Lucien didn't sleep.
Not because of the wound.
Not even because of the encrypted warning blinking across his console.
He didn't sleep because Aria Quinn was asleep less than ten feet away—and he'd kissed her.
And worse: he wanted to do it again.
But wanting something dangerous had nearly destroyed him once.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Ping. A secure message hit the terminal.
Lucien sat up and opened the encrypted file.
> FROM: SABLE
"You're playing with fire, Lucien. I traced your breach. That wasn't just a data grab — they accessed your biometric key. Someone out there just cloned your identity."
"Also, tell your little fugitive friend to stop using public name tags. Aria Quinn lit up six blacklists in the last three hours."
Lucien swore under his breath.
Aria stirred on the cot.
"What's going on?" she murmured, sitting up and brushing damp hair from her face.
Lucien turned to her, jaw tight.
"You've been burned. They're tracking you in real time."
Her spine straightened. "Stroud?"
"Or worse. He's not working alone."
Lucien stood and grabbed a duffel bag from beneath the panel floor. Loaded it with cash, burner tech, weapons. He was all cool control again—but Aria saw the tension in his shoulders.
"We're leaving," he said.
"Where?"
"To find someone who knows what the hell is happening," Lucien replied. "She's unstable, paranoid, brilliant—and the only one I trust with secrets I might die for."
Aria arched an eyebrow. "She?"
Lucien met her gaze, unreadable. "Her name's Sable. She was my partner. In business. In other ways."
Jealousy wasn't something Aria expected to feel.
But it bloomed anyway.
Of course Lucien had a history. Of course it would be with someone equally dangerous.
Still, Aria stood.
"I trust you," she said, surprising herself.
Lucien paused. "Why?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe because you didn't sell me out when it would've been easier."
He studied her for a beat. "Or maybe because I kissed you."
Silence.
Then—
"I'm still deciding if that was a mistake," Aria said, stepping close, chin lifted.
Lucien's voice was a low murmur. "Then stay close. Because if this goes sideways, we might not get another one."