Lucas

The night before, I had promised myself to keep my distance.

Distance kept people safe.

Distance kept my enemies guessing.

Distance kept me sane.

But sanity was overrated when it came to her.

I had been up before dawn, the old habit of a man who’d learned the value of watching the streets before the streets watched him. From the terrace of my apartment, I could see the city waking — a mix of gold light breaking through the alleys, and shadows crawling back into their holes. ...