They're recruiting them."
The city lights bled across the windshield. Milo leaned forward, voice softer than usual. "Then maybe your brother didn't die. Maybe he switched sides."
Ava shot Milo a warning look, but Liam just exhaled through his nose. "Then we find him. And we find out why."
She squeezed his hand. Not a promise. A vow.
Across the river, Verrin's richest rooftop was already awake.
The private terrace of the Langs' temporary penthouse shimmered in soft gold light, the kind meant to distract people from danger. The city stretched out below them like a glittering trap.
Rafe Lang leaned against the railing with a glass of whiskey. His shirt was half-buttoned, his smile sharp enough to draw blood. Beside him, Mara Lang wore black silk like it was war paint.
"They'll rebuild Lang House in three months," she said.
"Or burn it down again," Rafe answered.
Mara sipped her drink. "We should be talking about what happens next. Revenant doesn't forgive failure."
Rafe's smirk didn't falter. "I don't ask for forgiveness."
"You should ask for insurance."
Their words had the softness of lovers but the weight of a deal with the devil.
Inside, the terrace doors opened to a private dining room dressed for power. One table. Two glasses. One man waiting, sleek suit, clean smile, the kind of face that never left a trail. Revenant's middlemen always looked like someone you could trust at a funeral.
"Rafe. Mara," the man greeted. "We appreciate your… cooperation."
Mara's eyes flicked toward him like a blade. "We haven't agreed to anything."
"Not yet," the man said pleasantly. "But you will. People like you always do."
Rafe took a seat, legs stretched out, all lazy arrogance. Mara didn't sit. She circled the table like a cat deciding where to bite.
"You want the Velvet File," Rafe said. "But you don't even know who really has it."
The man smiled thinly. "We don't have to know. We just need to make sure whoever does never breathes long enough to use it."
Mara stopped behind Rafe, leaned down until her breath brushed his ear. "They're making threats."
He tilted his head slightly, whispering back. "So do we."
She smiled, dangerous and beautiful.
She moved to the other side of the table and finally sat. Her legs crossed, silk whispering against silk. The man watched her like a predator measuring another predator.
"You have three days," he said.
"And you have five seconds to make your tone sweeter," Mara replied.
The tension between them felt like a blade balanced on skin. It wasn't a negotiation. It was war.
The man left after promising nothing and taking everything in silence. Rafe leaned back in his chair, tapping the edge of his glass.
"They'll come for us if we don't hand someone over," he said.
"Then we hand someone over," Mara replied softly.
His brow lifted. "Who?"
She got closer, eyes dark, leaned beside the table, right beside Rafa, "Whichever side loses."
Mira finally locked eyes with him, both staring at each other, before, out of nowhere, Mira reached in for a kiss.
Mara's kiss was an invasion, her tongue slipping between Rafe's lips with possessive hunger. His hands gripped her hips, fingers digging into the silk of her dress as if he wanted to tear it away right there. The table creaked under their combined weight as he lifted her onto its polished surface, her legs wrapping around his waist like a vice.
His mouth devoured hers, teeth nipping at her lower lip before he trailed down her throat, leaving red marks like brands. Mara gasped, arching her back as his hands slid up her thighs, pushing her dress higher until it bunched around her waist. The cool air of the penthouse kissed her exposed skin, making her shiver.
Rafe's fingers found the lace edge of her panties, tugging them down roughly. Her breath hitched as he palmed her through the wet fabric, his thumb circling her clit with deliberate slowness. Mara whimpered, her hips bucking against his hand, nails raking down his back hard enough to draw blood through his shirt.
"You're always so fucking wet for me," he growled against her neck, his voice raw with desire. "Like you're begging to be ruined."
She moaned as he pushed two fingers inside her, curling them expertly until she was trembling. Her body ached for more, for him to fill her. Rafe's other hand gripped her throat, not squeezing but reminding her who held the power.
"Please," she breathed, the word half-plea, half-command. Her heels dug into his lower back, urging him closer.
With a smirk, Rafe undid his belt, freeing his cock. Mara bit her lip at the sight of it, thick and pulsing. He lined himself up, teasing her entrance before thrusting in hard and deep. Her back arched off the table, a cry tearing from her throat.
Their rhythm was brutal, the table scraping against the floor with each thrust. Mara's fingers twisted in Rafe's hair, pulling hard enough to make him groan. He pumped into her faster, deeper, his mouth capturing hers to swallow her moans.
