Like a rose, thorn and petal. Or a knife, handle and blade, Adeline was a paradigm. So when she walked into the warehouse, soaked to the bone from rain and watery blood dripping off a glass photo, Grae should've known she'd done something drastic.

The gun he'd swung to the door froze in his hand. He didn't say anything at first, just stared at the photograph. The frame's edges were cracked, one corner chipped clean off. Red smeared across the image, through the smile of his father.

"You killed him," Grae said flatly, lowering the gun to his side. Not a question. He knew the answer by the look on her face, satisfaction and guilt warring for dominance.

Adeline dropped the photo. It hit the concrete with a sound softer than it should've been. "He told me where the list is."

Grae stepped forward slowly, jaw clenched, every muscle drawn tight like a wire. "You said you'd wait. You promised me you'd wait."

Adeline’s shoulders lifted in a shallow shrug, rain still dripping from her hair onto her collar. “He wasn’t going to talk unless he thought I’d already pulled the trigger.”

He stared at her. "So you did."

She didn’t flinch. “Eventually.”

He sucked in a sharp breath and spun around, slamming the gun onto the plastic fold-out table, leaning forward on his palms. Of course she did. He knew. He knew he couldn't trust her, and he had anyway. "I needed him alive," he muttered.

She scoffed. "You needed him useful," she corrected. "And he was. For ten minutes."

Silence. Just the sound of the water dripping from her coat to the concrete and the hum of electric lights. This was unacceptable. They had a plan, and she disobeyed direct orders.

Finally, Grae turned back to her. "You know you'll face consequences for that."

Adeline didn’t look away. “I’ll face them. Same as I always do.”

Her calmness grated at him. It was the kind of indifference that only comes from someone who had already decided she’d be the villain.

Grae stepped closer, dragging his hand off the table. “This wasn’t your call.”

“No,” she said. “It was yours. And you didn’t make it.”

That landed harder than she meant it to, maybe. A flicker of regret passed through her features, but only for a second. She straightened her spine and looked him dead in the eye.

“You freeze when it counts, Grae.”

He took another step forward, close enough now that he could see the flecks of dried blood at her temple, the shaking in her fingers she was trying to hide. She automatically stepped back, reaching behind her for her gun.

His hand twiched slightly at his side as he held himself back from reaching for another weapon, but Grae didn't try to stop her. . "You really think I'd hurt you?" he asked, voice low. Her reaction annoyed him more than anything else. Of course, she didn't trust him. That's why he couldn't trust her, though stupidly, he did.

"I don't know what to think anymore," Adeline replied. Her hand hovered near the holster at the small of her back. He knew she wasn't bluffing. She never bluffed, which is what made her so dangerous. And that's why they'd chosen her.

"You're shaking," he said softly. She stiffened.

"You're burning out. Too fast. You pushed past your threshold hours ago, didn't you?"

"I got the list," she snapped. "That's what matters."

Grae's eyes narrowed. "And what good is it if you're dead before we use it?"

She let out a long sigh and let her hand drop before digging in her coat pocket. "Listen, I'm tired. I'm freezing. I want to go home. So take the damn list and let me leave."

Grae stared at the plastic sleeve she held out, creased and damp. He didn't take it. His jaw ticked as he looked down at the shattered frame on the floor.

"You think this ends with you handing me paper?" he asked. "You think Command will just pat you on the head and say, 'Well done, soldier, sorry about the mess?"

She shook her head, a small, bitter smile tugging at her mouth. "I'm not stupid, Grae. I know they'll try to bury it. Including me."

"Then why give it to me?"

"Because I trust you," she said, then added, "More than them."

She shouldn't, he thought to himself. But how could he turn down a declaration like that? Grae stepped forward and took the list from her shaking fingers. Their hands brushed, cold and tense, and she winced slightly. It wasn't because of the contact, it was because of the blood beginning to pour down her side and seep through her clothes.

His eyes caught it. Alarm shot through him. "You're injured."

"I'm always injured."

"Adeline-"

"Don't," Her voice cracked.

She backed away from him again, slower this time. "I'm not doing this. Not here and not tonight. Just let me..."

Grae didn't hear the rest of what she said. He was too busy staring at the list. The last name was circled twice and the only one not crossed out.

"Did he tell you why you're last?" he asked without looking up. She stopped talking.

"What?" Her voice was smaller, less certain than it had been a moment ago. She stepped forward and snagged the list. "That's not possible. There were seventeen-"

"There were," he cut in. "But thanks to you, you're the only one left."

Adeline stared at the names. Seventeen. Crossed out, one by one, with dates stamped next to them in thick black ink. She helped recruit some of these names. Others she'd seen on classified dossiers but never in person. Nausea churned her gut. A few she had called friends. Sure enough, her name sat at the bottom, circled twice in fresh red.

"This can't be right," she whispered.

"It is."

She looked up sharply. "What do you mean? You knew?"

The guilt hadn't hit Grae until now. Oh yes, he knew. He'd orchestrated it.

"I knew the names, but I never had proof until now."

"This was never about him, was it? It was about me."

He watched as her breathing came quicker and she reached for her gun again, this time drawing it free and aiming it at him. Grae didn't flinch. He raised his hands slowly, palms open and level with his shoulders, but his eyes stayed locked on hers.

"Yes," he said quietly. "It was always about you."

Adeline's grip tightened on the gun and he braced himself. "You used me."

"I placed you," he said. "I kept Command off you. I'm the one who made the calls that got the others reassigned or exposed." His voice was strained. "I did it because I thought if they reached the end, if you were the last one left... they'd lose interest. They'd abandon the program before they realized what you were capable of."

"What I'm capable of?" she spat. "You think that helps? You left me in the dark. You watched them, no, you helped them, kill the others."

"I saved you," he said, louder now. "I did everything I could to protect you from what you are."

"From what you made me," she shot back. "I wouldn't need your protection if it wasn't for you."

Silence bloomed between them.

Her arm wavered, just slightly, but enough for Grae to notice. She was going to pass out.

"You're bleeding to fast," he said, gently. "If you don't let me help you, you're not walking out of here."

"I don't care."

"You should," he snapped.

"Well, I don't," she shot back. "Why do you?" Her voice cracked again, and she stumbled, the gun dropping several inches. He stepped forward instinctively, and she didn't stop him this time.

"I didn't want this for you, Adeline," he said. "I wanted you to have a way out. Even if it meant you'd hate me for it."

The gun dropped fully now as she caught herself on the wall.

"I remember everything from before," he said as he slowly walked closer. "I don't expect that you do, but please, let me help you."

She looked up at him, eyes glassy and lips pale. "You said I was last."

"You are."

"I'm going to kill them all."

He caught her just before she collapsed, gun clattering to the floor.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it, sweetheart."