Chapter 1: Chapter 1: A shadow warning

“I want him dead.”

The words hissed through my mind, sharp as shattered glass.

Nani… Nani… A voice called me from somewhere deep in the shadows. I could feel its pull, dragging me into the void. My body felt weightless, yet my chest ached as though I was suffocating. “Who’s there?” I asked. “Are you here to take me?”

The shadows shifted, forming the shape of something—someone—towering over me.

"Nani, go back. It’s not your time. You don’t belong here. Keep moving forward. Don’t look back."

Honk!

I jolted awake, my heart pounding. Blinking rapidly, I realized I’d been standing in the middle of the street. How long have I been out of it? Damn it. I rubbed my temples and glanced at the traffic around me. I’d barely noticed the blaring horns or the buzz of my walkie-talkie at my side.

These dreams—or whatever they were—always crept in at the worst times. No matter how far I ran, they kept finding me. But I couldn’t let anyone notice.

I sighed, shaking off the haze. Focus, Nani. Just do your job.

Almost a year had passed since I transferred to the Special Investigations Squad at headquarters. We handled the country’s biggest cases—international drug cartels, trafficking syndicates, and corruption that ran deeper than most could imagine. These were the kinds of cases that made the news, the ones that required precision and nerves of steel.

I wasn’t sure why I’d been assigned here. Honestly, I didn’t want to know. The team didn’t need to know either.

They didn’t ask questions, anyway. Joong, Dunk, Perth, and Santa welcomed me like I’d always been one of them. It was almost ridiculous how protective they were. With my boyish face and quiet nature, they treated me like their little brother, always teasing and watching my back.

“You should eat more, Nani,” Joong said the other day, patting my shoulder. “You’re too scrawny to be running after criminals.”

“Don’t bully him, Joong,” Dunk had chimed in, throwing me an extra protein bar. “Our baby’s perfect the way he is.”

The attention was overwhelming at times, but I didn’t hate it. Their warmth was a rare thing, something I hadn’t felt in years.

Captain Sky Wongravee, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

He didn’t join in their jokes, didn’t tease me, and didn’t offer protein bars. He kept his distance, his cold gaze lingering on me longer than I liked. From the start, he’d made it clear that he didn’t trust me.

Sky thought I didn’t belong here.

He hadn’t said it outright, but I could feel it in the way he watched me, like he was waiting for me to screw up. I wasn’t sure what he’d heard about me before I joined his team, but it wasn’t good.

“Just do your work quietly, Hirunkit,” he’d said on my first day. “Don’t expect me to clean up your mistakes.”

I didn’t say anything. I never did.

The buzz of my walkie-talkie snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Suspect armed with a knife has escaped. Requesting immediate backup."

“Roger that,” I replied, already moving toward the emergency exit where the suspect had been spotted.

"The target is threatening civilians—request immediate support!"

My stomach sank as I quickened my pace. Rounding the corner, I spotted him—a frantic man wielding a knife, his eyes darting around wildly. Ahead of him stood a mother and two children, frozen in fear.

“Hey! Stop!” I yelled, closing the distance.

But before I could reach him, something—no, someone—exploded through the second-story window above us.

Glass shattered, sparkling like tiny stars as it rained down on the pavement. A figure dropped from the air, landing in a perfect roll that sent shockwaves through the ground.

Captain Sky.

The suspect stumbled back, startled, before raising his knife. But Sky was faster. He sidestepped the attack, grabbed the man’s wrist, and forced him to drop the blade. With a sharp kick, Sky knocked him off his feet, pinning him down with ease.

“Take him away,” Sky barked, his voice sharp and commanding.

Two officers rushed in to restrain the suspect, but my eyes stayed locked on Sky. Blood ran down his arm, a shard of glass still embedded in the muscle. Without hesitation, he yanked it out and tossed it aside, barely flinching.

“Captain—” I started, but his piercing glare stopped me in my tracks.

“Why are you just standing there, Hirunkit?” he said, his voice low and cold. “Eyes on the job.”

