“My loveeee! Ready for work?” The hangover was rough, but Liam was resilient—or perhaps just used to the lifestyle. He looked at me with those tired but devoted eyes as he shrugged into his tactical leather jacket. "Ready for work?" he asked, his voice still a bit gravelly.I smoothed out the wrinkles in my red dress from the day before, though I had opted for a more practical pair of boots today. "More than ready," I said, catching my reflection. "But first, we need to talk about your 'no harm' policy from last night."
Liam paused, rubbing his temples. "Last night was a bit of a blur, Layla. Did I do something?"
"No, but he did," I said, thinking of the guy with the golden-blue hair. "His name is apparently 'Cuore'—or at least that's what he told me to call him. He was incredibly bold, Liam. If you're going to be the boss, you might want to remind your men that I’m off-limits before I have to remind them myself with one of those knives." Liam’s expression shifted instantly. The hazy, hungover softness vanished, replaced by the sharp, cold gaze of the Apex Assassin leader. "I’ll handle it," he said darkly. "Nobody breathes the same air as you without my permission."
The First Assignment When we arrived at the base, the atmosphere was different. The party was over. The confetti had been swept away, replaced by the low hum of monitors and the clicking of handguns being loaded. Liam led me to the center table, where a holographic map was projected into the air. The pink-haired girl, whose name I learned was Mochi, looked up. "Boss, the shipment from the docks was intercepted by the Vipers. They think they can squeeze us because we were 'distracted' by the celebration." Liam looked at me, a challenge in his eyes. "Well, Leader Layla. This is your first day on the job. We have a warehouse full of high-tech equipment—the same tech that makes our entrance wall possible—being held by a rival gang. How do you want to play it?" My engineer brain kicked into gear. I leaned over the map, studying the structural layout of the warehouse. "They’ll expect a frontal assault. A typical 'mafia' move," I said, my finger tracing the ventilation ducts. "But if this equipment is as sensitive as I think it is, a shootout will destroy the very things we’re trying to recover."
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The Engineer's Touch "I want a small team," I continued, my voice steady. "We don't go in guns blazing. We use an electromagnetic pulse to fry their security grid, then I’ll bypass the biometric locks. We take the tech, and we leave them sitting in the dark before they even know the door is open." Mochi grinned, showing off a set of sharp teeth. "I like her. She’s surgical." "I’m coming too," Liam stated, though it wasn't a request. "Fine," I said, turning to the corner of the room where the golden-blue haired guy was leaning against a pillar, watching me with that same "lala land" look. "And he's coming too. If he’s going to be my 'friend,' I want to see if he’s actually useful in a crawlspace or if he’s just all talk."
The Shadow in the Docks An hour later, we were crouched in the shadows of the North Docks. The salt air was thick, and the silence was heavy. I held a small device I’d whipped up in the base’s lab—a modified scrambler. "Cuore," I whispered to the golden-blue haired man. "On my signal, you take out the guard on the catwalk. Non-lethal, if you can manage it. I don't want the blood messing with the sensors." "Anything for you, Cuore," he whispered back, that seductive lilt still in his voice. I rolled my eyes and hit the switch. The warehouse lights flickered and died. The hum of the city seemed to vanish as the power grid groaned and collapsed. "Go," I hissed. I watched as Liam and the team moved like ghosts. I followed close behind, my heart racing not out of fear, but out of a strange, dark adrenaline. This was a world away from designing bridges and office buildings. Here, the stakes were life and death, and for the first time in months, I didn't feel like I was "overthinking" anything.
I reached the main terminal, my fingers flying over the keys. "Accessing the encrypted drive now..." I muttered. Suddenly, a hand pressed against the wall next to my head. I didn't even have to look to know who it was. "You really are a genius," the guy whispered in my ear. "Liam has no idea what he’s found in you. You’re too good for a man who spends his nights drunk while his enemies circle." I didn't stop typing. "I told you once, and I’ll tell you again," I said, my voice cold as ice. "I’m an engineer. I know how to fix things, and I know how to break them. If you don't move your hand in the next three seconds, I'm going to 'break' your ability to ever hold a gun again. Understand?" I heard him chuckle, but he pulled away just as the door hissed open. Inside sat the crates, glowing with a faint, blue light. "Layla! We're clear!" Liam called out from the darkness. I grabbed the main drive and turned to leave, but I stopped for a second, looking back at the golden-blue haired man. He was watching me with a look that wasn't just "goo-goo eyed" anymore. It was predatory. I realized then that Liam might be the Boss, but this mafia was full of snakes—and I was going to have to be the sharpest blade in the room to keep us both alive.43Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAkkI9pc2o
and then Add to home screen.