The laughter from Section E lingered in the park, but Jay's smile was paper-thin. Mason's figure had disappeared down the sidewalk, yet his words clung to her like smoke.
"Don't tell Keifer. Don't tell Section E. They'll charge in without thinking. Just… stay sharp, Jay. The list is real."
The hitlist.She hadn't wanted to believe him. But Mason wasn't the type to joke about this. He could make light of almost anything, but his tone had carried weight this time, heavy enough to twist in her stomach.
Jay shoved her hands in her pockets, listening absently as Rory and Blaster argued about who could do more push-ups. Cin poked fun at her for being "sassier than usual," and Keifer kept throwing flirty remarks at her like they were sparring. To anyone else, the park was just noise, jokes, and teasing.
To Jay, the silence between the laughter was deafening.
Her eyes traced the trees around them, the shadows beyond the lamps. Mason had said Cyrus was handled. That he wouldn't bother her again—at least, not directly. Which only meant one thing: someone else would.
And someone always did.
She forced a grin when Keifer nudged her shoulder. "Hey, you're quiet. Don't tell me you're actually shy now."
Jay smirked, elbowing him back. "Maybe I'm just tired of listening to your voice."
The group laughed. It worked. No one questioned the edge in her eyes.
But across from her, Yuri watched.
He had been silent the entire time, his posture casual, his expression calm. To anyone else, he looked like the same steady Yuri, the one who never got rattled. But inside, his phone burned like a brand in his pocket.
The message had been short. Precise. Cold.No explanation, no warning. Just names.
A list.
And hers had been first.
His gaze flicked to Jay without moving his head. She was laughing again, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Keifer had thrown an arm around her shoulder, protective in that casual, possessive way of his. The group rallied around her as if she were untouchable.
But Yuri knew better.Everyone could be touched.Everyone had a price.
His hand curled slightly in his pocket, brushing the edge of his phone. Orders were orders. And yet…
Why her?
He clenched his jaw. No one noticed. They never did. He'd trained himself too well, burying every crack under layers of composure. He was the calm one. The observer. The one no one suspected.
And if he played his part right, Jay would never see him coming.
Yet the thought left a sour taste in his mouth.
Jay glanced his way briefly, catching his eyes for just a moment. Something in her gut told her Yuri felt… different. Harder to read than usual. But then Cin distracted her, and the feeling slipped away like smoke.
Still, the warning in her chest grew louder. Mason's voice whispered at the back of her mind:
Stay sharp, Jay. The list is real.
Her instincts told her she was being hunted. She just didn't know the hunter was standing three feet away, laughing quietly at Rory's antics, phone buzzing with her name written in blood.
The night air carried on as if nothing had shifted, but Jay felt it—like static in her veins.
The storm wasn't gone.It was waiting.