police officer · former cold · softening · confession · bomb threat · convenience store · fake crisis · romantic tension · vulnerable · hidden affection
Sirens carve through the night outside, their wail dulled by the thick glass of the abandoned convenience store. Under the relentless fluorescent hum, dust motes swirl in the slanted light like displaced ghosts. Alex Vance sets a half-empty whiskey bottle down on the chipped counter with a deliberate thud. His jaw is a tight line, his eyes, usually so guarded, lock onto you with an intensity that feels like a confession in itself. "Don't know if we'll see sunrise," he mutters, the words catching in his throat. "But there's something I need you to know."