John sat on the edge of a crumbling rooftop, the cold night air biting against his skin. Below, the city moved as it always did—humming with neon lights, distant sirens, and the never-ending flow of people trying to survive.

  But John wasn’t paying attention to any of that.

  His eyes were on the kid.

  The boy sat against the wall, knees pulled to his chest, eyes flickering between exhaustion and unease. Still shaken.

  John could relate.

  He had just gone head-to-head with Cain’s people and barely made it out. That wasn’t something he had planned for.

  But now, he had a new problem.

  "What’s your name?" John asked, breaking the silence.

  The kid hesitated.

  Then—"Eli."

  John nodded slowly. "Alright, Eli. Start from the beginning."

  Eli took a shaky breath.

  "I don’t remember much," he admitted. "I was in the lower districts, just trying to find something to eat. Next thing I knew, these guys grabbed me. Took me to that warehouse. Started asking questions."

  John frowned. "Questions about your father."

  Eli nodded. "Yeah. They kept asking where he was, what he was working on before he left. But I don’t know anything."

  John’s mind was already piecing things together.

  Cain didn’t kidnap random kids for no reason.

  That meant Eli’s father had been important.

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  "Do you know what he did for Cain?" John asked.

  Eli hesitated. "I… I think he was an engineer. Worked with tech. He never told me much, just that he was part of some big project before he left."

  John’s gut twisted.

  Tech. Engineering. A big project.

  This was getting worse by the second.

  "What happened to him?" John pressed.

  Eli swallowed hard. "He disappeared two years ago. Never came back."

  John’s fingers curled.

  If Cain had wanted him alive, he wouldn’t have just vanished.

  Which meant Eli’s father was either hiding something… or dead.

  And if Cain was still looking for him now?

  That meant whatever he was working on wasn’t finished.

  John leaned back, running a hand through his hair.

  Cain’s network was vast. If he wanted someone found, they were found.

  So why, after all this time, was Eli’s father still missing?

  And more importantly…

  Why did Cain think Eli had the answers?

  John exhaled slowly.

  He didn’t have enough information.

  But one thing was clear—Eli was in danger.

  If Cain’s men had caught him once, they’d try again.

  John wasn’t about to let that happen.

  But protecting him meant getting involved.

  And that?

  That was a bad idea.

  John should have walked away.

  He should have left the kid somewhere safe and disappeared, just like he always did.

  But he couldn’t.

  Because he knew what happened to people who got caught by Cain’s men.

  And Eli was just a kid.

  John sighed, shaking his head. "Alright," he muttered. "You can stay with me for now."

  Eli’s head snapped up. "Really?"

  John gave him a look. "Don’t get comfortable. This isn’t charity. I just don’t like loose ends."

  Eli didn’t seem to believe that, but he didn’t argue.

  John exhaled.

  He had just made a choice.

  And he had a feeling there was no going back.

  John had barely gotten the chance to process his decision when his instincts flared.

  They were being watched.

  He didn’t hesitate.

  His body moved before his mind had fully caught up, spinning, reaching for his knife—

  And stopping just short of Aria’s throat.

  She didn’t flinch.

  Didn’t even blink.

  She just smirked.

  "Nice reaction time," she said, eyeing the blade at her neck. "Almost impressive."

  John scowled and stepped back. "You really need to stop doing that."

  Aria shrugged. "I like keeping you on edge."

  John sighed. "What do you want?"

  Aria’s smirk faded.

  She glanced at Eli, then back at John.

  "I came to warn you," she said.

  John’s stomach tightened. "About what?"

  Aria’s gaze sharpened.

  "You just made an enemy of Cain," she said. "And he doesn’t forgive mistakes."