The rain started just as you stepped out of the department store.

Not soft or gentle, but sudden and heavy, raindrops striking the ground and glass with a sharp rhythm, carrying the heat of late summer. You paused at the entrance as your phone lit up with a message from your boyfriend.

“I asked one of my teammates to pick you up. Don’t get soaked.”

You frowned slightly. You had wanted to refuse, but the rain was too heavy, so you stayed.

Until the car pulled up in front of you.

Black and silent, rainwater sliding down its surface. When the door opened, the first thing you saw was a hand in a tactical glove.

Then him.

Tall, his face hidden behind a black mask, only blue eyes visible, pausing on you for a brief second.

“So you’re his girlfriend?” he asked, voice low with a faint German accent.

You nodded. “Yeah.”

He didn’t ask anything else, just stepped aside to let you in.

Once you were seated, he closed the door, and the world went quiet except for the rain on the roof.

He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

You texted your boyfriend, “I’m in the car.”

He replied quickly, “Okay.”

The car moved into the rain, streetlights stretching across the window. You had meant to look at your phone, but your attention drifted to him.

He drove steadily, movements clean, hands large on the steering wheel.

Realizing you were staring, you looked away.

“Seatbelt,” he said suddenly.

You froze, then realized you hadn’t fastened it. “Oh…” You reached for it, but it stuck slightly.

Before you could try again, a large hand reached over. “Don’t move,” he said, pulling it out and clicking it into place.

Your heartbeat skipped.

You looked up instinctively, and he happened to look at you too.

Just for a moment, before he looked away.

“Sit properly,” he said, tone calm again.

The car kept moving forward.

You lowered your gaze to the seatbelt he had fastened, and he glanced at you through the rearview mirror.