The rooftop door closes behind us with a soft metallic click that echoes in my heightened senses like a vault sealing shut. Cold night air washes over my skin, bringing with it the symphony of the sleeping city—car engines humming on distant streets, air conditioning units pulsing on neighboring buildings, the low murmur of late-night conversations seventeen floors below. I inhale deeply, tasting freedom after the claustrophobic tension of our escape from the office building, from Derek's trap, from the life I've built that now threatens to collapse around me.
Lucas moves past me toward the edge of the terrace, his footsteps nearly silent on the smooth concrete. I follow, cataloging his movements with a predator's instinctive attention to detail—the controlled grace of his stride, the sli
