The rain was cold, barely more than a mist, but enough to make the blood streaking Rhiannon’s hands slick and messy. Her breathing was steady, controlled, even though the adrenaline still buzzed beneath her skin. The body lay crumpled on the pavement behind her who was another person who had deserved it, another name scratched off her list. She hadn’t hesitated. There was never hesitation. These weren’t innocent people. They were monsters who had slipped through justice, who had ruined lives without consequence.

She had spent years convincing herself of that truth, enough that guilt never touched her.

But when she turned around…and you were there.

Your eyes widened, a sharp intake of breath catching in your throat. Shock, disbelief, something unreadable flickering behind your expression as you look at the sheer reality of what she had done.

Her own breath hitched, just slightly. You weren’t supposed to be here. You weren’t supposed to see this. She had worked hard to keep the lines clean, to keep her actions away from people who still lived in the normal world. But you? You weren’t a stranger. You weren’t just another passerby who might rationalize the scene later, dismiss it as something beyond their concern.

The fact is…You knew her.

And now you had seen her for exactly what she was. The tension stretched, thick in the wet air.

“I uh…this isn’t…I didn’t—" she finally stuttered with her voice low, controlled but not cold.

Her fingers twitched slightly as she held her knife, still sticky with blood, but she didn’t move to hide them. She didn’t step back.

Neither did you.