His words hit me like cold water and my chest tightened. "Darian… what do you mean they know? Who knows?"
He didn't answer immediately. He crouched beside the small metallic disc on the concrete, brushing dust around it with his fingers. His movements were sharp, focused, like someone used to dealing with things he wished he didn't recognize.
He finally exhaled. "This isn't just a tracker. It's a Syndicate beacon."
My throat closed. "Syndicate… the same people after me?"
His jaw clenched. "Yes and this type?" He flicked the edge gently with one finger. "They don't use it on random buildings. This is for marked zones, places they want eyes on. Places connected to someone valuable."
I felt my pulse hammer. "But… we just came up here because it was quiet. How..."
"It was already tagged before we got here," he said. "And it's recent. Maybe one, two hours old. Someone placed it here on purpose."
The wind brushed past us, cold and thin. Even the city noise below felt far away.
I swallowed. "Why this roof?"
He stood up slowly, scanning the skyline again. His shoulders rose and fell like he was thinking through something heavy. Something dangerous.
"I think the rooftop was tagged because of me," he said quietly.
I blinked. "Because of you? But… I'm the one they've been following."
His eyes softened, but not with comfort.... more like guilt. "Adanna… the Syndicate doesn't tag places unless they expect someone to return to it. Someone they want alive, someone who still has use."
I stared at him. "You're saying they want you alive? Why?"
He hesitated, just for a second but it was enough.
"Darian, talk to me."
He ran a hand through his hair. "I used to work with someone inside the Syndicate. A handler, before I left Lagos. Before all this started."
My breath hitched. "You… worked with them?"
"Not as a member," he said quickly. "Never as one of them. I was… contracted for tech. For decoding devices like this. They needed my skill, I thought I was helping with security systems, not…" His voice dropped. "Not hunting people."
My stomach twisted. "And when you found out....."
"I cut ties..... Or tried to." His eyes darkened. "But no one really leaves the Syndicate clean. They started pulling back my name in their files. I've known for months someone has been tracking me."
I stepped closer before I realized I was moving. "So… you're not just helping me because you're kind."
"No," he whispered, gaze locked on mine. "I'm helping you because this is bigger than you, bigger than me and because… the things I found out when I was still inside their system…" He stopped. "Adanna, you're not just being hunted..... you're being monitored. Studied. They've been preparing this for months."
My breath shook.
"Why me?" My voice cracked. "What do they want from me?"
His hand reached for mine before he could stop himself. Warm, firm, steady. "That's what we're going to find out, and we're going to do it together."
My chest tightened again, this time not from fear.
His thumb brushed the side of my hand, slow and reassuring, like he needed the touch as much as I did. The air between us thickened, charged, almost trembling. He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my face.
But then...
A faint beep from the tracker cut through the moment and we both froze.
Darian dropped my hand and crouched beside the device again. "It's active now."
"What does that mean?"
"It means someone is checking the signal. They're scanning the location to confirm movement." His voice grew sharper. "We need to leave, now."
He grabbed the tracker, twisted it, and snapped a tiny internal wire with his nail. The small disc sputtered and went silent.
"Will that stop them?" I whispered.
"No. It will only confuse the signal for a few minutes, they'll come check the roof physically."
My heart pounded. "Then why break it?"
His eyes flicked up to me. "Because I'd rather they think it malfunctioned than know someone tampered with it. A broken device buys us time. A damaged one puts them straight on our trail."
He stood and grabbed my wrist gently. "Come on."
We ran.
He led me through the rooftop door, down a narrow stairwell that smelled like dust and old concrete. Our footsteps echoed, mixing with my racing heartbeat. When we reached the bottom hallway, he paused, listening.
"Wait," he whispered.
I held my breath.
There was nothing at first....just silence.
Then the faint creak of the rooftop door above us.
"They're here," he said.
A cold rush moved through my spine.
He guided me down another corridor, fast but quiet, stopping whenever he heard the slightest sound. I didn't know how he was doing it....moving with so much control even with danger breathing down our necks.
Finally we slipped into a small storage room. He shut the door silently and turned to me.
"You okay?"
"No," I admitted. "But I'm trying."
His expression softened again. "You're doing better than most people would."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Adanna… what I said earlier? About this being bigger? There's something else you need to know."
My stomach twisted. "What?"
"When I was still inside their system, I found a file. An encrypted one. It had your initials."
My chest tightened. "My initials? Are you sure it was me? Adanna isn't a rare name...."
"It wasn't just your name. It had your date of birth, your old school, your mother's phone number..... everything."
