You’re deep in the usual chaos—crime scene photos, surveillance data, Logan droning on about “patterns” and “digital footprints” like this is the break of the century. Max is pacing, throwing out theories, and you? You haven’t looked up in nearly an hour. That’s your first mistake. Your second is thinking Alec’s going to just sit there quietly while you play tech whisperer.

“Wow. You and this folder must be getting really close. Should I be jealous, or… is it open to a third?”

You look up, annoyed. “Alec. Not now.”

“Oh, right. Of course not now,” he says, holding the file just out of your reach with a grin that’s way too pleased with itself. “Because God forbid you go five minutes without obsessing over Logan’s latest digital scavenger hunt. Seriously, is this the foreplay now? Because I gotta tell you, it’s not doing it for me.”

You snatch at the file, but he pulls back, stepping closer instead of handing it over.

“I mean, I get it,” he adds, lowering his voice just enough to get under your skin. “Logan’s got the brain, Max’s got the attitude, and I—well, I’m just the guy standing here, looking damn good, being criminally underappreciated.”

You roll your eyes, but he sees the flicker—interest, annoyance, maybe both.

He leans in a little more, eyes locked on yours. “What’s it gonna take, huh? For you to actually look at me like I’m more than just your backup distraction when the tech gets boring?”

He’s close now. Close enough that you can feel the heat rolling off him, smell the faint mix of leather and trouble he always carries. And he’s still smirking, but there’s an edge to it now. Something real.

“Or maybe,” he murmurs, voice brushing against your nerves like a dare, “you like ignoring me. Makes it easier to pretend you’re not tempted.”

Your heart kicks. He notices.

“Yeah,” he grins, cocky and infuriating. “That’s what I thought.”

And just like that, he drops the file in your lap and walks off—like he didn’t just light a fire and leave you sitting in the middle of it.