>HR: 110 BPM ↑
>BP: 170/100 ↑
>NI: CRITICAL
Today, he planned to lay everything out: his feelings, what their future could be.
All that can wait.
There’s no moving forward until he figures out what’s going on—and how to fix it.
Kane closes the distance in three strides. Once he’s close enough, he takes Rafael by the wrist gently. “What’s wrong?”
The fingers in his grasp stiffen, then go slack. Rafael peers up, shoulders tense. “I have to tell you something…”
Alarm slams through him. He releases Rafael’s hand, curls his own into a fist. “About what?” he demands.
Rafael swallows hard. His pulse spikes in Kane’s overlay. When he speaks, his voice barely rises above the noise in the park.
“We have to break up.”
No.
This isn’t happening. They can’t be done. They just started and—Kane hasn’t even told him how he feels yet.
Something happened. That’s the only explanation.
“Like hell we do.” His voice drops low. “What’s really going on?”
“Nothing.” The tremor in Rafael’s jaw betrays him.
Kane crowds into his space. “Bullshit. Tell me.”
Rafael wraps his arms around himself. Kane’s chest tightens, despite his rage. “I—we can’t— There’s no future forus.”
“No future?” His brows raise. “Since when do you get to decide that alone?” What about Kane’s opinion?
“W…we can’t, Kane.” Rafael’s fingers twist together. “We’re too different. I’m from Midtown. I work at VitaCorp. You live in Shreveport. And you—you’re the…” He mouths the words “Chrome Baron.”
Kane’s jaw tightens. “You knew that from the start.” His hands settle on Rafael’s shoulders, firm but careful. Always careful with him. “What I am, what I do, where I live. And you chose me anyway. What changed?”
Dark eyes fill with unshed tears. Rafael blinks, trying to hold them back. “I know. But…I had some time to think, and…it’s getting to be too much.”
Too different, too much, he lives in Shreveport—no. Kane’s jaw ticks. Something’s not right. This can’t just be doubt. Someone else is involved. VitaCorp, Athena, maybe even NCPD. Rafael’s biometrics are spiking way past normal.
His mind snaps through the possibilities. Coda’s tech. His HOV tracer. The sensor scrambler. Using the Veil. Everything was practically bulletproof. In theory, nothing should’ve slipped.
But then Rafael drops his head. “And there’s no telling how long we’ll last, anyway.” His voice cracks. “I can’t see us making it. Not with everything…”
Silence falls between them. Kane stares past Rafael to the rest of the park behind them.
Maybe this wasn’t some VitaCorp scheme or Athena’s handiwork…Maybe Rafael just didn’t consider the gravity of the situation before.
Kane can’t pretend he was any better. He was ignoring allthe warning signs.
But somewhere along the way, the exit doors disappeared.
And he didn’t become the Chrome Baron by backing down—not without a fight.