Behind the Shadows: A Love Unspoken

Chapter 16: Shadows Closing In

The quiet of the safehouse was unnerving. Normally, the halls hummed with the sounds of the team—Phoenix's loud jokes, Jett's playful taunts, Sage's calming presence. But tonight, silence reigned, heavy and foreboding.

Gekko sat on the couch, absentmindedly scratching Wingman's head as the small creature cooed softly. His side still throbbed, but the painkillers Sage had given him dulled the worst of it. Yet it wasn't his injury keeping him awake—it was the mission. The ambush.

Something hadn't added up.

Across the room, Iso leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on Gekko. Though his expression was stoic, his tension was palpable. Iso had been like this ever since they returned—always close, always watching. Gekko had come to find comfort in it, but tonight, it felt different. Iso wasn't just protective. He was on edge.

"You're staring," Gekko said softly, breaking the silence.

Iso didn't flinch. "I'm thinking."

"About?"

"About how we walked into a trap," Iso replied, his voice low and cold. "And how someone knew we were coming."

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Gekko sat up straighter, his pulse quickening. "You think someone on the inside—"

"I don't know," Iso interrupted, his tone sharper than he intended. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But it doesn't make sense otherwise. They were waiting for us, Gekko. They knew exactly where we'd be."

Gekko frowned, the unease in his chest growing. "Do the others know?"

Iso shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to figure things out first." He pushed off the wall and stepped closer to Gekko, his movements calculated and quiet. "But you need to be careful. If someone is feeding them intel... we don't know who we can trust."

The words sent a chill down Gekko's spine. The team had always been his family. The thought that someone might betray them felt unthinkable.

"I trust you," Gekko said, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him.

Iso stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking onto Gekko's. The intensity in his gaze was overwhelming, like he was searching for something in Gekko's expression. Slowly, Iso knelt in front of him, close enough that Gekko could feel the warmth radiating from him.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Iso said quietly, his voice filled with a rare vulnerability.

Gekko's breath caught. The closeness, the sincerity in Iso's words—it was too much and not enough all at once. His hand trembled slightly as he reached out, his fingers brushing against Iso's cheek.

"Same goes for you," Gekko whispered.

For a moment, the tension between them was electric, the world narrowing to just the two of them. Iso leaned in, and Gekko didn't pull away. Their lips met in a slow, deliberate kiss that stole the breath from Gekko's lungs.

It wasn't frantic or desperate. It was steady, a grounding force amid the chaos surrounding them. Iso's hand rested on Gekko's injured side, careful not to apply pressure, while his other hand cradled Gekko's face, keeping him anchored.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathing heavily, their foreheads pressed together.

"This changes everything," Gekko murmured.

Iso's lips curved into the faintest smile. "Does it?"

Before Gekko could respond, a loud crash echoed from somewhere in the safehouse. Both of them froze, their bodies instantly going into fight-or-flight mode. Iso was on his feet in a second, his hand instinctively going to his sidearm.

"What the hell was that?" Gekko whispered, already standing despite the protest from his injury.

Iso held up a hand, signaling for silence. His eyes scanned the room, his body taut like a coiled spring. The safehouse was supposed to be impenetrable, but now, even that felt uncertain.

"Stay here," Iso ordered, his voice firm.

Gekko shook his head. "Not a chance. I'm not letting you go out there alone."

They locked eyes, and Iso seemed to realize there was no arguing. With a small nod, he handed Gekko a spare blade from his belt.

"Stay behind me," Iso said, his tone leaving no room for debate.

Together, they moved through the darkened halls, the silence now broken by faint, muffled sounds—footsteps? Voices? Gekko's grip on the blade tightened, his heart hammering in his chest.

As they approached the source of the noise, the tension grew unbearable. Iso glanced back at Gekko, his expression unreadable but reassuring in its steadiness.

Whatever was waiting for them, they would face it together.

But as they turned the corner, the sight that greeted them made Gekko's blood run cold.

The door to the server room—the heart of their operations—was wide open, the electronic lock destroyed. And inside, a shadowy figure stood hunched over the console, their hands moving quickly across the controls.

Iso didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, his gun aimed and ready. "Don't move!"

The figure froze, but instead of raising their hands, they turned slowly, revealing a face both Gekko and Iso knew all too well.

It was someone from the team.

The betrayal was written in every line of their face, in the cold determination of their eyes.

"Why?" Gekko asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The traitor smirked, their gaze flicking between Iso and Gekko. "Because nothing's as it seems, Mateo. You should've stayed out of this."

Before either of them could react, the lights in the safehouse cut out, plunging them into darkness.

And then, chaos erupted.