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Carla folded her arms, her stance unshakable as she fixed Silas with that cold, unforgiving stare.

“So, Agent Reeds,” she said, her voice steady and final. “Effective immediately, you’re stepping down from this operation. You’ve been compromised.”

The words cut through him like a blade, but she didn’t flinch.

“A new agent is stepping in now,” she continued, her tone sharp with authority. “Someone who won’t hesitate. Someone who won’t get tangled up in feelings.”

The other agents shifted slightly, exchanging quick glances, but no one dared to speak.

Carla leaned forward, her voice low, almost taunting. “You should thank me, Reeds. I’m saving you from yourself before your boyfriend finishes the job we started.”

Silas clenched his jaw, then forced out a crooked grin. “I’m gonna prove myself, Carla. Because no one—no one—can handle him the way I do.”

A few agents in the back burst out laughing. One of them leaned forward, grinning wide. “You mean… on the bed?”

The room erupted in muffled snickers.

Carla’s eyes narrowed, but Silas only smirked, letting the corner of his mouth tilt up. “He’s a very dangerous man,” he said coolly, his voice dropping just enough to silence the laughter. “And I know exactly how I got my way up there. Something none of you could pull off without ending up in a body bag.”

The laughter died. The smirk lingered. And for once, the room was quiet again.

“And Mateo Woods might be innocent,” Silas said, voice flat but sharp, eyes cutting through the room. “As much as y’all don’t want to believe it.”

The words hung there, stupidly dangerous. A beat of silence—then the room exploded. Laughter, loud and nasty, bounced off the walls like bullets.

“You serious?” one agent snorted, wiping a hand across his face. “You gonna stand there and tell us Mateo Woods is clean?”

Silas didn’t flinch. He pushed his shoulders back, chin up. “Give me time. I’ll either capture him for real—or I’ll prove he’s innocent. One or the other.”

The laughter swelled into jokes and catcalls. “Prove it, huh? What’s your plan, pretty boy—seduce him until he confesses?” someone jeered. A few agents hooted.

Carla didn’t laugh. She stepped forward, slow, all steel and cold light. “You think words are enough, Reeds?” Her voice was quiet but carried like thunder. “You think this is a game?”

Silas met her stare, steady. “I’m not playing. I know things. I have leads. But I need time and—” his eyes flicked to the others “—access.”

Carla’s jaw worked. Around them, the room hummed with impatient energy, agents leaning in like vultures sensing a break in the meat. She folded her arms and looked at him like she was measuring whether he’d break. “Access? To what exactly?”

“To Mateo’s movements. His books. His—” he swallowed quick, steadying, “—his people. Let me finish the job my way. Or pull me and throw someone else at him. But don’t pretend you haven’t already seen how this goes.”

One of the younger agents laughed again, louder this time. “What, you gonna go play lover-boy and come back with receipts? Cute.” The room snickered.

Silas felt the burn of every mocking look. He kept his face neutral, voice low and dangerous. “Mock me all you want. I’ll be the one who walks in with proof.”

Carla studied him a long moment, the kind of look that could peel paint. Then she straightened, folded annoyance into authority. “Fine.” She nodded once .“You get a probation window. You screw up—one mistake, Reeds—and you’re off this operation for good. You’re under strict supervision. No off-book moves, no playing lover-boy on mission time.”

Silas let out a quiet breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Deal,” he said.

Carla’s eyes didn’t soften. “And one more thing. If this goes sideways and you’re the reason we lose a target or an agent—” she let the threat hang between them—“you don’t get to say you were following orders. You’ll answer for it.”

Silas nodded. His throat tightened. “Understood.”

The room hummed back to life around them, whispers muttering, bets being placed.

Silas stepped out of the HQ, the heavy steel doors clanging shut behind him.

His face was set,though the nerves in his jaw twitched as he tugged his jacket tighter around himself.

He raised a hand for a taxi, trying to look casual, like he hadn’t just been threatened with career death inside.

A few blocks away, behind the dark glass of a sleek car, Mateo sat slouched low, fingers tapping the wheel. His sharp eyes locked on Silas’s figure.

“What the hell…” Mateo muttered, leaning forward. His jaw tightened, a muscle flexing. “The FBI headquarters?”

The name alone made his blood run colder. He narrowed his eyes, watching as Silas flagged down a yellow cab.

“My pretty boy,” Mateo whispered under his breath, a low, dangerous smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “What are you up to?”

The taxi slowed to a stop. Silas climbed in without glancing back.

Mateo’s hands gripped the wheel tighter, then he shook his head, that smile widening into something sharper. “You’re hiding something from me. And I’ll find out.”

He started the engine with a low growl and peeled out into traffic, vanishing down the street before Silas’s cab even merged onto the road.


The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding. Silas stepped out, his heart thudding in rhyme with his quiet footsteps as he padded down the hallway.

Keycard in hand, he slipped it through the lock of the suite, wincing as the green light blinked and the latch clicked.

He eased the door open just enough to slip inside.

Silas toed off his shoes, moving light and careful. A smirk ghosted his lips as he pictured it—his big, bad boyfriend sprawled across the bed, sheets a tangled mess, bare chest rising and falling in deep sleep.

Silas froze just inside the door. His smirk fell.

Instead of Mateo in the sheets, the man was sitting in an armchair near the window—sharp suit still on, one hand lazily holding a glass of whiskey, the other resting on the armrest like a king on his throne.

Those eyes—dark, dangerous—lifted and pinned Silas in place.

“You’re late,” Mateo said smoothly, taking a slow sip.

Silas’s throat tightened. The door clicked shut behind him.