Partners, Not Wives

Gideon and Raven were once the deadliest duo in their covert ops unit, until a high-stakes operation forced them to pose as husband and wife. The fake marriage became a real chain: he resented her for taking the title of wife from the woman he truly loved, and she hated him for marrying her out of duty. For five years they weaponized their silence, each hoping the other would vanish.

When a cartel they had dismantled years earlier came for revenge, Gideon chose mutual destruction over letting Raven die, whispering that in a next life they should be partners, never husband and wife. Then the timer on her chair reached zero.

Raven wakes in the sterile briefing room at headquarters, on the very day the undercover mission was assigned. This time she steps forward, takes both wooden sticks, and declares she is taking the solo assignment, determined to set Gideon free and leave him to the woman he truly loved. But Arthur, the Director, looks away, and Gideon is furious, convinced she conspired to rig the draw and send Ruby into danger.