Cracks in the Glass

The closer you get to the truth, the harder it is to look away.

Celeste...

The night was thick with an uneasy silence as I walked briskly through the empty streets, my hood pulled low over my face. The air was heavy, charged with something I couldn't quite place, but I felt it pressing against my skin like an invisible force. My destination was only a few blocks away, but each step felt like a countdown to something inevitable.

Sienna had insisted on meeting in private. No comms, no trackers, just face-to-face conversation. That alone told me everything I needed to know—something was wrong.

I slipped into the shadowed alley where we'd agreed to meet, my pulse quickening as I spotted her standing against the brick wall, arms crossed. Her face was tight with urgency.

"You shouldn't have come," she muttered.

I exhaled sharply. "You called me, Sienna."

She glanced over her shoulder before fixing me with a piercing look. "The FBI has been compromised."

The words hit me like ice water. "What?"

"Someone high up is pulling strings. They're not just after Adrian—they're after you too. You were never supposed to walk away from this mission. They've been setting you up from the start."

My stomach clenched. I had suspected as much, but hearing it out loud solidified a truth I hadn't been ready to accept.

Sienna's voice softened, but there was urgency in it. "Celeste, they don't want you bringing Adrian in. They want him dead. And if you don't make it happen, they'll pin everything on you."

I swallowed hard, my hands curling into fists. This wasn't just a mission gone wrong. This was a setup. A trap. And I had walked straight into it.

"They're using me," I whispered, the realization settling like lead in my chest.

Sienna nodded. "And Adrian is in more danger than ever. If you care about him at all, you need to get out before they make you the scapegoat."

I wanted to argue, to tell her that I still had control, but I knew better. I had lost control the moment I had let myself get close to Adrian Russo.

Footsteps echoed from the street beyond the alley, and my instincts flared to life. I turned sharply, hand hovering near my concealed weapon. But it wasn't a threat.

It was Adrian.

Adrian

I had been watching her for the last ten minutes. Silent. Unmoving. Letting her think she was alone in whatever clandestine meeting she had arranged. But I wasn't stupid. I had known she was sneaking off, and I had followed.

And now I had confirmation—Celeste wasn't just tangled in something dangerous. She was drowning in it.

She turned sharply as I stepped into the dim alley, her breath hitching as she met my gaze. For a moment, I saw something flicker behind her eyes—guilt, maybe. Or something deeper. Something she didn't want me to see.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped, taking a step back.

I tilted my head, watching her carefully. "Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing."

Her jaw tightened. "This isn't your business."

I let out a quiet chuckle, but there was no humor in it. "You're sneaking around in the middle of the night, having secret meetings in alleys, and you think that's not my business?" I stepped closer, watching her reaction. "Try again, Ogonëk."

She exhaled sharply, but before she could respond, the woman she had been speaking with—the one I recognized as Sienna—took a careful step forward.

"This isn't a good time," Sienna muttered, eyeing me warily.

I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes. "It never is."

Celeste shot Sienna a warning glance before looking back at me, frustration clear on her face. "Just drop it, Adrian."

I didn't move. "No."

Her eyes flashed. "I mean it."

"So do I."

Tension crackled between us, thick and suffocating. She was lying to me. I knew it. She knew it. And yet, here we were, standing on opposite sides of a truth neither of us wanted to acknowledge.

I took another step forward, crowding her space. Her back met the wall, and she glared up at me, defiant. But there was something else there—something she was desperately trying to hide.

"You keep running off. You keep sneaking away. And yet, you're still here," I murmured, my voice dangerously low. "You ever wonder why?"

She swallowed, her breath uneven. "I don't owe you an explanation."

I smirked, leaning in just enough that our noses nearly brushed. "Maybe not. But I wonder what you'll do when you realize you're not the only one playing this game."

Her lips parted, a sharp breath escaping her, but before she could say anything, I did the one thing neither of us expected.

I kissed her.

It wasn't slow. It wasn't careful. It was raw, tense—an explosion of frustration and something far more dangerous. She stiffened for half a second before she gave in, her fingers gripping my jacket, pulling me closer.

She tasted like adrenaline and something intoxicatingly sweet, and I hated how much I wanted more. Hated that, despite everything, I couldn't stop.

Then I did stop.

I pulled away first, watching the dazed look in her eyes, the way her chest rose and fell too quickly.

"See you around, Ogonëk."

And then I walked away, leaving her breathless in the dark.