And you think you can give her that?"
The hostility between them sharpened instantly.
Rachel noticed something important though.
Lucien wasn't scared of Raziel.
At all.
Which meant one of two things.
He was stupid.
Or powerful enough not to be afraid.
Rachel looked at Lucien carefully now.
"You knew me before him?"
Lucien's expression softened slightly.
"…yes."
"And what was I like?"
That question changed the atmosphere immediately.
Because for the first time
Nobody seemed prepared for it.
Lucien looked at her for a long moment before answering.
"…you were difficult."
Rachel blinked.
"That's your answer?"
A faint smile touched his face.
"You hated being controlled."
Raziel looked away slightly.
Interesting.
"You argued with everyone."
Adrian muttered, "Constantly."
Rachel pointed at him immediately.
"Okay, that part sounds accurate."
Shockingly, Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Lucien's gaze returned to hers.
"But you were also…"
He stopped.
Like he was choosing his words carefully.
"…kind."
Rachel's expression softened slightly despite herself.
That one felt real.
Not dramatic.
Not manipulative.
Just honest.
"You used to bring coffee to the night staff because you said everyone here looked miserable."
Rachel stared at him.
"…seriously?"
"You called Adrian emotionally constipated."
Adrian looked offended.
"I was under pressure."
"You threatened to punch him with a stapler once."
Rachel snorted before she could stop herself.
The sound surprised everyone.
Including her.
And Raziel
Raziel looked wrecked hearing her laugh.
Not devastated.
Worse.
Fond.
Like he'd been starving for that sound.
Rachel noticed immediately.
So did Lucien.
The mood shifted again.
Sharper now.
More personal.
"You loved her."
Lucien said it casually.
Directly at Raziel.
Rachel's stomach tightened.
Raziel's expression darkened instantly.
"That conversation is over."
"No," Lucien replied evenly. "It isn't."
Rachel looked between them slowly.
"…wait."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh my God."
Nobody moved.
Rachel pointed between both men dramatically.
"You were jealous of each other."
Absolute silence.
Adrian turned away to hide what suspiciously looked like amusement.
Rachel stared harder.
"No way."
Lucien smirked.
Raziel looked ready to kill somebody.
And that alone answered the question.
"This is insane," Rachel muttered.
Lucien's attention stayed on Raziel though.
"She never chose stability."
That sentence carried meaning.
Heavy meaning.
"She chose obsession," Lucien continued quietly.
Rachel's breath caught slightly.
Because Raziel still hadn't denied anything.
Not once.
"And you let her."
Raziel's gaze turned ice cold.
"She made her own choices."
Lucien stepped closer.
"Did she?"
Oh.
Oh this was bad.
Rachel could feel the hatred underneath the conversation now.
Not petty hatred.
History.
Deep history.
The monitors behind them suddenly flashed red again.
Everyone turned immediately.
Warning signals spread rapidly across the screens.
The woman at the system cursed sharply.
"We've got movement."
Adrian's expression hardened instantly.
"How many?"
She looked pale now.
"…too many."
Rachel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Lucien answered first this time.
"It means they found you."
Her stomach dropped.
"…who?"
Nobody answered immediately.
And honestly?
That answer terrified her more than if they had.
Raziel reached for her again instinctively.
This time Rachel didn't pull away immediately.
Mostly because the fear in the room had become real.
Not emotional.
Not psychological.
Real.
The building suddenly shook violently beneath them.
Glass cracked somewhere deeper inside the facility.
The lights flickered hard again.
Rachel grabbed Raziel's arm automatically to steady herself.
And the second she touched him
Every monitor in the room shut off.
Dead black.
Complete system failure.
The silence afterward felt horrifying.
Until
A voice echoed softly through the darkened speakers overhead.
Distorted.
Male.
Cold.
"We know she's awake now."
Rachel's blood ran cold.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then the voice spoke again.
Calmer this time.
More terrifying.
"Bring Rachel back willingly… or we start killing everyone connected to her one by one."
Rachel's heart slammed painfully.
Because somehow
Deep down
She already knew.
They weren't bluffing
Nobody spoke after the voice disappeared.
The silence sitting in the room now felt different from before.
Heavier.
Alive somehow.
Rachel's fingers slowly tightened around Raziel's sleeve before she realized what she was doing.
She let go immediately.
Too late.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
That man noticed everything.
The emergency lights painted the room red, throwing shadows across everybody's faces. The broken glass on the floor reflected the light like blood.
Very comforting atmosphere.
Ten out of ten.
Adrian moved first.
"We need to relocate her."
Lucien scoffed softly from near the shattered wall.
"And go where exactly?"
"Anywhere that isn't compromised."
"It was compromised before we even got here."
Rachel looked between them slowly.
"…I'm standing right here by the way."
Nobody paid attention.
Again.
Rude.
Raziel's attention never left her face.
Not once.
Not even during the threats.
And honestly?
That should've comforted her.
Instead it made her nervous.
Because he looked too focused.
Too locked in.
Like if the entire building collapsed right now, the only thing he'd care about saving was her.
And that level of obsession?
Terrifying.
"We're leaving," Raziel said finally.
Simple.
Decisive.
Like nobody else in the room had a vote.
Adrian immediately shook his head.
"That's exactly what they want."
"And staying here gets her killed."
"You don't know that."
Raziel's gaze snapped toward him sharply.
"I know enough."
The temperature in the room dropped instantly.
Rachel rubbed her forehead tiredly.
"I miss being broke."
That actually made Lucien laugh under his breath.
A real laugh this time.
Small.
Quick.
But real.
Rachel noticed Raziel glance at him immediately after.
Sharp enough to cut.
Oh.
He was jealous jealous.
Interesting.
Lucien noticed too.
His mouth twitched slightly.
