75

Kira's pov

The rain hadn't stopped since sundown.

It wasn't the gentle kind either. It came down in sheets, cold and heavy, turning the cracked pavement into a river of filth and forgotten sins. I pulled my hood tighter over my head and stepped over a puddle that gleamed with reflections of street lamps and betrayal.

My boots made no sound,I had learned to walk like a ghost a long time ago. Silence was survival. But tonight, silence felt like treason.

The alley was tucked behind the old shipping yard, nestled between two rusted containers and cloaked in shadow. I saw the faint glow of a cigarette before I saw him. He was already there, like always. He didn't bother with hellos.

"You're late," he muttered, flicking the cigarette away and crushing it beneath his boot.

I ignored the jab and stepped closer. "It's getting harder to slip out unnoticed."