The sound exploded through the room as glass shattered.Ava screamed as the window behind Ethan burst inward as fragments rained across the floor. Ethan moved instantly and grabbed Ava by the arm,dragging her down behind the desk as a second gunshot cracked through the night.
BANG.
The city outside erupted as car horns blared, people shouting and chaos spilling upward from the street.
"Stay down," Ethan ordered, already reaching into the drawer and pulling out a handgun with practiced ease.
Ava's heart slammed violently against her ribs, her body pressed to the floor while her breath came in sharp, panicked bursts.
Another shot echoed closer this time as Ethan rose just enough to peer over the desk. He dragged Ava as they made their way to the door but then smoke reached them before the flames did.It crept low and fast, curling under the desk like a living thing. Ava coughed hard,the sound tearing out of her chest as her eyes burned instantly.
Ethan noticed before she fully processed it.
His gaze flicked to the door,then the ceiling and then the vents.
"Shit, these people are burning down my office." he muttered loudly as another gunshot rang out, closer now, followed by the unmistakable crackle of fire catching hold somewhere below.
"They circled the building," Ethan said flatly. "Smart."
Ava's heart pounded so violently she could feel it in her throat. "Fire?" she choked.
"Yes."
Another cough wracked her body as smoke thickened, rolling in faster now. The temperature in the room climbed immediately.
Ethan moved quickly, grabbing his jacket and shrugging it back on. He crouched beside her, already pulling his sleeve over his nose and mouth.
"Do exactly what I say," he told her. "No arguing."
She nodded, coughing again.
He reached for her hand. "We're not using the stairs."
"Then how—"Ava tried asking but the sound of glass shattering echoed again, followed by shouting.
"Move."Ethan said as he pulled her close while they crossed the office low and fast as smoke blurred the edges of everything. The fire alarms began screaming, joined by the roar of flames now chewing through the lower floors.
Ethan reached the far wall and pressed his palm against what looked like solid paneling and then a section shifted and a narrow door opened inward.
Ava stared at it. "You have a—"
"Later," he cut in.
They slipped inside just as heat blasted through the office behind them as the door shut, sealing them into darkness.
The passageway was tight with damp and cold concrete walls while emergency lights flickered weakly along the ceiling as they ran.
Footsteps thundered above them while the building groaned as fire spread upward, feeding on old wiring and dry beams.
Thick smoke followed them down the corridor which made Ava's chest burn as each breath felt shorter than the last.
"I—" she gasped. "I can't—"
"Keep moving,we're almost through."Ethan said, grip firmly around her wrist but Ava's legs betrayed her.
The smoke swallowed her vision, turning the corridor into a gray blur while her lungs seized, panic clawing its way up her throat. She stumbled as she scraped the wall with her fingers scraping while dizziness slammed into her.
"Ava."Ethan called but her knees already buckled.Ethan caught her before she hit the ground,her body went limp in his arms as her breath shallowed,her eyes fluttered once before closing completely.
Ethan swore under his breath as smoke rolled past them now in thick waves. Fire crackled closer, roaring like a living thing behind the walls.
Ethan didn't hesitate and carried her into his arms, her weight settling against his chest. She was lighter than he expected
and that annoyed him too.
"Damn it," he muttered, adjusting his grip and pulling his jacket up over her face as he moved faster.
The passage ended at a steel door. Ethan kicked it open, emerging into a service garage already filled with smoke while sprinklers rained uselessly from the ceiling and flames licked along one wall while sirens of fire trucks and police wailed outside.
Ethan didn't head toward the street.
He turned left and headed towards a rusted gate which stood half-hidden behind a maintenance truck. He shoved it open and slipped into another narrow corridor which was older and darker, clearly not part of any public blueprint.
"This city never deletes its secrets," he muttered as he burst through the final door into a quiet residential basement several blocks away. There was thorough silence.
No alarms,no shouting,no fire, just the hum of electricity and the distant throb of New York still breathing unawarely.
He carried Ava up the stairs two at a time,unlocked the door and entered his apartment.
Ethan laid her carefully on the couch, checking her pulse which was steady and weak but there.
He straightened, jaw tightening as the weight of the night finally pressed in.They hadn't just chased her but also burned a building to get to her and that meant one thing.
Whoever wanted Ava Brooks wasn't running out of patience.
They were escalating and now—So was he.