The man In Black
Rain painted silver streaks across the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Haynes apartment.
Luna Haynes leaned against the kitchen counter, stirring sugar into her coffee while the city yawned awake beneath a blanket of gray clouds.
“You’re going to be late,” Liam called, buttoning the cuffs of his navy shirt.
“I’ve got ten minutes.”
“You’ve got three.”
She looked at the microwave clock.
“...You’re annoying.”
“I learned from the best.”
Luna rolled her eyes before grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and tossing it at him.
He caught it with one hand.
“Nice try.”
The apartment had never felt empty because Liam had never let it.
Ever since their parents died six years ago, he’d worked twice as hard to make sure Luna never felt like she’d lost everything.
Sometimes she wondered who looked after him.
A knock echoed through the apartment.
Liam glanced toward the door.
“That’ll be Xander.”
Luna froze.
Of course it was.
Three knocks.
Always three.
Liam opened the door without asking who it was.
A tall figure stepped inside, bringing the scent of rain and expensive cologne with him.
Black tailored suit.
Black gloves.
Black watch.
Everything about Xander Volkov looked deliberate.
Even silence seemed to obey him.
His dark eyes swept across the apartment before briefly landing on Luna.
“...Morning.”
His voice was calm.
Deep.
Unreadable.
Luna forced herself to nod.
“Morning.”
That was it.
No smile.
No conversation.
And I hated it.
Just another one of those glances that lasted barely a second but somehow lingered for hours afterward.
Liam grabbed his car keys.
“Ready?”
Xander nodded once.
As they headed for the door, Liam looked over his shoulder.
“You still coming to dinner tonight?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Anna’s coming too.”
Luna laughed.
“Because you’re hoping she’ll finally stop pretending she doesn’t like you.”
Liam nearly dropped his keys.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure.”
Xander’s expression remained unreadable, though Luna could’ve sworn the corner of his mouth almost twitched.
Almost.
“See?” she teased. “Even your best friend thinks you’re obvious.”
Without missing a beat, Xander opened the apartment door.
Rude...
“I never said that.”
Liam laughed.
“Traitor.”
The two men disappeared into the hallway.
Luna waited a few seconds before peeking through the window.
Outside, a sleek black car idled at the curb.
Xander walked around to the driver’s side, but before getting in, he looked up.
Straight toward her window.
For one impossible moment, their eyes met through the rain.
Neither of them looked away.
Then...
He got into the car.
The engine purred to life.
And within seconds, both men were gone.
Luna exhaled.
“What is your problem, Xander Volkov?”
She had asked herself that question countless times.
He was Liam’s closest friend.
He’d been around for years.
Yet she couldn’t remember a single conversation with him that lasted more than two minutes.
He was distant.
Cold.
Impossible to read.
And somehow...
He always left her wondering what he wasn’t saying.
