The apartment felt different when Jojo slipped back inside—like the air itself was heavier. She shrugged off the handler’s jacket, trying to steady her hands before anyone noticed. But Alex was already waiting, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
“Two hours,” he said flatly. “You promised me two hours.”
Jojo flinched at the tone. Buddy lifted his head from the couch, ears pricked, and Thunder whined softly, sensing the shift.
“I made it back, didn’t I?” she countered, forcing a steady voice.
Alex stepped closer, jaw tight. “Barely. You’re pale as hell. Something happened in there.”
For a heartbeat, she almost told him—about the man with the burning eyes, the way his words had sliced right through her disguise. But instead, Jojo brushed past, reaching for the water bottle on the counter. “I got what we needed. That’s what matters.”
“Stop it.” His voice cracked through the silence, sharper than she’d heard in weeks. “Don’t give me the mission-first speech. I’m not some rookie soldier. I’m your best friend. And if something shook you that bad, I deserve to know.”
Her grip on the bottle tightened. The truth teetered on the edge of her tongue—but then she looked at him, really looked. The worry in his eyes wasn’t tactical; it was raw. Pure.
Jojo exhaled, setting the bottle down with a thud. “I am fine, Alex. Don’t worry.”
“Don't worry? Yeah, why will I get worried? Whom am I to you? Right.” He raked a hand through his hair, frustration spilling over. Jojo, "Alex—"
“One day you’ll push too far and I won’t be there to drag you back.”
The words stung deeper than she expected. Before she could answer, Rhea cleared her throat from the desk, breaking the tension.
“Uh… sorry to interrupt the drama, but you’ll want to see this.” She tapped her screen, files sprawled across it. Blueprints. Shift schedules. Supply routes.
Jojo and Alex leaned in.
“Site Gamma isn’t just a kennel,” Rhea explained. “It’s a fortress. Guard rotations are doubled at night, and their security grid runs on a cycle—two minutes blind every half hour.”
“Two minutes isn’t much,” Jojo muttered.
“It’s all we’ve got.”
Silence hung heavy. The dogs shifted restlessly, their ears twitching. Thunder padded over to Jojo, pressing against her leg, as if anchoring her to the moment. Buddy leaned against Alex, almost protective.
Jojo crouched, burying her fingers in Thunder’s fur. For a second, the warmth steadied her. But behind her closed eyes, she still saw him. That sharp gaze. That mocking smirk. The way he’d called her Detective like he already knew everything about her.
His voice echoed in her mind: Consider me your shadow.
Her stomach knotted. Shadows could be ally or enemy. And Taehyung? He was both at once.
Jojo straightened, masking the storm inside her chest. “Then we plan. Carefully. If Gamma’s a fortress, we’re going to need every second of that two-minute gap.”
Alex searched her face, like he could see the weight she wasn’t saying out loud. But he didn’t press further—not yet. Instead, he simply nodded. “Then we do this together. No more solo stunts.”
For once, Jojo didn’t argue.
---
The coffee table was buried under maps, blueprints, and empty coffee mugs. Alex sat at the laptop, screens glowing across his glasses, while Rhea leaned over the table, marker in hand, circling weak points on the schematic of Site Gamma.
Jojo sat opposite Alex, Thunder curled at her feet, Buddy sprawled nearby like a silent sentinel.
“This grid cycle,” Rhea said, tapping the blueprint, “gives us two minutes of darkness every half hour. It’s not much, but it’s our only way in.”
“Two minutes is enough if we move smart,” Jojo replied, her tone calm, almost too calm.
Rhea frowned. “Unless they’ve changed the system since the files were stolen.”
Alex shot her a look. “Don’t jinx it.”
Jojo leaned back, eyes drifting toward the dogs. Buddy’s ears twitched, Thunder’s tail thumped once on the floor. They weren’t just mascots anymore—they’d become part of the plan.
Thunder would sniff out hidden entrances; Buddy would alert them if something felt off. Their instincts were sharper than any sensor.
Still, Alex’s gaze flicked back to Jojo. “We need to be clear about one thing: no more lone-wolf moves. Not this time.”
Jojo opened her mouth to argue—but then stopped. He was right. Going solo had nearly burned her last time. And though she’d never admit it out loud, Taehyung ’s words still haunted her. Brave doesn’t mean smart.
Her jaw tightened. “Fine. No lone-wolf moves.”
Alex studied her a moment longer, then softened. “Good. Because if something goes wrong, I’m not losing you. Got it?”
The tension broke with Rhea shoving a protein bar across the table. “Enough feelings. We need stamina, not speeches.”
Jojo cracked a laugh, the heaviness lifting just a little.
Together, they began rehearsing routes, memorizing guard positions, syncing watches. Rhea drilled them on exit strategies; Alex double-checked gear—flashlights, EMP charges, disguises. Jojo tested Thunder’s responses with hand signals until the husky responded like clockwork.
By midnight, the apartment looked like a war room.
But even as exhaustion tugged at her, Jojo couldn’t shake the memory of that piercing stare in Site Gamma’s shadows. Consider me your shadow.
Would Taehyung be there again? Watching? Helping? Betraying?
Either way—this time, she wouldn’t be caught off guard.
---
Hey Sparkles ✨️
Sorry for the late update, was being busy with studies. Hope you enjoyed reading today’s chapter 😊
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Veil Of Secrets
Fanfiction📖 Veil of Secrets (The Veilbound Series - Book 1) When a prized show dog vanishes, rookie detective Jojo and her golden retriever Buddy find themselves on a case that spirals far beyond a simple disappearance. With the sharp-witted Alex by her side...
