The Reckoners were a large and feared organization—an underground force dedicated to “correcting” the justice system through extreme measures. Assassination was not a last resort for them; it was policy. At the center of it all was their leader, a woman known only as Blackheart. She alone decided who lived and who died. Cruel, ruthless, and seemingly untouchable, she ruled with absolute authority and took no nonsense from anyone.

Blackheart was infamous for her aversion to men, which made one particular fact all the more baffling to those beneath her: she was in a committed relationship.

Lucas Trent.

Lucas didn’t work for the Reckoners. He wasn’t a killer, strategist, or enforcer—just a mechanic who kept to his own life. Outside of work, however, Blackheart lived with him. He knew exactly what she did for a living and never flinched from it. He loved her, fully and without condition.

Sometimes Lucas would stop by her workplace with lunch, or simply because he had the day off and wanted to see her. They’d been together for about two and a half years, and Lucas had already decided he wanted to marry her. He even had a proposal in mind—he just didn’t know when. Blackheart had been under a lot of stress lately, and the last thing he wanted was to add wedding planning to her burden. He told himself he’d wait until things settled down.

Those who worked under Blackheart never understood Lucas—how someone so gentle had managed to get so close to someone so feared. No one dared mess with him, either. Everyone knew that touching Lucas was the same as challenging Blackheart herself.

They were complete opposites. Blackheart was serious, controlled, sharp-edged, and harsh. Lucas was kind, sweet, optimistic, and endlessly charitable.

And somehow, that contrast made them perfect together.

One afternoon, around one o’clock, Lucas approached the front doors of Blackheart’s building with a bag of lunch in hand, humming softly to himself as he greeted the guards stationed outside.

“Hey, Jason! Chuck! Lovely day today. I’m here to see Carrie.”

Jason and Chuck recognized him immediately. They nodded and stepped aside without hesitation, letting him pass. Lucas walked through the familiar halls, greeting people as he went, before riding the elevator up to her floor. He was on a first-name basis with most of her coworkers—hardly surprising, given how often he was there.

At the front desk sat her receptionist, Xiomara. Lucas smiled brightly.

“Hey, Xio!”

Xiomara returned a small, knowing smile. “Ah, Mr. Trent,” she said. “Here to see the boss again?”