They were surrounded.
The stairwell felt suddenly too small, the air thick with heat and gun oil and breath held too long. Armed figures filled both ends above and below dark silhouettes against harsh white light. Their weapons were raised, steady, trained.
Zariah's pulse thundered in her ears.
Adrian shifted his stance, widening it, placing himself fully in front of her. She could feel the tension in his back, coiled and ready not panic, not surrender. Calculation.
A voice cut through the noise.
"Enough."
The men froze.
The same calm voice from before stepped forward, descending the stairs slowly, deliberately, as if this were a meeting he had already rehearsed.
"You've proven your point," the man said. "You can stop pretending this ends with bullets."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "You don't decide when this ends."
The man smiled faintly. "I always do."
Zariah leaned slightly to the side, peering past Adrian's shoulder. The man's face was clearer now early forties maybe, sharp eyes, a scar near his temple that looked old. Not reckless. Not emotional.
Dangerous because he didn't need to be loud.
"You're bleeding," the man observed, eyes flicking briefly to Adrian's arm. "You won't last long like that."
"I don't need long," Adrian replied.
The man chuckled. "You never did."
Zariah's chest tightened. "You know each other."
The man's gaze slid to her again. "Unfortunately."
Adrian spoke sharply. "Don't talk to her."
"Still possessive," the man said lightly. "Even under contract."
Zariah bristled. "I'm not property."
The man inclined his head. "No. You're leverage."
Adrian's hand flexed behind him, brushing against hers briefly grounding. A silent promise.
"You don't take her," Adrian said. "You don't touch her. And you leave."
The man sighed as if disappointed. "You always jump to the dramatic option."
He raised one hand slightly.
Every gun lowered just a fraction.
Zariah's breath caught.
"Listen carefully," the man continued. "What we want isn't her. Not permanently."
Adrian didn't relax. "Then speak faster."
"There's something embedded," the man said. "Something her father hid well enough to survive people far worse than you."
Zariah swallowed hard. "I don't have anything on me."
"We know," the man said calmly. "Which is why you're still alive."
The words landed heavily.
Adrian's eyes darkened. "Explain."
"We believe she has access," the man said. "Not possession. Access. Memory triggers. Biometrics. Something tied to her."
Zariah shook her head. "You're guessing."
The man smiled. "We don't guess."
He nodded to one of his men. A tablet was raised, its screen glowing faintly. Data scrolled documents, photos, timestamps.
Zariah's stomach dropped.
Old pictures of her father. Places she remembered vaguely. A childhood home she hadn't seen in years. Her name repeated in encrypted files.
"They've been watching me," she whispered.
"Yes," the man said. "Longer than Adrian has."
Adrian's head snapped toward him. "You promised"
"I promised distance," the man interrupted. "Not blindness."
Silence stretched, heavy and brittle.
"What happens if I don't cooperate?" Zariah asked quietly.
The man's expression softened just a fraction. "Then people you care about continue to disappear."
Her breath hitched. "My mother is dead."
"Yes," he agreed. "But you've built new attachments."
Zariah stiffened.
Adrian moved instantly. "Say another word and this ends violently."
The man raised both hands in mock surrender. "I'm only stating reality."
Footsteps echoed above again more people arriving. Reinforcements.
Adrian glanced upward briefly, then back to the man. "You've already lost control of this building."
The man shrugged. "Buildings can be rebuilt."
Adrian exhaled slowly. Zariah felt it the shift. The decision being made.
He leaned slightly back toward her, his voice low. "When I say run, you don't look back."
Her heart slammed. "No."
"Zariah"
"I'm not leaving you," she whispered fiercely.
His jaw tightened. "You won't survive staying."
She stepped closer. "Then neither will you."
For a moment, something unguarded crossed his face. Not fear.
Attachment.
The man watched with interest. "You've grown careless, Adrian."
Adrian's eyes hardened. "You've grown predictable."
The lights flickered.
Again.
Zariah's breath caught. "Not again…"
Adrian smiled grimly. "I told you no mistakes."
The stairwell doors at the bottom blew inward.
Smoke poured in.
Shouting erupted.
Gunfire exploded from below as another group clashed with the men surrounding them. Chaos fractured the moment orders shouted, weapons raised in the wrong direction.
Adrian moved instantly.
"NOW."
He grabbed Zariah's hand and pulled her upward, sprinting toward the upper exit as bullets flew in all directions. The man shouted behind them furious now.
"Stop them!"
They burst through the door onto a service corridor filled with smoke and alarms. Adrian slammed it shut and locked it, dragging Zariah forward.
They ran.
Her lungs burned, her legs screaming, but she didn't slow. Adrian led with ruthless efficiency, turning sharply, opening hidden panels, bypassing locked sections with codes she didn't recognize.
"How do you know all this?" she gasped.
"I planned for this," he replied. "I always do."
An explosion rocked the building again. The floor trembled.
Zariah stumbled. Adrian caught her instantly, pulling her close.
"You okay?"
She nodded shakily. "I think so."
He looked at her, eyes intense. "This doesn't end tonight."
"I know."
They reached a secured elevator. Adrian punched in a code.
"Basement?" she asked.
"No," he said. "Below it."
The doors slid open.
They stepped inside.
As the elevator descended, silence wrapped around them, broken only by the hum of descent and their breathing.
Zariah leaned back against the wall, adrenaline slowly giving way to exhaustion. "They're never going to stop."
"No," Adrian agreed. "Not now."
She looked at him. "What did my father do?"
Adrian hesitated.
Then: "He stole something that was never meant to exist."
The elevator slowed.
"Adrian…"
"He tried to protect you," Adrian said quietly. "But he didn't erase the trail."
The doors opened.
They stepped into a cold, underground chamber lit with dim blue lights. Vehicles lined the space armored, ready.
Adrian guided her toward one.
Before they reached it
A voice echoed behind them.
"You're not leaving."
Zariah turned sharply.
Kellan stood at the far end of the chamber.
Alive.
Bloodied.
Smiling.
Adrian froze.
Zariah's heart dropped into her stomach. "Kellan…?"
He raised his hands slightly. "Relax. I came to help."
Adrian's voice was ice. "You're either very brave or very stupid."
Kellan laughed softly. "Neither. I chose a side."
Zariah whispered, "Whose?"
Kellan's smile faded.
"The one that survives."
Lights snapped on behind him.
Figures emerged from the shadows.
And Zariah realized too late
They had never escaped.