Chapter 109: The Breach Beneath Her Ribs
Late Afternoon
Selene paced the apartment like a caged storm, fury flashing beneath her ribs with every step. Her boots struck the wooden floor in steady, sharp thuds — measured, but warning. Her fingers hovered near the grip of her gun — not to draw, but to anchor herself. She didn't speak. She couldn't. The pressure building inside her felt too sharp for words, like a glass spine waiting to shatter.
Ezra's voice still echoed in her head. That composed, disarming calm. That smile that never reached his eyes. A smile she used to read as charm. Now it looked like a crack in her old armor. Hairline thin. Lethal when pressure hit.
He shouldn't have found them.
He shouldn't have known where to look.
And yet — he had.
In the kitchen, Aria leaned against the counter barefoot, the way she always did when trying not to crowd Selene. Damp curls hung loose over her shoulders, the scent of garlic and lemon still clinging faintly to the air. She didn't speak. She didn't move.
She watched Selene with that kind of stillness people mistook for passivity. But Aria wasn't passive. She was present. Her gaze was steady, patient, and quiet — not soft, exactly. Just… honest. The kind of look that didn't demand an answer but left room for one.
"He followed us," Selene said finally. Her voice was low, almost a growl. "Watched us. Tracked us for days. Maybe longer."
Aria didn't blink. "You don't think he came alone."
Selene paused mid - step. Her shoulders lifted with a breath she didn't fully exhale. She turned slightly, eyes drawn toward the window.
"I think Ezra never moves without layers," she said. "He doesn't breathe without an angle."
"You think he's still nearby?"
Selene's gaze sharpened. "I think he never really left."
There was a long pause. Aria's eyes didn't leave her.
"Do you want me to track him?" she asked, quiet.
Selene turned sharply. "No."
The answer came out fast. Too fast.
A beat passed between them. Then Selene added, "I want him gone. Dead, if he's smart enough to stay away."
"But you didn't shoot him," Aria said, voice even.
Selene flinched like the words had a weight.
Her jaw flexed. She turned away again. "Because once… I trusted him. We ran missions together. We made it through the worst kind of hell together. He watched my six."
"And then?"
Selene didn't answer right away. Her eyes drifted toward the far wall, toward the coat rack by the door, the one Ezra had leaned beside like he belonged.
"He shot a boy," she said finally. "Twelve. Maybe thirteen."
Aria didn't speak. She let Selene keep going.
"We were clearing a building. Tension was high. Intel said there might be a hidden detonator. Ezra thought the kid was holding something. I didn't see anything. But Ezra didn't wait. He just —" Selene's voice faltered. "He didn't even hesitate. Just shot him. Clean through the chest."
Aria's expression didn't break, but her hand curled slightly on the countertop.
Selene swallowed hard. "Command pulled me off the op. Said we had to distance ourselves. Political fallout. I begged to go back, to try to fix it. But by the time I got clearance, Ezra had already disappeared."
Aria's voice was quiet but unwavering. "He said you left him."
Selene's laugh was bitter. "Ezra always saw things backward. He thought loyalty meant dragging others down with you. When I didn't… I became the traitor."
Another silence stretched between them. Heavier now.
Aria stepped forward slowly, her bare feet making no sound against the floor. She moved carefully, like she didn't want to interrupt Selene's rhythm but needed to bring something closer.
"Mae told us about him," she said.
Selene's eyes snapped to her.
"Back at the station," Aria went on, voice low. "When we met her. Before the crash. Before the betrayal."
Selene didn't move. But something in her entire frame pulled tighter.
"She said a man helped her escape," Aria continued. "Said he found her on the roads. Took out a patrol hunting her down. Told her to run. Called her 'kid' like it meant something. She said he smiled like a good man."
Selene's breath caught.
"She thought he saved her."
Aria's voice thinned, steady as glass about to break.
"But it was a setup," she said. "He led Jace to her. She trusted the man who told her to run. Ran straight into the kill zone. Right into Jace's scope."
Selene's hand gripped the back of the kitchen chair, her knuckles pale. She didn't speak. Couldn't.
"She died ten feet in front of us," Aria whispered. "Calling for help. Bleeding out with her hand still holding a message she thought would save us all."
The apartment felt like it had lost air. Like the walls had caved in without a sound.
Selene exhaled a breath that sounded more like a wound. "I should've seen it. I should've known. The smile was wrong. I knew it. I knew it and still —"
Aria moved another step closer.
"He was watching us," she said. "But he only came forward when you were alone. Why?"
"Because he wanted me distracted," Selene said. "Wanted me thinking about the past. Wanted me doubting what I know."
Aria's eyes never left hers. "And did you?"
"No."
Selene shook her head, voice tightening.
"But I didn't shoot him either," she added. "And maybe I should've."
Aria's gaze softened, but her voice didn't waver. "You did something else."
Selene frowned.
"You stepped between us," Aria said. "When he looked at me like a threat or a prize — you didn't think. You moved."
Selene's throat worked.
Aria stepped even closer.
"You chose me," she said. "Without hesitation. Without calculation. Your body knew before your brain did."
Selene dropped onto the couch, heavy with emotion she didn't have words for. She rubbed her hands down her face.
"He was right about one thing."
Aria sat beside her but didn't reach out.
"You glow," Selene said, staring at the wall. "You burn. Like something holy. And people like him? They'll come for that. They'll chase it. Obsess over it. And I —"
Her voice cracked, but she kept going.
"I don't know if I can stop them all. I'm not everywhere."
Aria finally moved, resting her hand lightly over Selene's.
"You don't have to be," she said. "You're here. And that's enough."
Selene turned to look at her. Her face was unreadable for a moment, but her eyes were full.
"I've seen the worst this world has," Selene said. "And nothing scared me. Not until I met someone I couldn't afford to lose."
Aria leaned in slightly. "Then don't lose me."
Selene wanted to respond. Wanted to say something strong. Or reassuring. Or anything other than the mess sitting behind her ribs.
But instead, she just nodded.
And that was enough.
Evening settled outside in bruised hues and dim gold. The city had gone still, the hum of distant traffic replaced by the rustle of wind through broken windows and the faint groan of settling pipes.
Selene sat still now, her anger banked but glowing hot. Aria sat beside her like a quiet flame, not consuming, not pressing — just present.
"What do we do now?" Aria asked.
Selene's voice was calm. "We go dark. Now. We pack light and leave before he circles back."
Aria stood, already moving. "Zero?"
"Zero."
Selene followed her into the other room and began stripping down gear. She took only what mattered. Nothing sentimental. Nothing they couldn't carry fast.
Aria gathered the medical supplies, rolled the blanket into a tight bundle, and slipped it into storage. Selene double - checked the perimeter. Every gesture efficient.
But beneath it all, her thoughts still spun.
She remembered Ezra's eyes. How cold they'd looked when he smiled. How calculated he always was, even when pretending not to be.
He had seen Aria.
And he'd wanted her scared.
Instead, Aria had stood firm.
Selene knew that kind of courage. It wasn't loud. It wasn't showy. It came from surviving, not bragging.
They finished packing in silence, but it wasn't empty this time.
Selene took one last look at the apartment before locking the door behind them again. Just like before.
"Leave it?" Aria asked.
Selene nodded. "We're not coming back."
They disappeared into the dusky edges of the district, the last light behind them, the weight of betrayal pressed thin beneath their feet but no longer crushing them.
Ezra may have breached the surface.
But he hadn't broken them.
Not even close.