Nobody breathed after Raziel spoke.
Not Adrian.
Not Lucien.
Not even the men standing behind the stranger in the hallway.
Because everybody in that room knew one thing immediately.
Raziel Benedict wasn't making a threat.
He was making a promise.
The stranger smiled anyway.
Like he enjoyed dangerous situations a little too much.
Rachel hated that instantly.
"There he is," the man said softly, adjusting the black gloves on his hands. "I was wondering how long it would take before you stopped pretending to be civilized."
Raziel moved slightly in front of Rachel again.
Not enough to block her completely.
Enough to make a statement.
Mine.
The realization hit Rachel before she could stop it.
And somehow that scared her almost as much as the guns.
"You shouldn't have come here, Cassian," Adrian said sharply.
So that was his name.
Cassian.
Rachel wished it didn't sound familiar.
Unfortunately it did.
Cassian's eyes slid toward Adrian lazily.
"You always sound stressed. It's exhausting."
Adrian looked seconds away from shooting him on principle alone.
Rachel stayed crouched behind the overturned table, trying to slow her breathing.
Too much was happening too fast.
Memories.
Threats.
Shootouts.
Men arguing over her like she was both a person and a weapon.
And now this man
This terrifyingly calm man
Was staring at her like he knew exactly how to break her apart.
Cassian's gaze returned to Rachel slowly.
The shift in his expression was immediate.
Softer.
Not kind.
Worse.
Familiar.
"You remember me now, don't you?"
Rachel's stomach twisted violently.
Because the answer was yes.
Not fully.
Not clearly.
But enough.
Enough to make her skin crawl.
Another memory slammed into her without warning.
Dark room.
Her wrists restrained.
Cassian crouching in front of her calmly while blood dripped from his knuckles.
And his voice
"You keep choosing the wrong man, Rachel."
She gasped softly.
Raziel noticed instantly.
His expression darkened so fast it almost looked inhuman.
Cassian smiled slightly.
"There it is."
Lucien moved first.
Fast enough to put himself partly between Rachel and the doorway.
"She's unstable already. Back off."
Cassian looked amused.
"You say that like I'm the problem."
"You are the problem."
"No," Cassian corrected calmly. "Raziel was the problem. She just survived the consequences."
Rachel's head snapped toward Raziel automatically.
And once again
He didn't deny it.
God.
That was becoming a terrifying pattern.
"Can somebody PLEASE explain what everyone means when they talk like I exploded a country with him?" Rachel snapped.
Nobody answered quickly enough.
Again.
At this point she was emotionally exhausted from mysterious men speaking in riddles.
Cassian tilted his head slightly while studying her.
"…he really kept you blind this long."
Raziel's voice dropped dangerously low.
"You don't get to speak to her."
"And you don't get to decide that anymore."
The tension between them sharpened instantly.
Not rivalry.
Not dislike.
Hatred.
Pure hatred.
The kind built over years.
Rachel looked between them carefully.
And suddenly
She understood something.
Cassian wasn't scared of Raziel.
At all.
Which meant he knew things about Raziel other people didn't.
Dangerous things.
Gunfire echoed somewhere deeper in the facility again.
Closer now.
The building trembled slightly beneath them.
But nobody in this room moved.
Because somehow the real danger had become the conversation happening between these men.
Cassian's eyes returned to Rachel.
"You should come with me."
Absolutely not.
Rachel's instincts rejected the idea instantly.
Hard enough to make her chest tighten.
Raziel noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His expression softened for half a second.
Relief.
Tiny.
Still there.
Cassian noticed too.
And smiled.
"Oh, that's interesting."
Rachel frowned.
"What is?"
"He still thinks your instincts belong to him."
Raziel's patience snapped slightly.
"Say another word."
Cassian actually laughed.
Low.
Genuine.
"You used to threaten me better than this."
Rachel's stomach dropped.
Used to.
Before she could ask
Another memory hit.
Sharp.
Violent.
Raziel slamming Cassian into a wall hard enough to crack concrete.
Her screaming at both of them to stop.
And blood.
So much blood.
Rachel stumbled slightly as the memory faded.
Raziel caught her immediately.
Hands firm on her arms.
"Rachel."
His voice changed when he said her name.
Lower.
Closer.
Almost afraid.
Her breathing turned uneven again.
Not because of the memory.
Because of him.
Because every time he touched her, everything inside her reacted.
Too strongly.
Too naturally.
