Adrian's gray eyes landed on us the moment the warden's authority dissolved, and the steel doors groaned shut.
The silence was thick, almost suffocating, broken only by the ambient hum of the prison ventilation and the frantic, shallow breaths of my team. Clara, Ryan, and Sophie lingered behind me, frozen in various states of shock and reluctant fascination. Their eyes were wide, their mouths slightly parted. Every instinct in their bodies screamed at them to stay alert, yet they were visibly struggling to maintain the professional, unreadable composure the CSI captain demanded.
I felt the pull too magnetic, intoxicating, and impossible to ignore. "The Architect must not flinch. He must not show the lie," I reminded myself, forcing my expression into a Captain's mask of detached discipline.
Adrian did not immediately speak. He simply leaned against the wall, the sweat on his skin catching the harsh fluorescent light, making his tattoos look like flowing, dark magic. The muscles beneath them flexed lazily as he crossed his arms over his powerful chest. His sheer, unrestrained presence dominated the room like a sudden storm, pressing down against me, suffocating the sterile air.
Clara cleared her throat behind me, a tight, subtle sound, a reminder to herself to stay anchored. Ryan's jaw slackened, his hands twitching at his sides, clearly overwhelmed by the physical reality of the man. Sophie gripped her tablet so tightly I feared she might snap it in half, her wide eyes betraying her professional fascination and her human alarm. Adrian's gaze, slow and thorough, demanded that we all stay silent and still.
I ignored my body's frantic warnings. Duty came first. "I am Captain Nate Cole, CSI," I announced, my voice firm and meticulously even, aiming for the cold precision of a weapon. "I am here on official business. The CSI needs your cooperation. This was discussed with your legal counsel."
Adrian's lips curled, a slow, calculated smirk that held no humor, only predatory awareness. "The Captain of CSI comes to my cage. Tell me, Captain Cole, what could be so desperate that you require a criminal's help?" His voice was a low, resonant rumble, a sound tailored to command.
"It is not a request; it is a necessity," I corrected instantly, sticking to the facts. "A serial drug dealer is operating in the city. Innocent people are dying from a synthetic variant of the product. We cannot get close to him without inside knowledge."
"And you believe I possess this knowledge?" He tilted his head, the movement dismissive.
"You built the system he is currently utilizing. You know the hierarchy, the players, the methods," I stated, my gaze fixed only on him. "The CSI needs that information to dismantle the network before the death toll rises further."
Adrian's smirk curved faintly. It was a silent challenge. Then he spoke, the single word cutting through my professionalism: "Why?"
I clenched my jaw, the pressure behind my eyes starting to build. "Don't let him bait you." "Because people are dying, Blackwood. And you know how the network works. You have the unique ability to prevent more deaths, and at this stage, you are the only one who can stop this."
He pushed off the wall and took one slow step toward me, closing the distance instantly. The temperature in the room seemed to spike. "Who is behind this operation, then? Name names, Captain. Or are you asking me to solve a problem you created?"
"We have identified the targets, but we need the full picture identification, names, locations, methods, everything you know. Lives are at stake, Adrian, and we need to keep these persons off the street." My voice tightened around his first name; a slip I instantly regretted.
He noticed. His eyes narrowed slightly, sharpening on my face. He let the silence stretch, agonizing, savoring the forced power dynamic. "Now?" he asked, his voice laced with mocking disbelief. "You want me to drop my twenty-year incarceration and serve your needs now?"
"Yes. Now. We do not have time to wait for your consideration. This network is spreading fast. Innocent people are dying, and the CSI is offering you a chance to stop it. We are offering you a chance at redemption."
His gaze shifted, cold and calculating, measuring the panic and fascination radiating off my team. Clara's hands clenched tighter. Ryan muttered under his breath, "God… he's… insane," and Sophie's sharp inhale could not hide her morbid curiosity.
