Darkness swallowed everything.
The emergency lights failed completely, plunging the penthouse into a thick, suffocating black that pressed in on Zariah's senses. The hum of power died. The silence that followed was not empty it was armed.
Footsteps echoed again.
Closer now.
More deliberate.
Adrian's hand tightened around her wrist, grounding her instantly. His body shifted, angling in front of her without hesitation, even with blood still warm against his sleeve. She felt the tension in him controlled, sharpened, lethal.
"Stay with me," he whispered. "Count your steps. Listen."
Zariah nodded even though he couldn't see it. Her heart slammed against her ribs, but panic didn't take over. Training kicked in. Observation. Breath. Sound.
One step to the left.
Another behind the wall.
Soft rubber soles multiple people.
Not amateurs.
Kellan laughed weakly somewhere in the dark. "Told you… they'd come."
Adrian turned his head slightly, his voice cutting. "Quiet."
A click echoed.
Metal on metal.
Zariah's breath hitched. "Adrian—"
"I know," he murmured. "They're armed."
A beam of light snapped on suddenly sharp, blinding, sweeping across the corridor. Zariah squeezed her eyes shut as adrenaline spiked through her veins.
A voice followed. Calm. Confident.
"Adrian Volkov," the voice said. "You've been difficult to reach."
Another light flicked on. Then another.
Three silhouettes emerged, forming a loose half-circle at the end of the corridor. They didn't rush. Didn't shout. Didn't threaten.
They didn't need to.
Adrian straightened, stepping fully into the light, shielding Zariah behind him with his entire body.
"You breached private property," he said coldly. "You have ten seconds to leave."
One of the figures chuckled softly. "Still issuing ultimatums. Impressive."
Zariah's stomach twisted. These weren't intruders like before. No nervous movement. No hesitation. They moved like people who belonged in darkness.
Like predators who had hunted before.
The central figure stepped forward, lowering his flashlight just enough for his face to come into view. His expression was neutral, his eyes sharp with recognition.
"You've made things complicated," the man said. "And expensive."
Adrian didn't blink. "Then you should've stayed away."
The man smiled faintly. "You know we don't."
Zariah swallowed. "Who are they?" she whispered.
Adrian answered without looking back. "The reason I don't make mistakes."
The words sent a chill straight through her.
Kellan shifted somewhere behind them, groaning as he tried to sit up. "Careful," he rasped. "They don't like being ignored."
One of the figures turned sharply toward Kellan. "You were told not to interfere."
Kellan laughed bitterly. "I didn't. I just… accelerated things."
The man approached Kellan and kicked him hard in the ribs.
Zariah flinched.
Adrian's voice dropped. "Touch him again and you'll lose the leg."
The man paused, then smiled. "You're bleeding. That makes threats less convincing."
Adrian smiled back and it was not kind. "You should be more worried that I'm still standing."
Silence stretched.
Then the man spoke again. "We're here for what your wife carries."
Zariah's breath caught.
"I don't have anything," she said, forcing herself to step forward.
Adrian's hand shot back instantly, gripping her wrist. "Don't."
But the man's gaze locked onto her.
"Zariah Amara," he said. "Daughter of a man who knew where to hide ghosts."
Her spine went rigid.
"My father is dead," she said.
"So are a lot of people," the man replied calmly. "That doesn't erase what they left behind."
Adrian's grip tightened. "You don't speak to her."
The man ignored him. "Your father trusted systems, not people. He embedded what he carried into something personal. Something no one would suspect."
Zariah shook her head. "You're lying."
"Check your memory," the man said gently. "Old devices. Passcodes that weren't his. Things he insisted you keep."
Her chest tightened painfully.
A flash of memory surfaced an old drive. A cheap one. Something her father had pressed into her palm years ago and told her never to lose. She had shoved it into a box with old documents and forgotten it ever existed.
Her silence gave her away.
The man smiled.
Adrian swore under his breath.
"You didn't know," Adrian said quietly, not accusing protective.
"No," she whispered. "I didn't."
"That makes you dangerous," the man said. "And valuable."
Zariah's fear sharpened into anger. "You destroyed my life for something I didn't even know I had."
Kellan laughed hoarsely. "Welcome to the club."
Adrian turned sharply. "You knew."
Kellan's smile was broken, bloody. "I suspected. I followed the patterns. I stayed close."
Zariah felt sick. "You stayed with me to wait."
"Yes," he said simply. "And then you ran."
The man looked displeased. "You weren't meant to get emotional."
Kellan shrugged weakly. "Mistakes happen."
The man turned back to Adrian. "We can do this one of two ways."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "There is no negotiation."
"There is," the man said. "You hand her over. We take what we need. And you walk away."
Zariah's heart slammed painfully. "No."
Adrian didn't even hesitate. "No."
The man sighed. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Everything happened at once.
A flash grenade hit the floor.
Zariah screamed as light and sound exploded around them, disorienting her completely. Adrian pulled her down instantly, covering her with his body as the blast tore through the corridor.
Gunfire followed.
Adrian fired back with brutal precision, dragging Zariah sideways into a side passage. Bullets shattered glass and tore into walls. The smell of gunpowder filled the air.
"Move!" Adrian shouted.
She ran.
They turned sharply, sprinting down the corridor as alarms screamed back to life. Adrian shoved open a concealed door, pulling her into a hidden stairwell just as more shots rang out.
He slammed the door shut and locked it.
Zariah collapsed against the wall, gasping.
Adrian leaned heavily beside her, blood soaking through his sleeve now.
"You're hurt," she whispered.
"I'll live."
She grabbed his arm. "You're bleeding more."
His gaze softened just briefly. "I need you focused."
She nodded, swallowing hard. "They're not going to stop."
"No," he agreed. "They've crossed a line."
A distant explosion rocked the building.
Zariah flinched. "What was that?"
Adrian's expression darkened. "They're forcing an exit."
Her chest tightened. "Then what do we do?"
Adrian looked at her really looked at her.
"We disappear," he said. "And this time, they'll hunt us both."
Footsteps thundered above them.
The stairwell lights flickered.
Zariah's heart raced. "Adrian…"
He took her face gently in his uninjured hand, his thumb brushing her cheek. "No matter what happens next stay with me."
She nodded, tears burning behind her eyes. "Always."
The door above them burst open.
Voices shouted.
Lights flooded the stairwell.
Adrian pulled her behind him as armed figures flooded in from both directions.
They were surrounded.
And for the first time since she met him, Zariah felt Adrian tense not in fear…
…but in anticipation.