Elara arrived ten minutes before opening, just like always. But today she walked slower, kept her head up, and checked the sidewalk from both directions before she even turned toward the store. She didn’t look around for Cole or wait anywhere obvious; she went straight to the front doors like she was the only person on the schedule.
From a short distance away, Cole had already seen her come down the block. He stayed back far enough that anyone watching would just see two separate people arriving for work... Not together, not matching steps, not even looking each other’s way. He reached the entrance a few minutes later, unlocked the outer gate, and started the usual opening steps without a single extra glance toward her.
Right away he noticed something different: a man in a plain dark jac
