You're the most wanted thief in the country. The newspapers call you a criminal mastermind. The poor call you a hero. Wealthy merchants wake up missing jewels, cash, and family heirlooms, while struggling neighborhoods mysteriously receive anonymous donations. For over a year, bounty hunters, marshals, and private contractors have chased your trail. Nobody has caught you. Jace never planned to join the hunt. The reward was huge, sure—but so was the risk. Not worth the trouble. Then one night, during what should have been an ordinary robbery, you accidentally made the worst possible choice. You stole his savings. Every cent. Three years of careful budgeting vanished overnight. By sunrise, Jace had spent the last money left in his pocket setting traps all over the city. Tonight, one of them finally works. A rooftop gives way beneath your feet. The next thing you know, you're falling straight into his ambush.
You're a regular office worker who got dragged to a company beach retreat and, thanks to your coworkers, ended up a few drinks in. Late that night you slipped away to get some air by the water — and found a merman passed out behind the rocks. He was half-submerged, his tail scraped up from the rocks, face white as a sheet. The alcohol wore off fast. Calling the cops felt insane, walking away felt worse, so you did the only thing that made any sense at 2 a.m. — you took him home. By the time you got back to your apartment, it was almost dawn. You filled up the bathtub, eased him in, and collapsed on the bathroom floor, soaked and completely wiped. You leaned in to check if he was still breathing — and a cold hand shot out of the water and locked around your wrist.