"Redemption," Adrian scoffed, the sound deep in his chest. "That is a word for priests and foolish officers, Captain. Not for men like me." He looked back at me, his gray eyes pinning me in place. "Your morals are tedious. Give me a reason to risk my established quiet here. Give me a better reason than your conscience."
I felt my professionalism fraying. "Fight him on the moral high ground. That's all you have left." "This is not about power or loyalty. It is about stopping someone from hurting more people. If you cooperate, lives are saved. If you refuse, the blood is on your hands, too."
"Maybe," he responded with chilling indifference.
"Maybe?" I stepped closer, my control slipping. "You know what happens if we fail. You know the innocent lives that will be lost if you stay silent. The CSI needs your cooperation and urges you to do the fucking right thing."
"If I refuse, people die," Adrian calmly repeated my words, his tone making the severity of the threat personal. "And if I cooperate, I risk the wrath of the very people you want me to name, and I receive nothing. Your risk assessment is pathetic, Cole. Try again."
I grit my teeth. "Everyone is in danger! Civilians, law enforcement, even you if the network spirals out of control! You built it, and you know it better than anyone! If we do not act, more people will die! That is all there is!" I was shouting now, my voice echoing off the steel walls.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips; a sign I had finally shown weakness. "Fine," he conceded, the word feeling like a trap closing around me.
"Fine? Will you help us?" I pressed, relief warring with the intense, unwanted arousal his presence was provoking.
"Yes," He nodded, and the room seemed to shrink. "Don't lose your nerve. Keep pushing." "I need more than a word, Blackwood. I need your full cooperation. Names, locations, hierarchy, method, and we need to move fast."
"Later," he responded, tone slow, deliberate. He was enjoying the display of my frustration.
"Later isn't an option!" I snapped, my voice cracking. "The CSI does not have time for later; we need your help now, not when it is convenient for you! Not when it suits your goddamn mafia timeline!"
He was silent for a moment, gauging the depth of my desperation, then the smirk returned, wider, more devastating. "Fine, Captain. Do you want cooperation now? You will get it."
I exhaled, chest tight, pulse spiking. "Good. Then start by telling me who we are dealing with first."
He beckoned with a minimal tilt of his head, his gray eyes darkening, demanding my proximity. "Come closer, Captain. This information is confidential. I would not want your crew here to compromise your precious case."
Every rational thought screamed at me to stop, to maintain the distance. "It's a trap. He knows. He suspects. Stay back!" But I could not. The pull of him, the dangerous, magnetic gravity, was too strong. My body obeyed another command entirely.
Clara cleared her throat softly, a genuine sound of warning now. "Captain, stay professional. Do not move any closer." Her voice was strained.
Ryan muttered, "Unbelievable… insane…" Sophie's sharp exhale confirmed my terror: his dominance was pulling me forward against all sense. "I have no choice," I admitted internally, my voice a desperate whisper only I could hear. "We need him to work for us."
Adrian's smirk widened faintly, a flicker of pure satisfaction in his eyes. He confirmed my surrender with one word, low and deliberate: "Good."
The room crackled with tension as I finally moved closer, until I was just inches from his sweat-slicked, powerful body. The energy pressed down on me, suffocating, addictive. Every subtle movement of his tattoos was a threat to my discipline.
Then, just as the air seemed unbearable, he leaned slightly closer, his voice like velvet, cold and commanding, brushing against my ear. "You want me to risk twenty years of leverage, Captain Cole?"
He pulled back, his eyes drilling into mine, and delivered the final, devastating blow.
"What's in it for me?"
I froze. Words caught in my throat. The team behind me stiffened. The question was simple and single, but it carried weight, danger, promise, and threat all wrapped in one. Every nerve on edge and every rational thought was drowned out by the thunder of my own heart. The only choice I had was to follow him, straight into the dark depths of whatever game he was about to play. And in that silence, thick and electric, I understood: Adrian Blackwood had won the moment. The stakes were no longer just the case or the lives at risk. The stakes were me, and the dangerous, intoxicating pull of the man who had already claimed more of me than I realized I could ever give.
" What?" I stuttered in shock.