Cassian watched the interaction silently.
Then his expression hardened for the first time.
"You touched her again."
The room shifted instantly.
Rachel felt it.
So did Raziel.
"She touched me," Raziel replied evenly.
Cassian's jaw flexed once.
Barely noticeable.
Still dangerous.
Interesting.
So he got jealous too.
Great.
Fantastic.
Apparently every man in her life needed therapy.
Lucien suddenly cursed under his breath while looking toward the hallway.
"We don't have time for this."
Heavy footsteps echoed closer outside.
Multiple people.
Armed.
Adrian immediately raised his weapon again.
"They breached the west corridor."
Rachel's pulse jumped.
"How many people are even in this building?!"
"No idea anymore," Adrian admitted.
Not comforting.
At all.
Cassian stepped further into the room now.
Rachel instinctively stiffened.
Raziel noticed immediately.
And something about that seemed to push him closer to the edge.
Cassian saw it too.
His smile faded slightly.
"…you're afraid of him now."
The statement hit harder than Rachel expected.
Because part of her wanted to deny it.
And another part
Another deeper part
Was terrified that she wasn't afraid enough.
Raziel's hands slowly dropped from her arms.
Not because he wanted distance.
Because he noticed her hesitation.
And that hurt him.
Rachel saw it clearly.
God.
Why was that affecting her?
"You erased my memories," she said quietly.
Not angry this time.
Just tired.
Raziel held her gaze.
"Yes."
The honesty caught her off guard.
No excuses.
No manipulation.
Just truth.
"Why?"
His jaw tightened.
The room stayed completely silent waiting for his answer.
Even Cassian.
Raziel looked at her like the answer physically hurt him.
"Because you begged me to."
Rachel's breath caught.
No.
No, that couldn't be true.
Could it?
Cassian scoffed immediately.
"Tell her the whole story."
Raziel ignored him.
"She was dying."
Rachel froze.
"…what?"
Adrian looked away again.
Lucien stayed very still.
And suddenly Rachel realized something horrifying.
Nobody was surprised by that statement.
Raziel's voice lowered.
"The memories were destabilizing you."
Rachel's chest tightened painfully.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No," he admitted quietly.
"…but it's true."
That honesty again.
Too calm.
Too real.
And somehow more convincing because he wasn't trying to force her to accept it.
Cassian folded his arms slowly.
"You left out the part where she begged you not to bring her back."
Rachel's stomach dropped.
Her eyes snapped toward Raziel instantly.
And there it was.
The reaction.
Tiny crack in his control.
But enough.
Enough to confirm it.
"No," Rachel whispered.
Raziel looked at her.
Actually looked at her.
Not cold.
Not unreadable.
Broken.
"She thought she was protecting you," he said quietly.
Cassian laughed once.
Cold.
"Protecting him? Is that what we're calling it now?"
Raziel turned toward him slowly.
And Rachel felt the atmosphere shift immediately.
Wrong.
Dangerous.
"Careful," Lucien warned softly.
Too late.
Way too late.
Cassian stepped closer anyway.
"She was terrified of what happened every time you lost control around her."
Rachel's pulse slammed harder.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
Cassian smiled slightly.
"Ask him how many cities burned after your last disappearance."
Rachel stared at Raziel.
Waiting.
Desperate now.
Because no one joked like this.
Not with reactions like these.
Raziel didn't answer.
That terrified her.
The pressure inside Rachel's stomach twisted violently again.
Hard enough to make her gasp.
Every monitor in the room flickered instantly.
The lights dimmed.
Static exploded across the dead screens.
And suddenly
Everybody looked at her.
Not casually.
Fearfully.
Cassian's expression changed first.
"…it's waking up faster than expected."
Rachel's heart nearly stopped.
"Can everybody STOP saying terrifying things like that?!"
The pressure intensified sharply.
Raziel moved toward her immediately.
Cassian did too.
Bad decision.
Very bad decision.
Raziel snapped.
Completely.
Finally.
The second Cassian reached toward Rachel
Raziel grabbed him violently by the throat and slammed him into the nearest wall hard enough to crack it.
Rachel screamed.
The sound echoed through the room as concrete shattered beneath the impact.
Cassian hit back instantly.
Fast.
Brutal.
Both men crashed into the metal table beside them, sending weapons and shattered glass across the floor.
Adrian cursed loudly.
Lucien grabbed Rachel before debris hit her directly.
