In a rain-slick alley on the edge of the city, Dax crosses paths with a stranger whose glowing wrist tattoo is counting down to something he can't understand. Months later, she reappears-this time with a name, a job offer, and a mysterious cargo she needs delivered.

She calls herself V. She lives by rules she won't share. She moves with precision, fights with unnatural speed, and speaks in fragments of a past that never quite match. And always, on her wrist, the relentless countdown ticks away.

Drawn into her world of shadowed streets, abandoned relay yards, and encrypted safehouses, Dax finds himself caught between wanting to protect her and needing to know what she's hiding. Each step closer to the truth only deepens the questions. Who is chasing them? What's in the device she guards so fiercely? And why does her timer seem to be running out faster than it should?

As danger closes in, their bond tightens-until the line between ally, client, and something far more dangerous blurs beyond recognition. But V's mission has a deadline, and when it hits zero, everything Dax believes about her, the job, and himself will be rewritten.

In a city where trust is currency and time is always running out, how far would you go for someone who was never meant to stay?