My blood ran cold. "But… why? Why would they have all that?"
He didn't answer. He just reached up and touched my arm gently, grounding me.
"I don't know yet," he said. "But I promise you one thing, whatever they want, they're not getting it."
I breathed out shakily. "Darian…"
Before I could say anything else, loud footsteps echoed down the hall outside. Closer now..... too close.
Darian moved in front of me instantly, protective in a way that made something warm and frightening twist inside my chest.
He whispered, "Stay behind me. No matter what."
The footsteps paused right outside the door.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
A shadow moved under the doorframe.
Then.....the doorknob turned.
I grabbed Darian's arm without thinking.
He didn't look back at me, but his hand found mine again and squeezed, tight and certain.
The knob twisted harder, a breath caught in my throat.
Then, just as the door started to shift....
A loud bang echoed from the opposite hallway.
A crash.... A shout. The sound of something heavy falling.
Darian's eyes widened.
"They're chasing someone else," he whispered.
The pressure under my ribs loosened as the footsteps outside changed direction, running toward the noise. After a few seconds, the hallway fell silent again.
Darian let out a slow breath and turned to me. "We have to move before they circle back."
I nodded, but my legs felt weak.
He noticed.
"Hey," he murmured softly. He reached out and touched my cheek lightly with the back of his fingers. "Look at me."
His eyes were steady, warm, and fierce like he was trying to pull my fear out of me and carry it himself.
"We're going to be fine," he said. "I won't let anything happen to you."
The way he said it… it wasn't empty. It wasn't dramatic. It was quiet and serious and full of something I wasn't ready to name.
My breath trembled. "Darian…"
His fingers moved to my jaw, slow and careful. "Yeah?"
I swallowed. "Why are you risking all this for me?"
His gaze dropped to my lips for a second, just one but it was enough for my whole body to react.
He stepped even closer, his breath warm against my skin.
"Because somewhere along the line," he whispered, "protecting you stopped feeling like a choice."
My heart almost stopped.
He didn't kiss me, but he held my face like he wanted to. Like he was fighting it, like this wasn't the time, but his body didn't care.
His thumb brushed my jaw again before he forced himself to pull away.
"Let's go," he said quietly.
We slipped out of the room and moved quickly down the hallway. He checked corners, listening every few steps. I just followed his lead, trusting him without even thinking about it.
When we reached a side exit, he pushed the door open slightly and peeked outside.
"All clear," he whispered.
We stepped into the cool night air. The city lights stretched below us like nothing had happened, like the world wasn't turning into something terrifying and dark around us, but then Darian said something that made everything shift again.
"Adanna… the person who placed that tracker?" His voice tightened. "I know who it is."
I stared at him. "Who?"
He swallowed.
"My old handler."
My heart dropped. "The same one from the Syndicate?"
He nodded. "And if he tagged that rooftop… it means he's close..... very close."
The streetlight flickered above us as a cold breeze swept past.
And then....a voice echoed from the darkness ahead.
"Well," the voice said. Calm, almost amused. "Took you long enough to figure it out."
Darian froze and my blood turned to ice.
The figure stepped into the light.
A man, tall, wearing a dark jacket and has a cold eyes.
And the smile of someone who already knew the ending.
Darian whispered one word under his breath.
"…Azaan." And I knew everything was about to get worse.
Darian said the name like it tasted bitter.
Azaan stepped fully under the streetlight, hands in his pockets like he had all the time in the world. His eyes flicked from Darian… to me… then back to Darian, and his smile widened a little.
"Well," Azaan said quietly, "you brought her out in the open, which makes things easier."
My pulse spiked.
Darian shifted, stepping slightly in front of me. "Don't you take another step."
Azaan raised a brow. "Relax, If I wanted her dead, she'd be gone already."
The casual way he said it made my skin crawl.
Darian's voice dropped. "Why are you here?"
Azaan shrugged. "Orders changed."
That made Darian stiffen. "Changed how?"
Azaan looked directly at me this time, and something cold moved through my stomach.
"You," he said softly, "are no longer a target."
My breath caught. "Wh... what do you mean?"
He smiled. "You're an asset now."
Darian swore under his breath. "They moved her to asset level? Why?"
Azaan tilted his head. "You really don't know, do you?"
Darian didn't answer, his jaw tightened.
Azaan stepped closer and Darian blocked him instantly.
"Back up," Darian growled.
Azaan laughed under his breath. "You're still the same. Always reacting before thinking."
Darian didn't move.
