Interesting wasn't even the right word.
It was infuriating.
It was unacceptable.
It was deliciously motivating.
Someone had touched what belonged to him.
Someone thought they could protect her.
Someone thought they could stand between him and Ava.
He traced a finger along the table, stopping beside the photo he had printed just hours ago a grainy image from a street camera feed. It wasn't clear, but it was enough to show her shape… and the shadow of a man walking beside her.
A man who wasn't him.
His jaw flexed.
So she wasn't running blindly anymore.
She had help.
She had them.
A pathetic laugh escaped him, though nothing about the sound was amused.
"She thinks this makes her safer."
He glanced at the second photo a frame-by-frame still where another figure appeared. Taller. Broader. A different stride. Clearly another man in her orbit.
Two men.
Two obstacles.
His eyes darkened.
Two targets.
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, eyes focused on the blurry image like it was a promise.
"They think she chose them," he whispered.
He shut his eyes for a moment, his anger simmering into something colder… sharper.
"No," he breathed. "She's scared. Confused. She always was."
His fingers tapped slowly, rhythmically, each tap sounding like a countdown.
"They pulled her in at her weakest. Manipulated her. Took advantage of her."
He opened his eyes again.
Hard.
Focused.
Unblinking.
"I'm going to take her back."
His smile was thin. Too thin.
"And they're going to watch."
He stood, walking to the wall where a map of Crescent City hung lines drawn, circles marked, paths traced. Every move she had made. Every familiar place. Every routine she used to have.
And now, a new circle marked recently.
A new location.
One that hadn't been there before.
Far from the city.
Secluded.
Hidden.
He ran a thumb over the circle, humming thoughtfully.
"So that's where they're keeping you."
A beat.
A breath.
A spark of satisfaction.
"Good."
He pulled his hood up, grabbed his keys, and pocketed his phone.
"Let's see what kind of men they really are."
He paused at the door
just long enough to savor the anticipation that buzzed through him like electricity.
"Because if they care about you…"
His smile hardened.
"…they'll come running."
And he planned to make …
Ava's POV
I woke up slowly, pulled from sleep by a strange, heavy feeling in the air. Not danger exactly… but awareness. The kind that presses against your skin before you're fully awake.
I blinked, sitting up.
Someone was in the room.
"Easy," Rowan whispered from the chair in the corner. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyes softer than the shadows around him. "Didn't mean to scare you."
My heart calmed when I saw him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Watching you breathe," he said with a half-smile. "Elias insisted we take shifts. I volunteered for the first one."
"…Why?"
His smile faded into something quieter. Something honest.
"Because you sleep like you're afraid someone might take you again."
A knot formed in my throat. "I'm fine."
"No," he said gently, "you're pretending."
Before I could answer, the door opened silently. Elias stepped inside, fresh from a shower, hair damp, shirt sleeves rolled up, expression sharper than usual. His gaze went straight to me.
"You're awake," he murmured, relief flickering across his face before he smoothed it away.
Rowan stretched lazily. "She had a peaceful nap. No nightmares."
Elias nodded once. "Good."
His eyes lingered a second longer than they should have.
The air shifted.
Rowan noticed it. I felt it.
Something unspoken crackled between the three of us too soft to name, too strong to ignore.
Elias finally tore his gaze away and stepped closer to the window. "There's something you should know."
My stomach tightened. "What happened?"
He didn't turn around. "Movement near the road. Someone was watching the woods from a distance."
Rowan's posture snapped upright. "That's too close."
Elias nodded. "Which means he's adapting."
My pulse spiked. "You think it's him?"
"We're not assuming," Elias said calmly. "We're preparing."
Rowan rose from the chair and came to stand beside my bed. "Ava… if he's this close, we need to be smarter. Stay inside. No more stepping out without one of us."
I swallowed. "I didn't think he'd follow me this far."
"He didn't follow you," Elias said softly. "He hunted you."
A shiver crawled down my spine.
But Rowan placed a reassuring hand on the edge of the mattress, not touching me, just grounding me. "You're not alone anymore. He doesn't get to decide the ending."
Elias added, "We do."
Their confidence should have calmed me
Instead, it made something deep inside me pulse harder fear, hope, and that dangerous warmth growing between us all.
Rowan let out a slow breath. "We need a plan."
Elias's jaw tightened. "I already have one."
Rowan raised a brow. "And we're sharing it with Ava when…?"
"When she's ready," Elias said.
"I am ready," I whispered.
Elias finally turned, eyes locking with mine. "Then tell me this what are you willing to do to stop him?"
I hesitated.
Rowan placed a hand on the back of my shoulder. "You don't have to fight like him," he murmured. "Just trust us."
And something inside me crackedbecause I already did.
Too much.
More than I should.
Before I could answer, Elias's phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His expression froze.
Rowan leaned in. "What is it?"
Elias's voice dropped to a razor-thin whisper.
"He made his next move."
My blood went cold. "What did he do?"
Elias handed me the phone.
A single message glowed on the screen.
"YOU LOOK BETTER WHEN YOU'RE SCARED.
SEE YOU SOON".
My breath hitched.
Rowan cursed under his breath. "He's escalating."
Elias stepped closer, his presence steady, protective, unshakeable. "Ava, listen to me. He thinks fear will break you."
Rowan shook his head. "But he doesn't know who you are with us."
Their confidence wasn't loud.
But it was enough to steady my shaking hands.
I lifted my chin. "What do we do now?"
Elias's eyes darkened not with anger, but resolution.
"Now," he said, "we stop waiting."
Rowan grinned, feral and bright. "Time to turn the game around."
And in that moment, the fear didn't vanish…
But it bowed beneath something stronger.
Hope.
And the two men standing beside me.