Chapter 4
Alejandro
By the time the sun began rising over the horizon and Grayson woke for his morning patrol shift, Alex was still lying in bed with his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
It had been impossible to sleep with his mind replaying last night on a loop.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way Luci had looked at him, the warmth of her hand against his jaw, the softness in her touch.
He’d imagined moments like that for longer than he was willing to admit, wondered countless times how it might feel, and yet, when it finally happened, he’d pulled away.
It had been the right thing to do. She’d been drinking and she deserved more than a moment blurred by too much wine. Still, a selfish part of him ached for what could have been if she’d been sober, if there had been no excuse to stop.
But even in that imagined version, he knew the truth.
Lucilla Castillo was not his to have. Even if Doc kept his promise and freed her from the reproduction program, his superiors would never approve of someone like him being with someone like her.
A mind like hers was a resource they wouldn’t waste on a soldier like him.
“You came in late last night,” Grayson’s voice cut through his thoughts, teasing as he tugged a plain black t-shirt over his head. “Care to share the juicy details?”
Alex smirked, shaking his head. “I’ll spare you.”
As Grayson turned back to the closet for the rest of his uniform, Alex’s thoughts drifted back to the boy he’d been when he first came to the Prometheus Collective.
Fourteen years old, scared and angry at a world that had already taken too much from him.
They’d thrown him into the physically gifted sector where his recklessness was both a liability and an asset.
Back then, trouble clung to his name like it was branded to his chest.
Grayson had been born into the program. His mother had been deemed unfit to raise him, so he’d grown up entirely under the Academy’s care, molded by their rules from the start.
The Academy had paired them together as roommates, probably hoping Grayson’s good behavior might temper Alex’s stubbornness.
In some ways, it had. But more than that, they’d given Alex a brother.
And no matter what else the Collective had taken from him, that was something he was still grateful for.
“C’mon, you’ve gotta tell me something — anything,” Grayson pressed, threading his belt through the loops of his pants while dodging Luna’s playful nips at his ankles. “You’ve been after her since we were kids. At least tell me you finally made a move.”
Alex chuckled under his breath, sitting up straighter on his cot and swinging his legs over the side.
There was truth in Grayson’s words. Back when they’d still been in the Academy and attended intramural events, he’d stolen glances at Luci whenever he could.
But girls had always been off-limits, especially the smart ones like her.
Luci had always been in a league of her own, far above all the other petty distractions they were warned to avoid.
Sure, there were ways around the rules and those workarounds had never stopped him, but Luci was different. She wasn’t a fling to sneak around with. She was the one person he couldn’t risk hurting or losing.
“We kissed,” Alex admitted finally, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Sort of.” He stood, raking a hand through his hair before crouching beside Luna’s bowl to scoop in her morning kibble.
Grayson’s head snapped up, his grin spreading rapidly. “No shit?” He let out a low whistle, shaking his head in disbelief. “About damn time.”
Alex’s smile faded into something softer, almost apologetic. “She’d had some wine. More than a little so I…I couldn’t kiss her like that.”
Grayson groaned, throwing his jacket over his shoulders. “Fuck…I mean, that was the right move. But if there’s something there, another opportunity will come. I promise.”
Alex didn’t respond right away, just busied himself with rinsing Luna’s water bowl in their tiny sink. The truth was that that exact thought had repeated itself over in his mind since she’d kissed him.
He was afraid to hope but unable to stop himself from doing so.
Grayson moved toward the door, slinging his gear over his shoulder. “Look, I’ve known you a long time, Alex. You don’t wait around for anyone. But for her? You’ve been waiting years. Sooner or later you’re gonna have to decide if you’re just protecting her or if you’re gonna fight for her.”
With that, Grayson left, clicking the door shut behind him. Alex glanced at Luna.
“Well, you were there. What do you think?” he asked, but she didn’t respond. Instead she simply tilted her head and waited for Alex to extend his hand and scratch behind her ears.