Azaan sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Her father wasn't just running a company. He was funding something. Something the Syndicate needed, and she…" He pointed at me. "She's the only one with access to the vault."
The world spun. "What vault?" I whispered.
Azaan's eyes softened, not kindly, just calculating. "The vault he left behind. The data vault, tbe one that holds every file, every transaction, every hidden contract your father made with the Syndicate before he betrayed them."
My heart dropped straight to my feet.
"My father never....."
"He did," Azaan said simply.
I shook my head, breath trembling. "No. My father wasn't like that. He wasn't....."
"Criminal?" Azaan finished. "You think the Syndicate wastes time on ordinary people? Your father had secrets, Adanna. Deep ones and now those secrets are your inheritance."
Darian stepped forward, fury in every line of his body. "If you touch her, I swear...."
Azaan held up both hands. "Relax, I'm not here to take her."
"Then what do you want?" Darian snapped.
Azaan's smile faded.
"I want you to stop running," he said. "Both of you."
Something about the way he said it made my chest tighten.
"We're not joining you," Darian said flatly.
Azaan looked almost disappointed. "I figured you'd say that, but you need to know this...someone inside the Syndicate wants you alive, Darian. Someone high up. Someone who can override kill orders."
"That makes no sense," Darian muttered. "Nobody there needs me."
Azaan's eyes flicked between us again. "You'd be surprised."
Then he stepped back.
"But here's the warning," he added. "The tracker wasn't just a signal, it was a test."
My heart skipped. "A test?"
"To see how fast Darian reacts." Azaan looked at him. "And to see how far he's willing to go for you."
Heat shot to my face. "Why… why would they care about that?"
Azaan gave a soft laugh, like he knew something neither of us did. "Because if he's willing to die for you, then you're more valuable than we thought."
Darian's breath hitched, mine stopped completely and Azaan turned to leave.
"This isn't over," he said. "They're coming soon. Faster than you expect."
He took two steps into the dark... then paused.
"Oh," he added lightly without turning, "and Darian?"
Darian's fists clenched. "What."
Azaan glanced over his shoulder, eyes sharp. "The vault key she needs… isn't digital. It's human."
"What does that mean?" I breathed.
Azaan's gaze locked on me.
"It means the only person who can open it… is the person she trusts the most."
A shiver ran through me.
"But the Syndicate doesn't know who that is yet," he said. "So be careful who you let close."
And with that, he vanished into the shadows.
Silence took over the street.
My heart was beating too fast, too loud. I turned to Darian, but he was already moving....pulling me behind a parked car, scanning the area again, his breathing tense.
"Darian," I whispered shakily, "what does he mean? What vault? What trust key? Why did he say...."
"I don't know yet," Darian said, but there was something in his eyes. Something he DID know but wasn't ready to tell me. "We need to get out of here first. Then we figure everything out."
I nodded, even though my whole body was trembling.
He reached for my hand again, not even thinking about it this time. His grip tight, grounding, warm.
"We're okay," he murmured.
"Are we?" I whispered.
He looked at me, really looked.
"Yes," he said softly. "As long as you're with me, we are."
My breath caught.
There it was again, that heat, that tension, that pull that made everything around us fade, but then he pulled his eyes away, swallowed, and stood up. "Let's go."
We slipped into the night, staying close to the shadows.
After a few minutes of walking, when we were finally safe enough to breathe again, he slowed down… and his voice dropped.
"Adanna."
"Yes?"
"You know Azaan was lying about one thing."
I turned to him. "What thing?"
He stopped walking and looked at me with something raw, something honest, something I wasn't prepared for.
"You're not just an asset," he said. "Not to them."
His hand rose slowly, brushing a strand of hair from my face.
"And definitely not to me."
My chest tightened. "Darian…"
He stepped closer, the space between us almost gone.
"I don't care what they want," he said quietly. "I don't care what they think you are. You're not a tool, you're not a pawn. You're..... "
He stopped, breath shaking slightly.
I could feel the tension pulling us together again, Heavy, Warm and dangerous.
And then.... his forehead touched mine.
A soft, slow, breathless touch.
"...you're the only person I've been able to trust in a long time."
My lips parted as his breath brushed my mouth.
We were inches away, one more heartbeat and he'd....
A sudden engine rev echoed from the next street.
We both froze as Darian pulled back fast. "They're sweeping the area. We have to move."
The moment shattered.
The air between us still hot, still unfinished… but pushed aside by danger once again.
He grabbed my hand and we ran...
To be continued.....