By the time they reached the outskirts of Kyoto, the sky had turned dark purple, stretched wide like a warning.
Emma parked behind an abandoned warehouse Darrick claimed was a "temporary safehouse."
To her, it looked like the kind of place criminals hid bodies.
She stepped out of the SUV, muscles aching from hours on the road and the fight earlier.
Darrick walked to a rusted metal door and pressed his palm against a hidden scanner.
The door clicked open.
Emma raised an eyebrow. "This is your definition of abandoned?"
Darrick smirked. "I don't choose locations for aesthetics, Emma. I choose them for safety."
Inside, the warehouse transformed—
steel walls, security screens, hidden weapons, and a small resting area.
Emma whistled. "Damn. You're richer than I thought."
"Does that bother you?" he asked.
"No," she said bluntly. "Money is money. I just need enough to get my brothers safe."
The way she said it made something tight pull inside Darrick's chest.
He watched her as she walked toward the resting area.
Her steps were heavy. Her shoulders tense.
She was exhausted—but still alert.
"Emma," he said softly.
She stopped.
"You should rest. I'll keep watch."
She scoffed. "You? Keep watch? You're the one people are trying to kill."
"And you're the one who almost got shot three times today," he countered.
She opened her mouth to argue—
but her legs wobbled.
Darrick stepped forward instinctively, catching her by the arm.
Emma stiffened at the warmth of his hands on her skin.
Their eyes met—
too close, too intense.
"Let go," she whispered.
Darrick didn't.
Not immediately.
"You don't have to do everything alone," he said quietly.
Emma pulled her arm free, but not harshly.
Just enough to breathe again.
"Get some sleep," she muttered. "We leave by dawn."
---
🌙 Midnight Secrets
Hours later, Emma lay on a thin mattress staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw gunfire, her parents, James in the hospital bed…
And Darrick's hand holding her steady.
She sat up and walked toward the warehouse balcony for fresh air.
Darrick was already there—
leaning on the railing, the moon lighting his face.
He didn't turn, but he spoke.
"You can't sleep."
Emma frowned. "Are you reading my mind now?"
"No," he said with a small smile.
"You walk loudly when you're tired."
She stood beside him.
"So," she said quietly, "what happens when you get this contract signed?"
"If I succeed," he said, "I expose every corrupt official tied to the money laundering ring."
"And if you fail?"
"They kill me."
Emma exhaled slowly.
"You're insane for taking this risk."
"And you're insane for joining me."
Their shoulders brushed lightly—
not by accident.
Emma looked away quickly.
She wasn't used to this kind of tension.
She fought men, robbed gangs, survived street chaos…
But this?
This closeness?
This quiet moment where someone saw her?
It scared her more than bullets.
Darrick's voice lowered.
"You told me earlier… about your parents."
He paused.
"What happened to them?"
Emma's throat tightened.
"They died when I was eighteen," she said.
"James was investigating a case… something big. He got too close. And they—"
She stopped.
Her eyes burned.
Darrick turned to her fully.
"Emma," he said gently.
She forced a laugh. "Don't. I'm fine."
"You're not," he said softly. "But you will be."
When she met his eyes, something in her chest caved a little.
He wasn't just a contract.
He wasn't just a mission.
He cared.
He actually cared.
His hand lifted slightly—
as if he wanted to touch her cheek—
but he stopped himself.
Emma stepped back first, breaking the moment before it broke her.
"We should sleep," she said quickly. "Tomorrow could be hell."
Darrick nodded, but his eyes lingered on her.
"Yes," he said.
"Tomorrow begins everything."
---
🔥 Morning Danger
Emma woke to the sound of a soft alarm.
She opened her eyes—
—and froze.
A tiny red laser dot hovered on the wall near her bed.
Sniper.
She jumped off the mattress just as a silenced bullet sliced through where her head had been.
"DARRICK!" she shouted.
Darrick burst into the room with a gun in hand.
"Get down!"
More bullets hit the walls—
coming from high ground near the far warehouse windows.
Emma's heart raced.
"They found us again?!"
Darrick's jaw tightened.
"No."
He chambered his gun.
"This isn't them."
Emma's eyes widened.
"Then who the hell is it?"
Darrick took a breath—
not of fear, but recognition.
"My brother.