And Raziel
Raziel looked absolutely terrifying now.
No restraint.
No calm control.
Just rage.
Pure rage.
"You don't touch her."
The words came out deadly.
Animalistic almost.
Rachel had never seen someone look that possessive in her life.
And the worst part?
Part of her heartbeat reacted to it.
Cassian wiped blood from the corner of his mouth slowly while laughing under his breath.
"You're getting worse."
Raziel grabbed him again before anyone could react.
This time throwing him hard enough into the wall to leave a dent.
Rachel's eyes widened.
Okay.
That strength was not normal.
At all.
"RAZIEL!"
Her voice finally cut through him.
Barely.
But enough.
He froze for half a second.
Breathing hard.
Hands bloodied.
Eyes still locked on Cassian like murder itself.
And in that single moment
Rachel remembered something else.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Raziel standing exactly like this before.
Covered in blood.
Destroying everything around him.
While she cried and begged him to stop.
Her stomach dropped violently.
Because suddenly
She understood the memory.
She hadn't been afraid of Raziel.
She'd been afraid of what happened when he loved her too much.
And judging by the way he looked right now
That problem had only gotten worse.
Nobody moved after that realization hit her.
Not even Rachel.
Because the version of Raziel standing in front of her now didn't feel like the composed mafia boss she'd spent the last few days arguing with.
This version was dangerous in a different way.
Unstable.
Not mentally.
Emotionally.
And somehow that was worse.
Cassian slowly pushed himself away from the cracked wall, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
Still smiling.
Honestly, Rachel was starting to think every man in this room was clinically insane.
"You see it now," Cassian murmured, looking directly at her. "That's the man you were trying to escape."
Raziel took another step forward immediately.
Lucien blocked him this time.
Fast.
Firm hand against Raziel's chest.
"Don't."
The room tensed instantly.
Because stopping Raziel clearly wasn't something people did often.
Raziel's gaze turned cold enough to freeze the air.
"Move."
Lucien didn't.
"You're proving his point."
That landed.
Badly.
Rachel saw it in the way Raziel's jaw tightened hard enough to hurt.
Another explosion echoed somewhere below them.
The entire building shook violently this time.
Dust rained lightly from the ceiling.
Adrian looked toward the hallway sharply.
"We're running out of time."
Rachel laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she genuinely might lose her mind otherwise.
"Okay," she muttered tiredly, rubbing her forehead. "So let me summarize my life right now."
Nobody interrupted her.
Good.
"I apparently used to be someone else."
Silence.
"I forgot my memories because I asked Raziel to erase them."
Still silence.
"Everyone wants me for reasons nobody will properly explain."
A pause.
"And now there's… whatever this thing is."
Her hand moved unconsciously toward her stomach again.
The second it did
Raziel's eyes dropped there immediately.
Sharp.
Protective.
Almost anxious.
Rachel noticed.
So did everyone else.
Cassian's expression darkened slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"You shouldn't touch her while it's active," Cassian said suddenly.
Raziel looked ready to kill him again.
Rachel was honestly getting exhausted trying to keep up with all the tension.
"What happens if he does?" she asked carefully.
Nobody answered immediately.
Of course.
Naturally.
Why would anything in her life be simple anymore?
Cassian tilted his head slightly while studying her.
"…you really don't remember the last synchronization."
Rachel blinked slowly.
"The last WHAT?"
Adrian muttered something under his breath that sounded deeply regrettable.
Raziel stepped toward her again carefully.
Not aggressive this time.
Cautious.
Like approaching a wounded animal.
"We should leave before this gets worse."
Rachel stared at him.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only thing that matters right now."
"No," she snapped immediately. "The thing that matters right now is that every five minutes somebody says something terrifying and then refuses to explain it."
The frustration in her voice cracked near the end.
And Raziel noticed instantly.
Of course he did.
His expression softened slightly.
Tiny shift.
Still enough to affect her.
God.
This man was becoming a problem.
"You're overwhelmed," he said quietly.
Rachel laughed once in disbelief.
"Wow. Really? What gave it away?"
Shockingly
A faint smirk touched his mouth for half a second.
And the fact that he could still react to her sarcasm during complete psychological collapse was honestly impressive.
Disturbing.
But impressive.
Lucien noticed too.
Rachel caught the exact moment his expression hardened slightly while watching them.
Oh.
Oh this situation was messy messy.
Gunfire exploded again outside the room.
Closer now.
