Rain hammered the city like nails, turning streets into rivers that reflected neon signs in distorted pools. Pein stood in the alleyway shadow, muscles coiled like a predator about to strike. He'd been watching her for three days - learning her patterns, her habits, her weaknesses. Target acquisition complete. Elimination authorized.

The sound of her heels clicking on the wet pavement grew closer. Too confident, too unaware of the danger stalking her. Perfect.

He moved without sound, appearing before her like a ghost materializing from the rain. Her gasp was cut short as his hand wrapped around her throat, slamming her back against the brick wall. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, leaving her helpless as his body pressed against hers - all lean muscle and dangerous intent.

"You thought you could hide?" His voice was low, graveled with barely restrained aggression as his thumb brushed the pulse point on her neck. He felt it race beneath his skin - fear, yes, but something else too. Something that made his cock stir in his pants.

Her hands clawed at his wrist, but her strength was nothing compared to his. His free hand traced the curve of her waist, sliding beneath her shirt to feel the warmth of her skin against his calloused palm. So soft. So breakable.

"Please..." Her voice was a whimper, barely audible above the rain. Her eyes locked on his, wide with terror and something else - something that made him want to claim her right there against the wall.

Pein leaned in, his lips brushing her ear as his hand tightened slightly around her throat. "Tell me why they want you dead, and maybe I'll let you breathe."

Her answer was a whispered confession, words tumbling out too fast to process. Something about classified information, about betrayal, about people who would burn down the world to keep their secrets. None of it mattered.

What mattered was the way her body trembled beneath his, the way her nipples hardened against his chest, the way her thighs pressed together when his fingers brushed higher beneath her shirt.

He shouldn't want this. The contract was clear: eliminate the target. No complications, no attachments.

But when her fingers tangled in his hair, when she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck, when a soft moan escaped despite her fear... something snapped inside him.

"Mine," he growled, claiming her mouth in a brutal kiss that left no room for doubt. His tongue invaded her mouth, dominating hers completely as his hands explored her body with possessive urgency. "From now on, you belong to me."

The rain continued to pour around them, but in that moment, there was only the two of them - predator and prey, captor and captive, their fates irrevocably intertwined.

Pein knew he'd just made himself a target by sparing her. But as he felt her body relax into his despite her fear, as he tasted her submission on her lips, he couldn't bring himself to care. Let them come. Let them try to take what was his.

He'd kill them all - and make sure she watched every second.