"You still do that."
Rachel frowned.
"Do what?"
"Use humor when you're scared."
The answer came softer than expected.
And annoyingly
It hit something inside her.
Rachel looked away first.
Because she was scared.
Very scared.
But admitting that out loud felt dangerous right now.
Like if she said it, everything would suddenly become too real to survive.
The building trembled again.
Harder this time.
Dust fell lightly from the ceiling.
The woman near the monitors cursed under her breath.
"They're inside the lower level already."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"That fast?"
Rachel's pulse sped up instantly.
"…wait."
She looked between them.
"Are we talking about police?"
Nobody answered.
And somehow that answer was much worse.
Raziel stepped closer to her.
Close enough for his voice to lower.
"We need to move."
Rachel stared at him.
"You keep saying that like I'm supposed to trust you."
That one landed.
Clean.
Painfully clean.
For a second something flashed across his face.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Hurt.
Actual hurt.
Rachel hated how unexpected that felt.
"You trusted me once," he said quietly.
Her chest tightened immediately.
Because the worst part?
Part of her believed that too.
Before she could respond
A loud gunshot echoed somewhere below them.
Rachel flinched hard.
Instinctively toward Raziel.
Not away from him.
Toward him.
And the second she realized it
So did he.
Raziel's hand settled automatically against the small of her back.
Protective.
Possessive.
Natural.
Like he'd done it a thousand times before.
Rachel's breath caught slightly.
Because her body reacted too easily to him.
Too comfortably.
Lucien watched the interaction silently.
His expression unreadable now.
That made Rachel nervous for reasons she couldn't explain.
Another gunshot rang out.
Closer.
This time shouting followed it.
Fast footsteps echoed faintly through the hall outside.
The room immediately shifted into motion.
Adrian pulled another weapon from under his jacket.
The woman near the monitors started grabbing files frantically.
Lucien pushed himself away from the wall slowly, rolling his shoulders like he was preparing for violence.
Meanwhile Rachel just stood there trying not to mentally collapse.
"Okay," she muttered under her breath.
"This officially qualifies as the worst week of my life."
Raziel looked down at her briefly.
"You're handling it better than before."
Rachel blinked.
"…before?"
That was the wrong question apparently.
Because everybody went quiet again.
She was going to start throwing objects soon.
A loud crash suddenly echoed from the hallway outside.
Metal bending.
People shouting.
Then
Screaming.
Real screaming.
Rachel's stomach dropped instantly.
Not movie screaming.
Pain screaming.
The woman near the monitors went pale.
"They're here."
Adrian immediately moved toward the door.
Lucien followed him.
Raziel didn't move.
His eyes stayed on Rachel.
Calculating.
Thinking.
And that scared her more than the gunshots.
"…what are you planning?" she asked carefully.
His hand slid from her back down to her wrist again.
Firm.
Warm.
Grounding.
"We're getting out before they lock the upper exits."
"And if they already did?"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Then I make another way."
Rachel believed him instantly.
That was the terrifying part.
The door outside burst open violently.
Gunfire exploded through the corridor.
Adrian cursed sharply before firing back immediately.
Rachel jumped at the sound.
Raziel pulled her against him instantly without thinking.
One arm wrapping around her protectively as he moved her behind the overturned metal table.
The movement was so automatic it almost felt practiced.
Too practiced.
Rachel's heart slammed wildly as more shots rang out.
The air smelled like smoke now.
Burnt metal.
Blood.
Chaos.
And through all of it
Raziel stayed terrifyingly calm.
"Stay down," he ordered.
Rachel glared at him immediately despite crouching exactly where he told her to.
"I wasn't planning to frolic through bullets."
A faint breath escaped him.
Almost a laugh.
The fact that he could almost laugh during a shootout was deeply concerning.
Lucien slid behind the opposite side of the table seconds later.
"You attract problems beautifully."
Rachel stared at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, next time I'll schedule my trauma better."
Shockingly
That actually made Adrian snort from across the room while reloading.
The shooting paused briefly.
Too briefly.
Everybody listened carefully.
Rachel noticed the way Raziel's arm stayed around her the entire time.
Not loose.
Protective enough that she could literally feel tension in his muscles.
Like he was ready to kill anybody who got too close to her.
And honestly?
That realization did something weird to her heartbeat.
Then footsteps approached slowly outside the destroyed doorway.
Not rushed.
Confident.
One person.
A voice echoed through the corridor.
Male.
Smooth.
Calm enough to be terrifying.
"Raziel."
The entire room stilled instantly.
Rachel looked up automatically.
Because something about that voice felt wrong.
Dangerously wrong.
The footsteps stopped outside the doorway.
Then
A man stepped into view.
Tall.
Dark suit.
Black gloves.
And eyes so cold Rachel felt chills immediately.
He smiled the second he saw her.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Like he'd finally found something expensive that belonged to him.
"Well," he murmured softly.
"There she is."
Rachel's stomach twisted instantly.
Because the moment she looked at him
Another memory hit her.
Violent.
Fast.
This man holding her face roughly.
Her crying.
And his voice whispering:
"If Raziel can't control you… I will."
Rachel gasped sharply.
Raziel noticed immediately.
And the second he realized Rachel recognized the man
Something deadly entered his expression.
"…you."
The word came from Raziel quietly.
Too quietly.
The dangerous kind of quiet.
The stranger smiled wider.
"Miss me?"
Raziel stood slowly to his feet.
Rachel grabbed his sleeve instinctively.
"Raziel"
He looked down at her immediately.
And Rachel froze.
Because she had never seen his eyes look like that before.
Pure violence.
Barely restrained.
Then he said something that made everyone in the room tense instantly.
"If he touches you again…"
A pause.
Deadly calm.
"…I'll burn this entire city to the ground."