Alex had just stepped back into his room after heading to the showers, steam still clinging to his skin as the intercom in his room turned on.
“Alejandro Ramírez, report to meeting room one in thirty minutes,” said the precise but emotionless artificial voice. The green light from the transmission box stayed lit until he confirmed he’d received the orders.
It was too early for anything casual so he guessed it had something to do with the emergency meeting Doc had promised to call that morning.
Why Alex was needed, however, was another mystery entirely.
He’d never been formally named head of security, but the role had been his all the same.
It didn’t matter, titles were meaningless here.
In the security sector they’d all been trained to follow orders and to do it well.
Which was exactly why, half an hour later, Alex was riding the elevator to the fifth floor, his blurry reflection staring back at him from the metal doors until he stepped out. He rounded the corner and stopped.
Luci sat alone outside the meeting room, perched in one of the chairs. At the sight of him, her gaze fluttered upwards and their eyes met for the briefest moment before she turned away as if the contact burned.
It was clear she remembered everything from the night before.
He crossed the distance and lowered himself into the seat beside her, resting his hands loosely in his lap. “Did you sleep okay?” he asked.
Her lips pressed together before she answered. “Eventually,” she said, her tone neutral but stiff, not quite like her. She didn’t look at him when she spoke, focusing instead on a scuff mark on the floor between them.
The silence that followed wasn’t entirely comfortable. Luci shifted in her seat and the faintest crease formed between her brows. Alex wondered if she was replaying the night before too. Maybe she was wondering why he’d pulled back when she’d finally given him an opening.
He almost reminded her, almost said he wanted to remember that moment without the haze of alcohol between them, that he wanted her to remember it too. Instead, he only let his knee nudge hers lightly as a small, wordless reassurance before leaning back in his chair.
“What does your schedule look like tomorrow?” Alex asked casually.
Luci shrugged her shoulders. “Not sure. Depends on what comes out of this meeting, I guess.”
He nodded slowly, letting them settle into silence before speaking again. “Then do me a favor. Be free around eight, and…I’ll need to borrow your kitchen.”
Her eyes moved back to him, this time holding his gaze as her brows scrunched together ever so slightly. She always looked unfairly beautiful when she was confused. “Why?”
“I’m making you dinner,” he said, his lips curving just a little. “No wine this time. Just you, me, and a home cooked meal.”
A quiet laugh escaped her. “Like a date?”
“Exactly like a date,” Alex replied, his tone firm because he wanted there to be no mistaking his intentions.
“Okay. I’ll be free at eight,” she said, smiling a little as she leaned back into her chair.
Alex couldn’t help but smile too. They’d find a way to avoid trouble, but he wanted to do it together. He could protect her and fight for her at the same time.
Before either of them could say anything else, the meeting room door opened and a security officer dressed in black stepped out, giving them both a curt nod. “They’re ready for you.”
Inside, the long oval table was filled with faces Alex recognized.
Doc was at one end, and there were a few senior medical officers and several members of the administrative council.
He guided Luci to two empty seats, letting his hand softly brush against her back before he finally sat down beside her.
The council woman at the head of the table leaned forward with her hands interlocked in front of her.
“Dr. Castillo,” she began, her tone clipped but not unkind, “on behalf of the Institute, we would like to offer you our congratulations. Your work has produced the first viable vaccine candidate in three years. Effective immediately, you are released from the reproduction program.”
Alex watched as Luci’s breath caught. For a moment, it was just relief flooding through her, so overwhelming they both almost didn’t notice the pause in the woman’s voice — the pause that meant something else was coming.
“Furthermore,” the council woman continued, “your time debt to the Prometheus Collective will be considered paid in full on one condition.”
Alex’s jaw tightened and his gaze sharpened. “What condition?” he asked.
“That’s where you come in, Sergeant Ramirez.
