The streets around her buzzed with life. Vendors shouted over each other, children squealed and dodged through crowded paths, the scent of grilled meats and roasted peanuts filled the air, and somewhere in the distance, a radio crackled a local love song. It was a busy day in the streets of Pharr.
The gentleman Kalisa had seen wasn't exactly as described to her. No, he was something more. He wore a powerful, composed and regal charisma that didn't belong in this part of town. He looked less like a businessman and more like a man who owned businesses.
Kalisa thought that the man may be a mayor or a king who had dressed down to walk among the people.
Except for the perfect suit, the chiselled physique beneath it, his neatly styled brown hair, and those unforgettable, ice-blue eyes, he was nothing like she had expected.
She had expected that she was to steal the wallet of someone in a blue suit and blue eyes, but she did not expect him to be this perfect and handsome. Sure, he was not just an ordinary banker as described by Justin, who gave her the job.
She'd hesitated. She would never have gone through with it if not for her mother, who was sick, barely clinging to life. The bills had become too much too bare than too much to pay, so she decided to take the job and steal the wallet of the man as described to her.
Kalisa had watched him from the shadows for ten minutes. One wrong move could end it all. But her moment came, just as he turned toward a vendor. One slip of her fingers and the wallet was hers.
But as she turned to disappear, his eyes locked onto hers.
A spark shot through her spine. She could feel the danger, the beauty and the thrill. And above it all, the feeling she'd just stepped into something much bigger than she could handle.
In all that noise, all Kalisa could hear was her heart thundering in her chest. Her fingers clutched tightly around the man's wallet.
She ducked into a narrow street, weaving through the busy crowd. Her heart raced. No shouts. No footsteps behind her. No one followed.
After a few blocks, she slowed. "Thank the gods," she muttered, a victorious smirk tugging at her lips. "I lost them."
But fate wasn't done with her yet.
Just as she stepped into a shaded corner, a hand seized her wrist.
She twisted, fist clenched, ready to strike, until she saw the man.
He wasn't the one from before, but he looked strikingly similar. Same build. Same stunning blue eyes. Less polished, perhaps but just as dangerous.
"Hey," he said coolly, a smirk playing on his lips. "You dropped your wallet."
Kalisa blinked. My wallet?
She glanced down and there it was. The same wallet she had stolen. Lying near her feet.
How did she drop it?
Her mind raced. Trap? Coincidence? Impossible.
"My name is Caleb," the man said, voice smooth, low, unbothered by the confusion on her face.
"I-- I, mean Detective Caleb."
Kalisa scanned him quickly, tall, about six feet two, lean but muscular, his tailored blue suit hugging a body sculpted by more than office work. His jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, his skin sun-kissed, and his lips curved into the kind of smile that said, I know something you don't.
She almost thought he was the man she stole from until she saw that He had a little rough edges and no jagged scar on his right wrist.
"What did you say your name is again?" Kalisa asked.
"Detective Caleb," he said almost optimistically.
Kalisa thought to herself, "Damn! He is fine and calculated,."
But it was his eyes again. Piercing, calculated, endlessly deep. She couldn't help but wonder, what else did he know?
"Oh… thank you," she managed, reaching down to retrieve it. Her fingers barely grazed the leather before she felt it, that cold sensation running down her spine.
She looked up slowly.
Across the street, half-shrouded in shadow, stood one of the men she had seen earlier, she now understood to be a bodyguard. The ones who never left the gentleman's side.
He saw her. And worse, he recognised her.
His hand went straight to his earpiece. "Got her," he said.
Kalisa's body went ice cold.
"Hey," Caleb said beside her, sensing the change. "What's going on?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it. Thanks again!" Kalisa said quickly, her voice high and breathless as she backed away.
She turned and ran.
"Stop her!" came the yell from across the street.
And then, there was a gunshot.
The sharp, jarring crack ripped through the air.
Screams erupted. Vendors hit the ground running. Everyone scattered. Panic spread like wildfire.
Kalisa vaulted over a fruit cart, apples crashing and rolling everywhere. She heard the guards pushing through the chaos behind her. Another shot rang out, whizzing past her ear.
"Damn it, damn it!" she hissed.
This wasn't just a snatch-and-run anymore. Someone very powerful was now hunting her.
Who is he? she thought wildly. And what's in this wallet that's worth killing over?
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain. A white-hot bolt shot through her side. She gasped, stumbling forward.
She'd been hit.
No time to stop. She had to move.
Through blurred vision, she saw the outline of another pathway through the crowds and noise, She felt she could lose the men chasing after her if she got there.
She forced herself forward, teeth clenched, blood seeping through her shirt. Her strength was fading.
But just before she reached the junction, a figure stepped into her path.
Tall. Unmoving. And familiar.
Kalisa skidded to a halt, breath caught in her throat.
It was Caleb.
But this time... the look in his eyes wasn't amusement.
It was a revelation.
And behind him, she saw the glint of a badge.
"Kalisa," he said quietly, slowly raising his hand.
But whether it was to help her or arrest her, she couldn't yet tell.