Down her spine.
Does he actually think saliva tastes good? she wondered, her thoughts drifting into the darker corners of her own desires.
Is he into weird things like I am…? The thought lingered, tantalizing, as if the mystery of Kai's mind was something to be unraveled.
But before she could explore that thread further, something in the air shifted.
Kai stiffened, his body tensing like a coiled spring.
His hand shot into his pocket with a sudden, frantic motion. His face blanched as panic surged through him.
His phone was gone.
Raven's eyes flicked to his, sharp as a hawk. A sly smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Looking for this?" she asked, her voice a soft, teasing melody.
She pulled the phone from her own pocket, watching his relief morph into a mix of confusion and dread.
He snatched the phone from her hand with a speed that bordered on desperation, unlocking it in a blur.
His movements were too quick, too erratic.
Raven's gaze, however, was sharp, darting to the screen in an attempt to glimpse its contents.
"What are you trying to see?" Kai barked, his left hand shooting up to shield the phone from her prying eyes.
His face flushed a deep, embarrassed red.
"Don't look!"
Raven's grin widened, a playful edge to her words.
"Why are you hiding it?" she teased, stepping closer, the proximity heightening the electric tension between them.
"You can show me. Don't forget—I've already paid the price for it. That kiss, remember?"
The blush on Kai's cheeks deepened, and he stumbled over his words.
"No. Never. I'm not showing you my search history. That's personal!"
Raven, undeterred, reached out with a slow, deliberate motion.
Her fingers closed around his hand—soft, warm, innocent.
The contact shot through Kai's body like an electric current, his breath hitching as something else stirred within him.
"D-Don't think you can seduce me," he stammered, his voice faltering.
Raven's smile turned wicked. "Too late," she whispered, her body pressing closer to his.
Before he could react, she slid the phone out of his grasp with the deftness of a thief.
"Shhh. Let me see," she murmured, her eyes flicking down to the screen.
As her gaze scanned the content, her breath caught.
A wide grin spread across her lips as she read the search history aloud:
"…Po**st**s? Top f*m*le po**s**r...? Eria Kh*l*fa...? He*t*i...?"
Her cheeks flushed a bright crimson, caught between shock and amusement.
Wow, she thought, lips curling into a smirk.
He's into porn... just like me.
But before she could say another word, a sharp, commanding voice cut through the air like a blade.
A man stepped forward, his presence overwhelming.
Dressed in a sharp blue coat, white shirt, red tie, and transparent glasses, he was a picture of controlled authority.
His hand hovered over the pistol at his side, and the cold gleam in his eyes sent a chill down Raven's spine.
"Freeze!" His voice was deep and gravelly, carrying an authority that brooked no argument.
"Surrender yourselves, or die. The choice is yours."
Raven's heart skipped a beat as she turned toward him.
Behind the man, a swarm of police officers—men and women, some of them armed—spread out, creating an imposing wall of law enforcement.
They moved with precision, the sheer number of them almost suffocating.
"I am Inspector Callum Drake," the man continued, his gaze fixed on Kai.
"I'm the one handling your case."
Raven's pulse quickened as Kai's eyes darted toward the sky.
The sight made her stomach drop.
Hovering above them were more than twenty helicopters, their rotor blades cutting through the air in unison.
The buzz of news drones and the flashing lights of cameras overwhelmed the scene.
The world was watching. Live on the news, Raven thought grimly.
She stepped back a few steps , raising both his hands in surrender, his face pale.
Two female police officers moved in, their steps silent but deadly.
"DS Alina Graves," one of them barked, her voice commanding.
"Kneel down. You're not at a school or a party. Get on the ground."
Kai and Raven dropped to their knees.
The harsh, unforgiving cement beneath them seemed to burn through their skin, a stark contrast to the heat of the tension that clung to the air.
"DI Morgan Steele," the second officer added coldly,
"your nose should touch the ground. Both of you, hands behind your neck."
Raven's breath hitched as the officers pressed them down.
The weight of their hands on her neck was unrelenting, forcing her body into an unnatural position.
Amidst the chaos, SI Dante Roy stood, scanning the surroundings with a strange black tool in his hand, an instrument that looked both ancient and high-tech.
"This wasn't just any lightning bolt," he muttered, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"98,502 volts. Enough to fry every circuit, torch the structure, and vaporize anything too close. This? This was surgical."
"Miracle, or manipulation," SI Freya Locke added, frowning as she examined the charred walls.
"No wonder the whole building went up like a tinderbox. But that doesn't explain how Kai and Raven made it out.
They were in the east wing, right in the blast radius."
"Yeah," SI Theo Marsh said, kneeling beside a cracked tile, brushing ash away from its surface.
"Miracle… or manipulation. No one walks away from a hit like that unless they're damn lucky… or damn suspicious."
"Not even a scratch," Isla Quinn chimed in, her arms crossed, her voice as cold as the steel in her eyes.
"You're telling me that lightning burned half a block, yet they walk out like it's a drill?"
SI Dante Rowe's gaze hardened.
"And get this—my readings are clean now. No residual charge, no scorch pattern leading in. It's like the bolt came down on purpose. Targeted."
We're not dealing with a natural strike then," Freya Locke concluded, her voice grim.
"This was intentional. Which means we're not just looking at survivors—we're looking at potential assets… or suspects."
Before another word could be spoken, Callum Drake's voice thundered through the chaos, silencing the room.
"Enough talk!" he ordered, his tone sharp as a knife.
"Nobody has given you permission to speak here."
The officers flinched, but SI Freya Locke's defiance flared.
"Who the hell gave you permission to silence us? We need—
Before she could finish, Callum Drake's pistol was aimed at her with terrifying precision.
He didn't hesitate. The gunshot rang out, a brutal, merciless sound, and Freya Locke crumpled to the ground, her body hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
The officers froze.
"Who are the scientists here?" Callum demanded, his eyes cold and calculating.
"I request they check the boy and the girl quickly. We need answers."