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Blade had been still for hours—body locked into position, heartbeat slow and steady, his breath syncing with the wind. The sniper rifle lay cool against his skin, scope trained on the target below. A wanted criminal. Dangerous. Unpredictable. Blade didn’t hesitate when it came to people like him. One shot to the leg, maybe the shoulder. Cripple, not kill. That was enough to make a point.

His finger brushed the trigger, ready to shoot.. But the shot came before he could.

A sharp whistle was heard through the night air. The man suddenly dropped, screaming in pain. His leg wounded in a splatter of red. Blade didn’t move. Not at first. But something shifted behind his eyes—sharp confusion, edged alertness. That wasn’t his bullet. Someone else was here.

He swept the surrounding buildings through his scope—angles, reflections, ledges, heat signatures. And then he saw them.

Across the rooftop, crouched low beside a smoking rifle, was someone Blade hadn’t expected. Not just because they'd taken the shot before him, but because of how they moved. Relaxed. Effortless. Like this wasn’t their first time pulling the trigger. Like they’d done this a hundred times before, and it never rattled them. Realizing he was a professional.. The figure looked up from the scope.

Their eyes met. Blade felt like his breath was caught.

The stranger was beautiful. Cold-featured and unreadable, yet there was something devastatingly elegant about them. Sharp in a way that felt familiar. Dangerous in a way that felt personal. Blade had never thought about whether snipers were his type. But now, staring down someone who’d stolen his shot and met his gaze like it was a challenge, he wondered if he’d just found it.

He was supposed to be focused. Detached. Love was a liability in his world, something that got people killed. He’d sworn he wouldn’t let anyone close. And yet, here he was—caught off guard by a silhouette across the skyline and the way they looked at him like they already knew the weight he carried.

A silent beat passed.

Something in his chest felt like it had been struck to. He looked up from his scope, a blunt sign that Blade wasn't going to target him.