I spent the next three days avoiding Elena Vale.I avoided the officers' club. I stayed away from the administrative wing whenever I knew she might be there. I even changed the time I went for my morning coffee.It was ridiculous.I'd spent years walking into places where people were actively trying to kill me. I'd crossed borders under false identities, slept in buildings without knowing who was watching, and once spent forty-eight hours injured in hostile territory with nothing but a knife and half a bottle of water.Yet somehow, one woman standing beneath a corridor light had managed to disrupt my entire routine.I told myself it was discipline.It wasn't.It was fear.Not fear of Elena.Fear of what happened to me whenever she was around.On the fourth morning, General Vale summoned me to his office. I knocked twice."Come in."I opened the door.Marcus Vale sat behind his desk, reading a report.He didn't look up."Close the door."I did."Sit."I took the chair opposite him.He

The door clicked shut behind her.For a few seconds, neither of us moved.I could hear the rain against the window.Slow.Steady.Almost peaceful.It didn’t belong in a place like this.Neither did she.Elena stood just inside my quarters, one hand still resting on the doorknob.Her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders. She had taken off the formal jacket she’d been wearing earlier, leaving her in a simple blouse that looked completely out of place against the cold, military gray of my room.She looked at me.I looked at her.And suddenly, the room felt smaller than it had five seconds ago.“You can still tell me to leave,” she said.Her voice was quiet.I swallowed.“You know I should.”“That wasn’t what I asked.”“No.”She waited.I looked toward the window.The rain blurred the lights outside until the entire base looked distant, almost unreal.“Elena…”“I just want to talk.”I turned back to her.“You came here after midnight to talk?”“Yes.”I almost smiled.“That's a terr

The first sign that something had changed was the silence. Not between Elena and me. Between everyone else. I noticed it the following morning. I was halfway through weapons training when Captain Reeves stopped beside me and said, “You've got a visitor.” I lowered the rifle. “Who?” He shrugged. “Didn't give a name.” I looked toward the observation area. Nobody stood there. “Where?” “Outside.” I handed the rifle to the instructor and walked out. Nobody was waiting. Only an empty corridor. I frowned. Reeves had been there less than thirty seconds earlier. “Cross.” I turned. Commander Victor Kane stood at the far end of the hallway. I hadn't seen him in weeks. He was one of those officers who never needed to raise his voice to make a room uncomfortable. His uniform was immaculate. His expression wasn't. “Commander.” He approached slowly. “You've been busy.” “That's usually how the military works.” His mouth twitched. “Still sarcastic.” “Still alive.” He st

I didn't sleep.Not because of Elena.Not entirely.The black insignia sat on my desk beneath the yellow light of my lamp.I had seen it before.Victor Kane wore one exactly like it on the inside of his uniform jacket.A small silver emblem.Nothing special.Except someone had left it outside Elena's quarters.And the note beneath it had only four words.YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE.I read the sentence again.Then again.I turned the paper over.Blank.No signature.No explanation.I checked the corridor cameras myself.The footage showed nothing useful.Eleven minutes missing.Again.The same eleven minutes.Whoever was doing this knew how the base worked.They knew where the cameras were.They knew when officers moved.They knew about Elena.And somehow, they knew about me.I finally lay down around three in the morning.My eyes closed.For perhaps an hour.Then my phone vibrated.I opened my eyes.One message.Meet me.Elena.I stared at it.Then another message appeared.Please.I kne

The word stayed with me.Island.I had heard it before.Not from Marcus.Not from the classified files.From somewhere deeper.A memory I couldn't reach.I stood in the garden with the document still in my hand while the wind moved through the trees.Elena was beside me.Marcus stood several feet away.None of us spoke.Finally, Marcus broke the silence.“We go inside.”I looked at him.“Why?”“Because we're exposed.”He didn't have to explain.Someone had already entered the house.Someone had photographed us.Someone had been monitoring me for years.The garden suddenly felt like the worst place in the world to stand.We returned inside.Marcus locked the doors.Then he drew every curtain.Elena watched him.“What aren't you telling us?”Marcus stopped.“I've told you enough.”“No.”Her voice was firmer.“You haven't.”Marcus looked at her.“This isn't something you need to be involved in.”She laughed bitterly.“My husband has a secret intelligence file about the man I've fallen in