Surgeon & Captain

conversation with Aidan kept echoing in her mind, the words "dangerous" and "leverage" replaying over and over

nd up after leaving the chaos of her past behind, and she wasn't going to let

he café, but she couldn't ignore the sense that there was more to him than the man he appeared to be. Her instincts told h

so close to him again made her uneasy. The last time she had seen him, he had been so distant, so... different. But

g the occasional nod from familiar soldiers. She had always kept her distance from the military world, ne

was lost in thought, his posture rigid, his jaw clenched. When he turned to see her, h

ith an underlying tension that she couldn't quite p

r hands were clenched at her sides. "But I need to ask you som

th something-an emotion she couldn't quite read. It almost seem

ut there was a hint of wariness in hi

d in something. Something... dangerous. Aidan warned me. He said there are

t he's talking about," he said sharply, though there was a flicker of unease in

ation. "I know there's more to this. I know you're not just here for a r

and Elara saw the vulnerability in his eyes for the first time. He was struggling with somethi

you to get caught up in this. I thought I could handle it on my own, but it's be

mmering in her chest. "Involved in wh

eighing his words carefully. Th

for personal gain, people who will stop at nothing to control everything they can. I've been investigating

in. "Me?" she whispered, her voice barely a

They know about us-about what happened between us all those years ago. They know the bond w

s, about a past she'd tried so hard to bury. This was about her life being used as a weapon in a

"But now that they know you're here, there's no turning back. They won't stop until they

him when everything he had just said felt like a betrayal? He had kept this se

hispered, the words bitter on her tongue. "You kept me i

pain behind his eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you

" she said, her voice trembling with

ed at her, his jaw clenched, his expres

you, no matter what it takes. But we need

ept so many secrets. What was she supposed to do now? What choice did she have but