The city’s morning air carried a crisp bite, sunlight spilling gold across the jogging path that cut through one of the quieter districts. To the average passerby, Zaria’s presence here looked casual—her sleek athletic wear, her earbuds dangling around her neck, her phone strapped to her arm like any other jogger. But Zaria didn’t believe in coincidences. She had spent days listening, cataloguing, watching. Nova had once let slip, almost carelessly, that Adrian preferred this trail for his early morning runs whenever he wanted solitude away from the press of the city.
And solitude, Zaria thought, was exactly where men like Adrian were most vulnerable.
She spotted him before he spotted her. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in black running gear that hugged his frame, his strides long and p
