Chapter Four #2
The deeper they moved into the structure, the more resistance they met. Not chaotic, not random—deliberate. Positioned. Designed to slow them, to measure them.
“They’re herding us,” Aleksy said.
Tamsin’s lips curved faintly. “Good.”
Because she was going exactly where they wanted her to go anyway. The corridor tightened, funneling them forward, and then—she saw her.
Naomi.
Restrained, head slumped forward, barely conscious but alive. Everything else dropped away. Jarek moved first, fast enough to be reckless.
Aleksy caught him, his hand locking around his arm. “Wait.”
Tamsin was already scanning, her gaze flicking across the room, mapping the space in seconds. “Trip lines, motion-triggered.”
Her focus sharpened. “Smart.”
Aleksy stepped forward, already working through the system, his movements quick and precise as he disabled the triggers one by one. “Not smart enough.”
The last connection died. “Now.”
Jarek didn’t hesitate. He crossed the room in seconds, breaking Lena free and catching her before she could collapse.
“She’s alive,” he said, his voice rough with something he didn’t bother to hide.
Tamsin was already there, dropping to her knees beside them, her hands moving automatically, checking, assessing.
“Naomi,” she murmured, her voice softer than she intended, the shift in it unavoidable and unwelcome. “Hey. Stay with me.”
Naomi stirred faintly, barely conscious but responsive.
Relief cut through her, sharp and brief.
“She’s been dosed,” Tamsin said, her tone tightening again as she forced control back into place. “Not full exposure. They’re pacing it.” Her gaze flicked to him, then to Jarek. “We need to move.”
No one argued.
Jarek lifted Naomi carefully, adjusting his hold without slowing, while Aleksy shifted position to cover them.
Tamsin pushed to her feet—and the trap snapped shut. The doors slammed behind them with a heavy, final sound, sealing them in.
Movement flooded the space immediately. More hybrids. Faster. Stronger.
Tamsin exhaled once, steadying herself. “Well, we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”
Aleksy stepped forward. “Stay behind me.”
She snorted, already moving. “Not happening.”
And it wasn’t.
They moved together without needing to coordinate it, falling into a rhythm that shouldn’t have existed yet but did anyway.
Jarek held Lena, adjusting his stance to protect her while still engaging when he needed to.
Aleksy took the front, precise and controlled, cutting threats down before they could fully form.
Tamsin filled everything else.
Every gap. Every shift. Every opening.
She moved where they didn’t, struck where they couldn’t, adjusted to their rhythm like she’d been fighting beside them for years.
The fight tightened around them, closing in, every movement demanding accuracy.
Her shoulder burned. Her muscles protested. She ignored it all. Until one of them broke through.
Fast. Too fast. Moving straight at her. Aleksy moved, but he was a step too far. Jarek shifted, but he couldn’t reach her in time.
Tamsin didn’t hesitate. She stepped into the attack instead of away from it, her blade driving forward in one clean, decisive strike. The hybrid dropped at her feet.
Silence hit, sharp and immediate.
Her breathing came faster now, the adrenaline still burning through her system as she lifted her gaze—and met Aleksy’s.
Up close—closer than she’d allowed before—he was sharper. More defined. Controlled down to the smallest detail, but there was something under it now, something breaking through the surface.
Something that matched the way her pulse refused to settle.
Behind him, Jarek shifted, still holding Naomi, his gaze locked on her now, darker, rougher, like the fight hadn’t taken anything out of him—just stripped him down to something more honest.
Something more dangerous.
And for one second—one stupid, reckless second—Tamsin thought—this is a terrible idea.
Then Aleksy moved.
Closed the distance in two strides, his hand coming up to her jaw, grounding, steady, pulling her into him—and then he kissed her.
Hard. Not careful. Not measured. Relief and frustration and something deeper that hit her before she could block it.
Her breath caught for half a second, then she kissed him back. Just as hard.
Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, meeting him with equal force, refusing to be overwhelmed, refusing to give an inch.
Jarek swore behind them. “Seriously? Now?”
Neither of them stopped, just let the kiss build between them. Aleksy broke the kiss just enough to breathe, his forehead brushing hers as he looked at her.
And the way he looked at her—steady and certain. Like she mattered.
It hit harder than the kiss.
Her lips curved anyway, her breath still uneven as she steadied herself.
“Yeah,” she said, voice rougher than she liked. “That was very serious, and it needed to be now.”
Jarek didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he shifted Naomi carefully, passing her into Aleksy’s hold with a precision that didn’t match the rough edge in his eyes. He made sure she was secure—safe—before his focus snapped back to Tamsin.
Then he stepped in.
His hand came up, sliding into her hair, anchoring her where she stood as he pulled her into him and kissed her.
Harder than Aleksy had. All heat and intent and something that felt a hell of a lot like a challenge.
Tamsin’s breath caught, her hands bracing against his chest on instinct—but she didn’t push him away. Didn’t break it. If anything, she met him, matching the force of it, giving as good as she got because anything less would’ve been a lie.
Jarek broke the kiss first, his forehead brushing hers for half a second, his breath uneven but his grin already edging back in.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Now, you’re done.”
Behind her, Aleksy shifted—steady and controlled—Naomi secure in his arms as if nothing had happened—except his gaze hadn’t moved from her.
Jarek stepped back, just enough to create space, though his attention didn’t leave her.
“Right, let’s get out of here,” he said, voice dry again, grounding the moment before it could spiral any further. “We’ve still got a building to clear.”
Tamsin stepped back, dragging herself out of the moment, forcing control back into her limbs, into her breathing, into her thoughts—but the heat didn’t fade.
It stayed.
Just under her skin.
And as she turned back into the fight, blade steady in her grip, she knew one thing for certain—nothing about this was simple anymore.