Adrian reached the side of the warehouse. He placed a hand on the cold, corrugated metal wall. Through his mask, he could see the orange and red heat signatures of the eight people gathered in the center of the building. They were all in one spot, probably congratulating themselves.He reached for the first smoke bomb on his belt. He didn't plan on giving them a chance to surrender. He didn't plan on being merciful. They had tried to destroy Letty’s life to protect a monster, and now, the monster was the least of their worries.Adrian looked up at a small, high window that was missing its glass. He didn't hesitate. His movements were mechanical, practiced, and devoid of any tremor.He reached for his belt and unclipped two smoke canisters. With a flick of his wrists, he tossed them through the window. They tumbled through the air and hit the concrete floor inside with a hollow metallic clatter. Almost instantly, thick, grey-white smoke began to billow out, hissing like a thousand angr

The sirens began as a distant, synchronized wail that cut through the heavy silence of the industrial district. At the scrap yard, the fire from the four destroyed vehicles had grown into a steady, orange roar, casting long, dancing shadows against the rusted warehouse walls.The police did not arrive with subtlety.First came the scout units; four patrol cars screaming around the corner of the metal waste yard, their tires throwing gravel and scrap as they skidded into a wide perimeter. They didn't approach the warehouse immediately. Instead, they used their vehicles as shields, doors flying open in unison as officers took positions behind the reinforced frames."Tactical units, move in! Move, move, move!" a voice barked over the loudspeaker.Two black SWAT vans tore through the broken gate, ignoring the heat from the burning wrecks. They screeched to a halt twenty meters from the entrance. The back doors burst open, and ten officers in full tactical gear. Heavy vests, helmets, and s

The morning light filtered through the heavy curtains of the master suite, casting long, golden bars across the rumpled silk sheets. Adrian woke up slowly, his senses returning to him in layers. Usually, he was alert the second his eyes opened, but the atmosphere in the room was heavy and unusually quiet. He didn't move. He didn't even shift his weight.He realized immediately that the girl who had been terrified of gunshots the night before had migrated across the vast expanse of the king-sized bed. Letty was no longer on her side; she was effectively anchored to him. Her arm was draped firmly over his chest, her fingers curled slightly into the fabric of his shirt. Her head was tucked perfectly into the crook of his neck, her soft hair brushing against his jawline.Even more distracting was the way she had tangled her legs with his. One of her legs was hooked over his torso, the weight of it warm and grounding. Because of the way she had pressed herself against his side, Adrian coul

Adrian used a large slotted spoon to transfer a thick, one-inch layer of the boiled macaroni into the dish. Letty followed immediately, pouring a generous amount of the cheese sauce over it and then covering it with a thick carpet of the shredded cheese mix."Again," she said.They repeated the process three times until the dish was overflowing with pasta, sauce, and cheese. It looked incredibly heavy and wildly unhealthy; exactly what Adrian’s body was currently craving."Top it off with the rest of the parmesan," Letty instructed.Adrian finished the topping, and they slid the massive tray into the preheated oven alongside the cheese-covered baguettes.For the next few minutes, they stood in the kitchen, waiting for the cheese to melt. The smell was incredible. Letty leaned against the counter, watching the oven timer."I haven't cooked like this in years," she said softly. "Usually, it’s just salads or well… like you know, instant noodles. Everything in my life is so... measured an

Adrian took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling for a few long moments. The silence of the penthouse was usually something he found comforting, but right now, it felt like the weight of the city was pressing down on him. He had seen the way Pavlov looked at the screen. The man was not just a billionaire; he was a spider sitting at the center of a web that Adrian was only beginning to understand. The fact that Pavlov already had thermal images and grainy shots of him on the bicycle meant that his invisibility was not as absolute as he had hoped.He picked up his phone and dialed Aira’s number. She picked up after only a few seconds."Adrian?" Her voice was crisp, but there was an underlying tension in it, as if she had been sitting by the phone waiting for this exact call."Yeah... let’s meet up," Adrian said, his voice sounding tired even to his own ears. "I’ll head over to the hotel and... well, we might have to start moving soon."Aira didn’t reply for a few seconds. The silenc