Soulmate Run

Pattern Break (Kai)

I should've killed her.

The thought followed me into the car.

I didn't open the door right away.

Ahead of me, the second vehicle rolled away from the Morgan house.

I waited until it turned the corner before I got in and started the engine.

Then I followed.

The road was quiet.

Too quiet.

My hands stayed steady on the wheel.

They always were.

That wasn't the problem.

The problem was everything else.

Every time I blinked...

I saw her face.

Not an image.

Not a memory I could file away and ignore.

Her face.

Pressed into that narrow space between the wardrobe and the wall.

Silent.

Waiting.

I had been closer than I'd ever needed to be on any mission.

One step.

That was all it would've taken.

One step.

One shot.

It should've been simple.

It always was.

So why did I stop?

A car ahead turned left.

I didn't.

The horn behind me snapped me back just in time.

I corrected the wheel sharply and continued forward.

"...Focus."

The word left my mouth before I decided to say it.

By the time I reached headquarters, the other vehicle had already disappeared into the underground lot.

I parked.

Sat for a second.

Then stepped out.

The building looked like it always did.

Plain. Neutral. Forgettable.

Perfect cover for what happened inside it.

I entered without slowing down.

People passed in the hallway. Phones. Papers. Routine.

No one looked twice.

Good.

They weren't supposed to.

I walked into the briefing room.

My supervisor didn't look up.

"Report."

"The target wasn't located."

A pen moved across paper.

"Area secured?"

"Yes."

"Any interference?"

"No."

A pause.

"Evidence she was there?"

"...None recovered."

He nodded once.

"Continue tomorrow."

"...Understood."

I turned.

"Kai."

I stopped.

His voice stayed even.

"You've never needed a second day."

I didn't answer immediately.

Because the correct answer wasn't available.

So I gave the only one that fit.

"The target left the initial area before we completed containment."

He wrote something down.

"Then adjust your timing."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed."

I left the room.

The corridor was empty.

The lights hummed above me.

I stood there longer than I should have.

Then I looked down at my hand.

The ring on my finger.

I turned it once.

Slow.

Unconscious.

Then stopped.

Why did I hesitate?

That wasn't part of the pattern.

That wasn't me.

I exhaled.

"Get a grip."

This time... I meant it.

But even as I walked away—

I already knew.

Nothing about that mission had followed the rules I understood.