When her orgasm hit, it was blinding. Her walls clenched around him, pulling Rafe over the edge with her. He buried himself deep, spilling his seed inside her with a guttural curse.
They stayed tangled on the table, breathless and silent. No promises. No lies. Just the sound of rain against glass and a city pretending not to watch.
Mara finally straightened, smoothing the silk back over her hips. "We make the first move," she said.
Rafe smirked. "I thought we just did."
She shot him a look that could cut through marble. "Not in bed, Rafe. In the war."
The storm hadn't stopped. It just learned how to whisper.
Ava sat at the kitchen counter of the safehouse with her hands wrapped around a cold mug, watching water streak down the window. Liam leaned against the wall, shoulders tight, jaw set, eyes somewhere far away. Milo sat upside down in a chair like a bored teenager, spinning a pen between his fingers.
"You're too quiet," Milo said. "Quiet means bad ideas."
Liam shot him a look. "You talk too much."
"Talking means I'm alive. You're welcome."
Ava finally put the mug down. "Kai's coming."
Milo sat up properly. "Oh, good. A cop. My day wasn't stressful enough."
Kai Benton arrived like he always did, wet coat, serious face, eyes that looked at everything twice. He stepped through the door without waiting for an invitation, scanning the room, then them.
"You disappeared after the rooftop," Kai said.
"You make it sound like we went on vacation," Liam replied.
Kai ignored him, sliding a small evidence folder onto the table. Inside: surveillance photos from Eden Hotel's perimeter. Grainy, but clear enough. One image showed Liam entering the hotel hours before they actually got there.
"That's not me," Liam said flatly.
Kai didn't blink. "I know. But someone wants it to look like it is."
Ava leaned forward. "Revenant."
Kai nodded slowly. "Someone with deep access."
Milo raised his hand like a kid in class. "Can I point out that this is how movies start, right before the betrayal?"
No one laughed.
Kai's voice dropped lower. "The department is closing in. The official narrative says you and Ava are suspects again. If I'm right, someone inside the system is feeding Revenant everything."
"Then why are you here?" Liam asked.
"Because I don't like being used."
Ava held his gaze. "Or maybe you already are."
That landed like a blade between ribs. Kai didn't flinch, but his jaw clenched just enough for her to notice. The silence was thicker than the rain outside.
Finally, Kai said, "If I were selling you out, this conversation wouldn't exist."
"And if you were really on our side," Liam shot back, "we wouldn't have fake footage of me walking into Eden."
Milo whistled softly. "And people say I make things awkward."
Tension snapped in thin, sharp lines. Ava rubbed her temples. She trusted Kai once. That was before bodies started dropping.
Milo leaned toward her. "You want me to, you know, check something?"
Ava blinked. "Check what?"
"Your friend, the detective. His visit log. His badge history. His browser searches if I'm lucky."
Liam arched a brow. "You can do that?"
"I'm an underpaid building super with too much free time," Milo said. "I can do anything."
Kai exhaled through his nose, half irritated, half impressed. "You're insane."
"Thank you," Milo said.
While they argued, Ava's burner phone buzzed on the counter. A message. No number.
"THEY KNOW WHO YOU TRUST".
She turned the screen so Liam and Kai could see. The look in Kai's eyes was hard to read: anger, guilt, something darker.
Milo broke the silence with a crooked grin. "Well, that's subtle."
Liam looked at Kai. "If they're in your system, you need to decide fast what side you're on."
"I already did," Kai said. "I'm here."
Ava didn't answer. She just stared at him, trying to see which version of him was real.
When Kai left, the tension didn't. Milo slumped onto the couch, pulling a small device from his hoodie pocket. "Tracker. I dropped it in his coat."
Liam stared. "You're serious?"
Milo tapped the blinking light. "Deadly."
For the first time in hours, Ava laughed. It came out sharp but real. "You're insane."
"Everyone keeps saying that. I feel very validated."
Liam didn't smile, but his voice softened. "Good work."
Outside, sirens wailed far off. Inside, something fragile had shifted. Trust wasn't broken yet, but the cracks were showing.
Ava turned toward the rain. "If they're watching who we trust, then someone close is already theirs."
Liam came to stand beside her. "Then we stop trusting everyone."
Milo's voice floated lazily from the couch. "Except me. I'm way too broke to be evil."