By morning, the safehouse felt different.
The air was heavy—not from sex, but from something colder.
Sienna stood in the kitchen, robe wrapped tight, staring at the screen Colson had left unlocked.
She hadn't meant to snoop.
But when his encrypted files auto-opened…
She couldn't look away.
Project Ember — Contingency Orders
If Sienna Raye survives past Phase II, initiate Protocol BLACK VEIL.
Target: Terminate.
Her breath stopped.
Her name was there. Clear. Marked. Dated weeks ago.
Before Colson ever found her again.
The man who bled for her.
The man who touched her like a storm.
Had orders to kill her.
Behind her, footsteps.
Colson.
She snapped the laptop shut.
He tilted his head. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Not really," she said, too quickly.
He stepped close. "Last night didn't scare you off, did it?"
She smiled. Hollow. "No. Just thinking."
But her mind was spinning. Every kiss. Every word. Every night she mourned him—it all felt like a setup now.
A long game.
A cruel one.
Colson's hand brushed her waist.
And all she could hear was one word: Terminate.
That afternoon, Nico found her in the woods behind the safehouse.
"I need you to tell me the truth," she said. "Would you kill for me?"
He didn't hesitate. "Without blinking."
She looked at him. "Would you kill Colson?"
His jaw clenched. "What happened?"
She handed him the flash drive.
Nico's face darkened like thunder.
And the gun at his hip suddenly felt too light.
Inside the house, Colson poured himself a drink.
And never noticed the red laser dot tracing slowly across his chest.