Thorne POV
The building looked empty. Too empty.
"No guards," Mark whispered, checking the perimeter through his scope. "No cameras I can find. No alarms tripped."
"That's not good," I said. "That means they know we're coming."
"Or it means nobody's actually here," Max said through the comm.
"Someone leased this place tonight," Kelly said. "Someone's here."
We moved in slow, careful steps. The front door wasn't even locked. It swung open on its own when Mark touched it.
"That's an invitation," Elena said, low. "Not a mistake."
Inside, the room was mostly bare. A table. Two chairs. And one man standing calmly near the window, like he'd been expecting company for tea.
"Thorne," he said. "It's been a long time."
I stopped walking. "Cassian."
He smiled, small and tired. "You look older."
"So do you."
Elena stepped up beside me, wary. "You wanted us to find you."
"I did," Cassian said. "I could have hidden much better than this if I wanted to stay hidden."