You and Dr. Castillo will personally oversee the transport and delivery of the vaccine to AZ-7 in Arizona,” she said, sliding a slim datapad across the table toward them.
“It is the only facility still equipped for full scale replication and distribution. Should both of you accept, you will leave within 24 hours.”
Doc glanced between them and quickly added, “A mission of this nature will require a field team. Alex, you can select the operatives who will join the both of you.”
Alex took the datapad, scanning the encrypted briefing quickly. “And if we refuse?”
“Then the offer is void,” the council woman replied smoothly. “Dr. Castillo remains in her current obligations, her debt outstanding.”
Alex turned to Luci, who sat frozen with wide eyes. A mission like this was borderline suicide, even for someone who had spent years training to kill the living and the infected without hesitation. But Lucilla? She’d likely never even held a gun, let alone pulled a trigger.
But he had sworn to protect her, and he meant it — no matter what it cost him.
“I’ll go,” he said steadily. “But Dr. Castillo stays here. Out there, she’ll be a liability, and there’s no reason to risk her life.” It was a compromise he hoped they would at least consider.
“Alex, no — ” Luci whispered sharply, but he didn’t look at her. He already knew that the Prometheus Collective didn’t negotiate, not when they’d already decided what they wanted.
The council woman leaned forward. “That won’t work, Sergeant Ramírez. The facility will require Dr. Castillo’s presence on-site to oversee the initial trials and verify the vaccine’s stability. Without her, the delivery is meaningless. This mission is for both of you or neither of you.”
Alex’s jaw tightened. “Then you’ll have to find another soldier because I’m not dragging her into the field just so she can die before she even sees the facility.”
The woman’s smile was thin and predatory. “We thought you might say that.” She tapped a folder on the table, letting the silence stretch before continuing. “We have intelligence on the location of Noah Castillo.”
Luci’s head snapped up so fast Alex thought she might get whiplash.
“If you complete this mission,” the woman continued, “we will dispatch a retrieval team. We can bring him back here safely. Alive.”
Alex’s gut twisted. This was all too neat, too convenient. Prometheus never gave without taking more in return. It reeked of bait, and he knew it. “And if this so-called intelligence is wrong?” he challenged. “What if you’re sending her out there on the promise of a ghost?”
The woman’s gaze didn’t waver. “That’s a risk Dr. Castillo will have to decide to take for herself.”
“I’ll do it,” Luci said, the words tumbling out before Alex could stop her.
Alex turned to her, disbelief flashing across his face. “Lucilla — ”
She didn’t look at him, her eyes locked on the council woman. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“Sergent Ramírez still needs to agree,” the woman responded, turning everyone’s gaze to him
Alex’s pulse hammered in his ears and the meeting room blurred at the edges of his sight. He’d seen Prometheus play this game before. They dangled hope like a glimmer of light in a dark cell, just enough to make you walk willingly into your own cage. And they’d found Luci’s weak spot.
He wanted to grab her by the shoulders, to shake some sense into her and make her see the trap for what it was, but the determination in her eyes told him she was already gone to that place in her mind where nothing mattered except being reunited with Noah.
“Fine,” Alex responded, the words tasting bitter in his mouth. “But, we’ll need plasma reserves to get us there. And I get to call the shots once we’re outside your walls.”
The council woman shook her head at the first request. “No. You will find an alternative method of travel. Every ounce of plasma we have has been rationed,” she explained, staring Alex down as if she happily welcomed resistance.
“Your second request can be granted, however. You will be in control the moment Dr. Castillo is beyond our walls.”
The woman made it sound so simple, and he knew why. Prometheus didn’t care what happened to them, so long as the vaccine reached AZ-7.
Alex sat back in his chair and forced himself to breathe evenly. Every instinct told him this mission was a death sentence, and now, thanks to them, Luci would be walking into it with him. No matter what promises they made about Noah, Alex couldn’t shake the certainty curling in his gut.
If they failed, the only body they’d bring back would be hers.