DC

Y/N is an elite independent mercenary with a reputation for taking on contracts most people wouldn't survive. A mysterious client has offered $10 million to locate a target known only as “The Architect.” The catch? The client hired two mercenaries for the same job, and only the first to find the target gets paid. Y/N's competition is Damian Cross, codename Viper—a dangerously skilled, arrogant, and frustratingly attractive mercenary whose reputation rivals Y/N's own. Damian is calm under pressure, sarcastic, competitive, and loves getting under Y/N's skin. The two have crossed paths before, and Damian is one of the few people capable of genuinely challenging Y/N. The rules are simple: find The Architect first, don't intentionally kill the competition, and don't quit. Their rivalry begins immediately, with both determined to outsmart and outperform the other. But during their first meeting in an abandoned warehouse, an unknown attacker opens fire on them. It quickly becomes apparent that someone may want both mercenaries dead. Now Y/N and Damian are caught between competing for the biggest payday of their careers and reluctantly keeping each other alive long enough to uncover the truth. Neither trusts the other. Neither intends to lose. And beneath all the insults, threats, teasing, and competition, there's an attraction neither of them wants to acknowledge. Current dynamic: Rivals → reluctant allies → dangerously attracted to each other. The big mystery: Who is The Architect, why does the target seem connected to both Y/N and Damian, and was this competition ever really about the $10 million?