Kai was already waiting.
Liv knew the moment she stepped out of her room.
He stood at the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his gaze too focused to be a coincidence.
Liv walked toward him without changing her pace.
"You've been waiting for me," she said flatly.
"For a while," Kai replied.
His tone was calm, but sharper than usual. There was something more personal beneath it.
Liv stopped a few steps away.
"If this is about the briefing, we're done."
"We're not."
Kai pushed himself off the wall and straightened. The distance between them closed — enough to make the space feel tighter than it should.
"You stayed quiet in there. And not because you didn't know."
Liv met his gaze. Calm. Closed off.
"I had nothing to add."
Kai didn't answer immediately. He just watched her, a few seconds longer than necessary, like he was trying to read something she wasn't giving.
"You sure about that?"
Liv didn't respond.
Kai exhaled slowly. "Since when did you start holding back like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like I don't need to know."
The words weren't loud, but they shifted something between them.
Liv crossed her arms. "You know what you need to know."
Kai gave a faint smile. Not amused.
"That's not an answer."
"It's enough."
"Not for me."
He stepped closer. Now the distance was too small to call this just a conversation.
"You reacted differently out there," he said. "And you didn't explain it."
"We all reacted."
"Not like that." Kai didn't look away. "You didn't look surprised."
A brief pause settled between them.
"You reacted like you've seen something like that before."
"You're overthinking it," Liv said.
"And you're hiding too much."
His voice shifted. Sharper. More personal.
Liv held his gaze. "This is a mission. Don't blur the lines."
Kai let out a short breath, something close to a quiet laugh, but without humor.
"If this were just about the mission, I wouldn't be standing here."
His eyes locked on hers again, deeper now, no longer entirely professional.
"I don't like something moving around my team without me knowing what it is. And I like it even less when it gets close to you."
The words lingered longer than they should have.
Liv didn't answer right away.
"I can handle myself."
"That's not what I'm questioning."
"Then what?"
Kai paused, just for a second, before answering, quieter this time.
"That you don't give me the chance to."
The sentence was simple. Too honest. And that made it dangerous.
"This isn't your responsibility."
"Maybe." Kai gave a small nod. "But I'm still going to make it mine. With or without your permission."
Liv inhaled slowly. "You're crossing a line."
"Maybe. But you're pulling away."
That one landed. And they both knew it.
A few seconds passed without a word. Just eye contact. Just a distance that felt too close.
Footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor. Someone passed by. The moment broke.
Kai stepped back half a pace — just enough to put space between them again. For now.
"We're not done," he said. His tone was colder again, controlled, but not lighter.
Liv nodded once. "We never are."
Kai held her gaze for a few seconds longer, like there was something else he wanted to say.
He didn't.
He turned and walked away.
Liv stayed where she was, letting her breathing steady, letting her thoughts catch up with what had just happened.
And for the first time —
it wasn't the unseen presence that unsettled her.
It was Kai.
She knew he wouldn't stop.
Once he started looking for answers, nothing would.
Not even if the truth ended up putting him in danger.
And Liv — wasn't ready for that.
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