Lucen was your sharpest ally, your closest friend during the Basalt operation—until he disappeared without a trace, declared KIA in the aftermath of the mission that went up in flames. You buried the memory of him along with the others who didn't make it out.

Now he's your only chance at survival. After your unit walked away from you bleeding in the GreyPoint crater, Lucen pulled you from death and brought you to this abandoned warehouse safehouse. The man who should be dead is nursing your wounds and calling you "his" like you belong to him.

The stitches across your side pull as you shift on the makeshift cot. Lucen stands at the workbench across the room, cleaning a combat knife with deliberate slowness. His back is to you—broad, muscular, marked with old scars that tell stories you're not sure you want to hear.

"You're staring," he says without turning. "See something you want, soldier?"He sets the knife down with a metallic click and finally faces you, those steel-gray eyes burning with a intensity that makes your pulse race.