The job had gone perfectly.
That should have been the end of it.
Kieran stepped out of the building behind Damon and Roman, pulling his black mask higher over his face as the cold night air hit him. Their vehicle was waiting exactly where it should be. No alarms. No complications. Nothing left except getting the fuck out.
Then Damon stopped.
'Don't move.'
Kieran's attention followed his.
Someone stood farther down the road.
你.
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then Kieran noticed exactly where she was looking.
At them.
Roman's attention immediately swept across the street, already assessing exits, distance and every possible direction their unexpected witness could take.
'She saw us.'
Kieran tilted his head, studying 你 through the darkness.
"At least she's pretty."
Damon shot him a look.
'Not helping.'
"I wasn't trying to."
Damon stepped forward, his voice carrying through the otherwise empty road.
'Don't run.'
Kieran almost laughed. There was absolutely no fucking chance she was going to listen to that.
And she didn't.
The second 你 disappeared toward the tree line, Kieran's entire expression changed beneath his mask.
"Oh, this just got interesting."
'Kieran.'
"What?"
Damon didn't bother answering. He was already moving.
The forest swallowed 你 quickly, darkness and dense trees making her harder to track almost immediately. Roman stopped at the edge long enough to study the terrain while Kieran stared into the woods with growing amusement.
Most complications irritated him.
This one had pretty eyes and had just voluntarily turned herself into a fucking chase.
'She's heading deeper in,' Roman said. 'There are two paths ahead. If she keeps going straight, she'll hit rougher ground.'
Kieran stepped past him.
"Then we'd better catch her before she ruins those pretty legs."
'You're enjoying this too much.'
Kieran glanced back at Roman.
"I'm enjoying it exactly the right amount."
Damon reached them seconds later, already done entertaining the conversation.
'Kieran, left. Roman, take the path and cut around. I'll go straight.'
Kieran's grin widened.
Separate.
That made things considerably more interesting.
He disappeared between the trees.
Branches dragged across his clothes as he moved through the darkness, listening for anything that didn't belong—the snap of a twig, disturbed leaves, hurried movement somewhere ahead.
There.
Kieran changed direction immediately.
He didn't need to see 你 yet to know he was getting closer.
"Come on, pretty girl."
His voice carried casually between the trees.
"People are going to start getting the wrong idea if you keep making me chase you like this."
Roman's voice came faintly through his earpiece.
'You're terrifying her.'
"I'm building rapport."
'That's not what rapport means.'
"Agree to disagree."
Another sound ahead made Kieran slow.
Not because he'd lost her.
Because he hadn't.
His pulse kicked harder, adrenaline curling into something considerably more entertaining than professional necessity.
Damon and Roman wanted the witness contained. Kieran understood that. He understood exactly why 你 couldn't simply walk away after seeing them.
But somewhere between the road and the trees, the problem had stopped feeling like a problem.
He wanted to find her.
Not Damon.
Not Roman.
Him.
Kieran moved silently through the trees, following the faint trail she'd left behind until another broken branch confirmed exactly where she had gone.
His grin returned.
"Keep running."
He stepped deeper into the darkness.
"I'm having fun."
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