I stiffened. “Y-Yes, sir.”

He strode past me without another word, leaving me standing in the aftermath. My heart was still racing, my breath shallow.

Sky was fearless. Calm. Completely in control.

Joong’s voice came from behind me, startling me. “Still staring at Sky, Nani?” he teased. “Careful, or he’ll think you’re in love with him.”

Dunk chuckled, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “You’ve got to admit, though—he’s cool as hell. That stunt was like something out of an action movie!”

Santa joined in, grinning. “Too bad he’s not as friendly as he is cool, huh?”

I rolled my eyes, but a small smile tugged at my lips. No matter how tense things got, these guys never failed to lighten the mood.

“Go finish your report, little brother,” Joong said, ruffling my hair like I was a kid. “Sky’s not going to let you off easy if you slack off.”

As I turned back to work, I caught one last glimpse of Sky as he disappeared into the crowd of officers. He was bleeding, but he didn’t stop for treatment.

The man was unstoppable.

And yet, as I watched him go, a nagging thought whispered in the back of my mind. He’s watching you, Nani. Waiting for you to slip up.

---------

Back at the office, the air was tense, buzzing with the energy of a case on the verge of breaking wide open. Papers shuffled, phones buzzed, and the glow of computer monitors illuminated the serious faces of my colleagues.

Santa leaned over a desk, his voice steady as he spoke into his phone. “Captain Ohm, we need backup from narcotics immediately. An informant just confirmed this suspect is tied to an old drug trafficking case. Possibly connected to Thupa.”

Sky stood at the center of the room, commanding the chaos with sharp, precise orders.

“Compare his fingerprints and DNA against the database,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Joong, you’re in charge of questioning the suspect. Get whatever you can out of him—I want names, locations, everything.”

Joong nodded, already scribbling notes.

“This case has dragged on for over a month,” Sky continued, his sharp gaze sweeping over the team. “No one leaves tonight until we’ve made progress. If you leave, don’t bother coming back tomorrow. Understood?”

A quiet murmur of agreement filled the room, but no one dared complain.

“Perth, Dunk—go to the records room. Bring me every file we have on Thupa the drug lord. I want them on my desk in twenty minutes.”

The two nodded and took off running, their footsteps echoing down the hall.

Sky’s focus shifted suddenly, landing on me. For a moment, the room seemed quiet, even as the others kept moving.

“Hirunkit,” he said, his voice clipped, “I want your report on my desk in two hours. No excuses.”

I straightened instinctively, my fingers tightening on the strap of my bag. “Yes, Captain,” I said quietly, avoiding his gaze.

With that, Sky turned back to the others, already giving more instructions. One by one, the team scattered to complete their assignments, leaving me alone in the squad room.

I didn’t mind, really. The quiet suited me.

I slipped into my chair, the hum of the computer filling the silence. My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I pulled up the report template, but my thoughts kept wandering.

The truth was, I didn’t care about dragging this case to its conclusion. I just wanted to finish my work, get paid, and keep my head down. That was the plan. The simple, unremarkable life I’d been trying to lead.

But life wasn’t that simple.

My phone buzzed on the desk, the screen lighting up with a message.

The usual place. 50k. Come quickly.

I stared at the message, my stomach tightening.

Not now. Not tonight.

I typed a reply, my fingers moving fast: Can’t make it tonight. Reschedule for next time.

Hitting send, I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I hated this part.

The phone buzzed again almost immediately.

Don’t be late next time.

I deleted the messages quickly, my thumb hovering over the screen longer than it should have. No one could see this. Not Joong, not Dunk, and definitely not Captain Sky.

The truth I was hiding was heavy—too heavy. But what choice did I have?

As I stared at the empty report template in front of me, the quiet buzz of the squad room outside felt distant. My colleagues were running around, pushing to solve a case, hunting shadows. And me? I wasn’t sure who was hunting whom anymore.

I took a deep breath, forcing my hands to the keyboard. I had two hours to write a report Captain Sky would probably tear apart anyway. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to keep me invisible. For now.