Page 82 of Veil of Secrets

We lock eyes.

We don’t speak right away.

We don’t have to.

Then—

Together, same breath, same time—

“Ours.”

It’s not dramatic. It’s not performative.

It’s just the truth.

Nico looks down at the second body. Then back at me.

His voice is low. Cold.

“Two this close together?”

He doesn’t finish the thought.

“They’re moving in,” I say.

“They’re escalating.”

“Let them.”

I shake the blood off my hand. Not all of it comes off.

“I’m done hiding.”

He watches me longer than he should.

I don’t look away.

“You in this for real now?” he asks.

I step toward him. The light from the street catches on the blade still in his hand.

“I’ve been in,” I say. “I just stopped pretending I wasn’t.”

The corner of his mouth lifts—barely. Not amusement. Recognition.

I crouch next to the body. Check his pockets fast. Gloved hands. Taped hilt on the blade. This was planned. Organized.

He wasn’t robbing us. He wasn’t reacting.

He was waiting.

I stand again.

Nico looks at the entrance to the alley. His hand stays near the knife, even after it’s sheathed.

“They’re not testing us anymore.”

I nod. “They’re hunting.”

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