I'd been watching her all night.
Sienna moved through Kairos's compound like she belonged there.
Not in disguise.
Not under the radar.
Like she knew I'd be watching.
Three taps on the car window.
Left. Right. Left.
My pulse didn't even twitch.
I knew the signal. I knew the game.
I didn't know which side she was playing.
The door swung open.
I was on her before she could blink—gripping her throat, pinning her to the seat.
"Wrong street, sweetheart."
My voice was low. Brutal. "You got five seconds to tell me if you've switched teams."
Her lips curled like I hadn't just threatened to snap her in half.
"Maybe I'm still yours."
"You don't get to maybe me, Sienna." I dragged her closer, eyes burning into hers. "You're either mine—or you're dead."
Her laugh was soft, dangerous.
"Then you better keep me alive, Silas."
I crushed my mouth to hers—furious, violent, and all teeth.
She tasted like fire.
I didn't kiss to taste. I kissed to claim.
She pulled back, breathing heavy, smug as hell.
"You're already marked for death tonight."
"Yeah?" I yanked her closer again.
"Who's dumb enough to try?"
"Kairos. Midnight. Old docks. You're the headlining act."
"Set-up?"
Her lips brushed my ear.
"Wouldn't you like to find out?"
I shoved her out of the car, burning inside.
"If this is a trap," I warned, "make sure you're the one pulling the trigger. Because if I live—I'll be coming for you first."
Sienna's smile was the kind that burned kingdoms.
"Good. I'd rather be chased by you than protected by anyone else."
She vanished into the shadows like sin itself.
And me?
I loaded every weapon I owned.
Because if Kairos wanted war, I'd bring him a bloodbath.Midnight.
Old docks.
Silence thick as gunpowder.
I rolled up solo. No back-up. No fear. Just me and my Glock riding shotgun.
If this was Kairos's play, he'd expect me to bring an army.
But I don't play as expected.
I don't need armies.
I am the war.
The shadows peeled back to reveal Kairos—cool, polished, smirking like he owned my bones.
"You're either bold or suicidal, brother," he called out.
I stepped into the open, with no hesitation.
"You're either stupid or desperate, Kairos. You think you can bait me with her?"
His grin tightened.
"Oh, Silas… I didn't bait you with Sienna. I baited Sienna with you."
The docks lit up.
Red laser sights bloomed across my chest. Six. No—eight snipers. Perched and primed.
But my pulse?
Steady. Controlled.
Kairos stepped closer.
"You still think she's loyal?"
I didn't answer.
Not with words.
I squeezed my comms device.
Left. Right. Left.
Silence.
Then—three gunshots in the distance.
Pop.. Pop.. Pop.
My trap detonated.
The containers behind Kairos erupted—fire roaring through the crates, cutting off his escape. His men scrambled. Chaos bloomed.
I advanced through the smoke, gun raised, blood burning.
"You set me up?" My voice sliced through the heat. "Big mistake. I always bring my own funeral."
Kairos sneered.
"You think this wins the war?"
"No." I fired twice—his bodyguard dropped. "This is just my handshake."
His men fell back. Kairos vanished into the smoke, retreating, but his voice lingered.
"She'll break you, Silas. You don't even know her real name."
I almost laughed.
The devil doesn't get to tell me who I can burn for.
I walked out alive.
But my head was spinning with one brutal question.
Her real name?
What the hell was Sienna hiding? I didn't wait. I didn't call.
I drove straight to the one place Sienna thought I'd never find her.
An abandoned loft on the west docks.
Hidden. Guarded. Marked by the same three-tap code she thought was hers alone.
I walked in like the walls owed me.
Sienna spun around, gun in hand, lips parted like I'd just caught her mid-crime.
"You shouldn't be here."
I slammed the door shut behind me, hard enough to shake the floor.
"You set me up."
Her jaw flexed, but her eyes… they didn't flinch.
"You survived," she said, steady. "That's what matters."
I closed the distance between us, grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at me.
"Don't play me, Sienna. You knew Kairos had the dock lined. You knew I'd walk into a crossfire."
Her breath hitched, but she didn't pull away.
"You could've walked away from me anytime, Silas. You still can."
I tightened my grip, my thumb dragging along her pulse.
"I don't walk away. I chase what's mine until I've bled every inch of it dry."
She shivered. She liked that.
But she was still dangerous.
"You don't even know my real name," she whispered.
"Tell me." My voice dropped, deadly soft.
She leaned in, her lips grazing mine.
"I won't. Because if you know who I really am… you'll have to kill me."
I kissed her—hard, brutal, hungry.
She moaned into me, her gun slipping from her hand, forgotten.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, her body grinding against mine like she wanted to disappear into me.
But just as I pinned her to the wall, just as I claimed her mouth again—
She slipped a knife against my ribs.
"You're still a step behind me, Silas," she breathed against my lips.
I let out a low laugh, my hand tightening around her throat, my other closing over her wrist, forcing the blade away.
"And you're still pretending you want to win."
Her grip faltered. Her guard cracked.
I saw it in her eyes.
She didn't want me dead.
She wanted me to be dangerous.
"You're not the only one with a double life," I whispered, my voice sliding through her like smoke.
"I know your next move before you make it."
Her breath staggered, but she still didn't back down.
"You don't know me."
I pressed my mouth to her ear.
"No, sweetheart. I know you better than you know yourself."
I walked out, leaving her pressed against the wall—breathless, furious, burning.
She just tried to stab me.
And all I want now… is to chase her harder.