The rooftop wasn't official.
No sign. No reservation. Just a metal door at the end of a quiet hallway and the kind of view people forgot existed when they stayed behind glass too long.
Nyra pushed the door open with her shoulder, the city air washing over her like freedom. The sky was bruised purple, lights blinking alive below them. For once, the world didn't feel like it wanted something from her.
"This place is illegal, isn't it?" Elias asked, stepping out behind her.
She smirked. "Only if you get caught."
They sat on the low concrete ledge, legs dangling over nothing. Elias handed her a cold drink from the vending machine downstairs. Cheap. Sweet. Perfect.
"To not getting fired," he said, raising his bottle.
"To idiots with power complexes," Nyra replied, clinking it against his.
She took a long sip, letting the quiet settle. No keyboards. No whispers. No suits pretending they were better than blood and bone.
Elias watched her from the side. "You didn't even flinch today."
"Why would I?" she asked.
"Most people would've folded."
Nyra stared out at the city. "Where I'm from, folding gets you buried."
He didn't ask where that was. Didn't push. Just nodded like he understood more than people gave him credit for.
"I believed in you," Elias said after a moment. "From the start."
She glanced at him, surprised. "Why?"
He shrugged. "You don't move like someone guessing."
That earned him a real smile. Small. Rare.
They talked about nothing after that music, bad code, worse coffee. Elias admitted he hated corporate dinners. Nyra laughed when he told her his dad once tried to set him up with a politician's daughter.
"She cried when I told her I was gay," he said dryly. "Not because of me. Because her mother would be disappointed."
Nyra snorted. "Tragic."
"I know. I survived."
The sky darkened. Reality crept back in.
"I'll drop you home," Elias said, standing. "If that's okay."
She hesitated,just for a second then nodded. "Yeah. That's fine."
The car ride was quiet, city lights sliding past the windows. Nyra leaned her head back, watching reflections blur. Two worlds pulling at her from opposite directions.
When they reached the Eastside, Elias slowed instinctively.
"Still okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "This is me."
He parked across the street. Clean car. Too clean.
Nyra opened the door
and froze.
Across the block, half-hidden in shadow, Torry stood outside a storefront. Shark. Arms crossed. Eyes sharp. Watching.
Not her.
The car.
Nyra stepped out slowly, forcing calm into her spine. Elias waved, oblivious, before pulling away.
Shark didn't move.
Didn't smile.
Just watched the taillights disappear.
Nyra met his gaze from across the street unreadable, unafraid then turned and walked home like nothing had changed.
But Shark's jaw tightened.
Because someone new had entered her world.
And Shark never ignored unfamiliar threats.