SIREN
The city of Rome shimmered below like spilled gold beneath the dark velvet sky. From the highest floor of the Luna Vista Hotel, everything looked small, harmless, even. But I knew better.
I held the porcelain cup Elio had handed me
“Still no word from the border?” I asked without turning from the window.
Elio moved to the bar cart behind me and poured his own drink.
“Our people confirm movement. He’s landed. Small private charter. False documentation. The plane was sterilized. Either he has outside help or he’s getting smarter.”
I let out a breath.
“He’s always been smart.”
Elio leaned against the edge of the marble counter, swirling his glass.
“Or desperate.”
The soft knock on the door wasn’t unexpected, but it cut clean through the tension.
Elio opened it.
Israel entered with the same energy he always carried. His jaw clenched with impatience as his eyes found mine across the room.
“What is it this time?” he asked, skipping greetings entirely.
“Leon’s coming,” I said flatly, eyes still trained on the flickering lights of the distant street below.
Behind me, Israel let out a short laugh, dry and mocking.
“What, your ex-fiancé wants now? Closure?”
I turned slowly, meeting his eyes with a glint of something colder than amusement.
“A blood, maybe.”
That shut him up.
Israel slumped down on the velvet couch, exhaling deeply, a small grin still playing on his lips.
“Just be careful, Ada.”
My breath caught. Not at the warning but at the way he said it.
I looked at him, surprised. The sharpness of his usual tone was dulled, laced with something gentler, protective even. The way he used my real name "Ada" was rare, like he was holding on to a piece of me I kept buried under steel.
“I always am,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.
Before either of us could say another word, my phone buzzed against the marble side table.
Drake.
I picked it up and answered.
“What is it?”
Drake’s voice came through, low and steady.
“We got her. The Deputy Director. Marsha. She fought, but she’s unconscious now.”
My fingers tightened around the phone, lips curling into a satisfied smirk.
“Good,” I said, calm and cutting.
I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket.
Then Elio’s phone rang.
He answered without hesitation, lifting it to his ear. But it wasn’t the words on the other end that told me something was wrong, it was his face. His jaw tightened. His brows pulled low. He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.
“Elio?” I asked, already taking a step toward him.
He looked at me, and in that moment, I saw something I hadn’t seen on him in years, frustration. Panic trying to wear the mask of control. But before he could utter a word, my own phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
Not a call.
An emergency alert.
Level 5 breach.
Everything inside me froze. Then lit with fire.
I looked at both men. Israel’s eyes were already narrowing, reading my expression.
“Our system’s dead,” I said coldly, sharp and focused.
“What?!” Israel jumped from the couch.
Elio snapped his phone shut.
“It was the base. They just lost everything.”
“Someone came for us,” I growled, slipping into my coat. “They want us blind.”
“Do we know who?” Elio asked.
“No. But we’ll know soon enough.” I was already moving. “Let’s go. Now.”
--
The underground parking lot was dim and quiet. Too quiet.
I walked briskly, my heels echoing against the concrete as Elio and Israel trailed behind. The low hum of fluorescent lights flickered overhead, and for a split second I saw it.
Movement.
A shadow slipping just behind the far pillar.
I paused. My hand instinctively brushed against the inside of my coat where my gun holstered. I narrowed my eyes in the direction, but nothing moved again. Silence reclaimed the stillness.
“Tch,” I muttered, shaking it off. “Probably a rat.”
We reached my matte-black Maserati. I fished out the keys, then turned and tossed them at Israel.
“You drive,” I said, flat and sharp.
He caught them, blinking.
“Nah. Not after last time. You remember that, Si?” He pointed an accusing finger. “I grazed the back bumper once and you bombed all my cars. All of them. Even the Ducati I didn’t register.”
Elio chuckled beside me, amused.
I looked Israel dead in the eyes, cool and commanding.
“The system’s down, which means we won’t get intel if Leon moves. That also means I expect we’ll get ambushed before dawn.”
He squinted. “So?”
“So,” I slid into the back seat, “you suck with guns.”
His mouth opened to protest but I was faster.
“You handle the wheel. and we'll handle the rest”
“You crash it,” I warned, settling in, “I’m bombing your next apartment.”
As the car rolled out of the garage and melted into the shadows of the city, I leaned against the window, eyes scanning every intersection.
Who's with you Leon?