Lucas took a slow breath, calming himself before unlocking the door. The moment it creaked open, a broad-shouldered, tall man barged in, his dark eyes darting around the room before focusing on Lucas.

  "Took you long enough," the man growled, his voice rough from years of unspoken words.

  Aiden bristled, observing the encounter. "Who is he?"

  Lucas did not glance away from the stranger. His jaw tightened, a flash of something unreadable crossing his eyes. "An old acquaintance. Someone I didn't think I'd ever see again."

  The man sneered, advancing another step, his presence dominating the room. "That's one way to say it. Though I recall things a little differently. We were partners once, weren't we? Before you cut out on me."

  Lucas moved a little, his muscles wound tight with control. "That was a long time ago. And I didn't vanish—I walked away."

  "Walked away?" The man laughed. "No, Lucas. You ran. And you left a hell of a mess behind."

  Aiden's gaze flicked back and forth between them. There was gravity to the man's words, something more than a casual past connection. Whoever this was, he wasn't some old co-worker—he was a specter from a life Lucas had left behind.

  Lucas let out a harsh breath. "Why are you here, Damian?"

  Damian's grin fell away, his face shadowing. "For the same reason you are. The individuals after Carter? They're not only after him. They're wrapping up loose ends. And you, friend, are an extremely loose loose end."

  Aiden was hit by those words as if someone had punched him in the stomach. "You mean. they're after Lucas, too?"

  Damian gestured. "That little caper you engineered years ago? It angered a lot of risky individuals. And now, with your new supervisor here causing commotion in the security community, it was inevitable that they'd make the connections. You sheltering him merely made you that much more a target."

  Lucas's fingers jerked at his waist, but he didn't for his gun—not yet. "Then why are you here, warning me? If they sent you, you wouldn't be speaking."

  Damian cocked his head. "Let's just say that I have my own reasons for not wishing you dead at this moment."

  Lucas advanced, his tone low, tinged with steel. "I don't have time for games. Either you're with them, or against them. Which is it?"

  Damian regarded him for a moment before laughing. "Still as blunt as ever. I'm here to make you an offer. We take them down together."

  Aiden blinked, taking a step forward. "Wait, what? You want Lucas to partner with you? After—whatever the hell went down between you two?"

  Damian shrugged. "I don't blame you for not trusting me. Hell, I wouldn't trust me. But the thing is, we're all out of options. These people? They don't quit. They don't negotiate. If we don't strike first, they will."

  Lucas was quiet for a long time. Aiden could see the battle being waged behind his eyes. He didn't trust Damian. That much was obvious. But there was something else—something more, something deeper, an unspoken history that meant more than either of them were letting on.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  A muscle in Lucas's jaw clenched. "What's the real game here, Damian? You and I both know this isn't just about tying up loose ends."

  Damian let out a sigh, crossing his arms. "You still believe you can outrun what we did, don't you? Lucas, you don't get to just erase the past. You were part of them—just like I was. And when you chose to grow a conscience and burn everything to the ground, you didn't just make enemies. You made war."

  Aiden's brow creased. "Part of who?"

  Lucas's mouth was pulled into a fine line. "An off-budget security faction. Black operations. Off the records. We eliminated the things that governments didn't want attributed back to them."

  Damian's smile was cynical, though, not funny at all. "Eliminated. Diplomatic speech there. Murdering. Forcing people into agreements. Taking down threats before they were any actual threat. We did our orders and we did them by rote and did them silently, no thinking aloud. And we were brilliant at it."

  Aiden's gut churned. He stared at Lucas, his eyes scanning his face. "You were an assassin?"

  Lucas took a deep breath but didn't deny it. "Not originally. It began as security work. But the deeper I went, the fewer lines there were. Until there were none."

  Damian nodded. "And then you went and set the entire place on fire. You leaked information. Revealed their operations. Left them open to attack. That's why they want to kill you, Lucas. You didn't merely leave. You betrayed them."

  Aiden's breath caught. He'd suspected Lucas had a history filled with shadows, but this? This was different. The man standing watch over him was more than just a bodyguard—he was a man who was once a tool. And that tool now had a bull's-eye painted on his back.

  Lucas glared at Aiden, his tone softer now. "I did what I had to do. And I've been on the run ever since."

  Damian slapped his hands together. "Well, looks like your running days are done. They've found you. They've found him. And now you have two options—fight, or die."

  Lucas let out a deep breath, his eyes closing for a split second before he looked back at Damian. "If we do this, we do it my way. You listen to me. No surprises."

  Damian smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it."

  Aiden crossed his arms. "I don't like this."

  Lucas looked at him, his eyes gentle for the briefest moment. "I don't either. But if we're going to survive, we don't have a choice."

  Aiden gritted his jaw, but he knew Lucas was correct. The danger wasn't threatening anymore—it was closing in on them. And whether they liked it or not, their sole chance of making it out alive might just depend on the hands of a man they couldn't trust.

  With the air in the room thickening with underlying tension, Lucas faced Damian once more. "Tell me all you know."

  The past had finally caught up with them. And now, there was no turning back.