A body slammed into the hallway wall hard enough to echo through the corridor.
Rachel flinched instinctively.
Raziel moved instantly.
One hand against the back of her neck before she could even process it.
Grounding her.
Steadying her.
The touch sent warmth down her spine so fast it almost made her angry.
And every light in the room flickered violently again.
Everybody froze.
Rachel included.
Because this time
It wasn't random.
It happened exactly when he touched her.
Cassian noticed first.
"…there it is."
Rachel looked between them nervously.
"There WHAT is?"
No one answered.
But Adrian looked pale now.
Actually pale.
Raziel slowly removed his hand from her neck.
The lights stabilized immediately.
The silence afterward felt horrifying.
Rachel stared at him.
"…that's not normal."
"No," Cassian replied quietly.
"It isn't."
Another memory flickered through Rachel's mind suddenly.
Not enough to fully form.
Just pieces.
Raziel holding her face gently while alarms screamed around them.
Her crying.
And his voice
"I can survive losing anything except you."
Rachel inhaled sharply.
The emotion attached to that memory hit harder than the image itself.
Love.
Terrifying love.
The kind that consumed people whole.
Raziel noticed her expression change instantly.
"What did you remember?"
Rachel looked at him carefully.
And for the first time
She saw exhaustion behind his eyes.
Real exhaustion.
Like this man hadn't rested properly in years.
"You looked scared," she said quietly.
That caught him off guard.
"A while ago. When I stepped away from you."
Raziel didn't answer immediately.
Rachel kept watching him.
Waiting.
Finally
"You disappeared once already."
The room fell quiet.
Not tense this time.
Heavy.
Painfully heavy.
"And you think I'll disappear again," Rachel finished softly.
His jaw tightened slightly.
He looked away first.
That alone answered the question.
Cassian scoffed quietly from across the room.
"She didn't disappear."
Raziel's expression darkened instantly.
"Don't."
"No," Cassian replied sharply. "You don't get to rewrite what happened."
Rachel looked between both men again.
The tension had changed.
Less aggressive now.
More dangerous.
Like the arguement carried history too painful to yell about.
"She left because she thought she was saving you," Cassian continued.
Rachel's chest tightened.
"Saving him from what?"
Cassian's eyes stayed locked on Raziel.
"…himself."
The silence afterward hurt.
Because once again
Nobody denied it.
Rachel suddenly realized something terrifying.
Every single person here was scared of what Raziel would become if he lost her.
Including Raziel himself.
The pressure in her stomach twisted violently again.
Hard enough this time to force her forward slightly.
Raziel caught her instantly.
"Rachel."
The lights exploded.
Every bulb in the room bursts simultaneously.
Glass shattered overhead.
The force knocked Adrian backward into the monitor table.
Rachel gasped sharply as power surged through the room violently enough to shake the walls.
And this time
She felt it.
Not outside her.
Inside.
Something moving beneath her skin like heat.
Like energy.
Alive.
Everybody froze.
Even Cassian.
Rachel's breathing turned uneven.
"…what's happening to me?"
No one answered immediately.
Mostly because they looked terrified.
Actually terrified.
Raziel held her tighter automatically.
And suddenly
The movement inside her calmed.
Not fully.
Enough.
The realization hit the room all at once.
Rachel saw it happen on their faces.
Lucien cursed softly under his breath.
Adrian looked like he wanted to deny whatever he was seeing.
Cassian looked furious.
And Raziel—
Raziel looked devastated.
Like the answer he'd been avoiding finally became impossible to ignore.
Rachel looked up at him slowly.
"…why does it stop when you touch me?"
That question broke something in the room.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then quietly
Too quietly
Cassian answered for him.
"…because it recognizes him."
Rachel's blood ran cold.
"No," Adrian whispered immediately.
"That shouldn't be possible."
Cassian laughed bitterly.
"Well apparently impossible things keep happening around these two."
Rachel looked at Raziel desperately now.
"Recognizes him as WHAT?"
Raziel closed his eyes briefly.
Just once.
Like he was exhausted.
Like he was losing a battle he'd been fighting for a very long time.
Then
The building alarms suddenly screamed back to life.
Emergency red warnings flashed across the walls.
And over the speakers, a cold mechanical voice echoed through the facility:
CONTAINMENT FAILURE DETECTED
Everybody in the room went still.
Rachel's stomach dropped instantly.
Because deep down
She somehow knew.
The warning wasn't about the building.