The bathroom door clicked shut behind Ava with a sound that felt louder than it should have.
She locked it and then leaned both palms against the sink and stared at her reflection which was pale and eyes too bright. A faint soot-smudge still clinging to the curve of her jaw. She barely recognized herself—not because she looked different, but because she felt stripped down to something raw and cornered.
"You stay with me."
Ethan's words echoed in her head as her chest tightened.
Ava turned the tap on, letting water rush into the basin, loud enough to mask sound. Steam curled upward, fogging the mirror.She splashed water on her face, breathing through the lingering burn in her lungs.
He changed your clothes,searched your bag and also had the flash drive.
Her fingers curled around the edge of the sink.
No.
He thought he did and that was the problem.Ethan Cross was observant,careful and controlled and men like that believed preparation equaled safety,that if they accounted for every variable, nothing could surprise them.
She'd learned the hard way how dangerous that assumption was.
Ava reached into the pocket of the unfamiliar T-shirt but it was empty.
Her real pulse spiked then out of urgency because she hadn't expected it to still be there.She glanced around the bathroom as her eyes wandered to a cracked tile near the tub,a towel folded with military neatness and even the air smelled like antiseptic soap and old pipes.
This wasn't a place designed for comfort but a place designed for control.
Her gaze slid to the window which was narrow, half-hidden behind a thin curtain, its glass slightly fogged from the steam.
"You don't wait for permission," she reminded herself." You move before they decide for you."
Ava reached up and turned off the faucet and silence pressed in as she listened.She didn't hear footsteps or voices, just the distant hum of the city bleeding through the walls.
She crossed to the window quietly as her fingers trembled only slightly as she tested the latch but it was locked.
She swallowed and glanced at the towel rack as it came loose with a sharp crack.
Her breath hitched as she froze, counting seconds.
One.
Two.
Nothing.
With her heart pounding, she wrapped the towel around her hand and struck the corner of the glass once and then twice.
The pane shattered inward with a muffled crunch.
At the same moment—
CRASH.
The sound echoed through the apartment like a gunshot.
Ethan looked up from the desk instantly and something in him tightened when he heard the crash.He turned his head toward the hallway as the sharp click of her boots on the floor echoed in the silence.
Then… another sound came louder again like something crashing against the floor.
Ethan instincts kicked in and without a moment's hesitation, he was on his feet, moving toward the bathroom door as his hand already reached for his gun. He wasn't sure what to expect—maybe it was nothing but his gut told him otherwise.
The door swung open with a force that made the handle slam against the wall. He stepped into the bathroom in a fluid motion while his eyes immediately scanned the room and then found the bathroom empty except for the broken window. The curtains flapped in the night wind while the glass was scattered across the floor like diamonds.
The realization hit him before the sound of running footsteps reached his ears.
She was gone.
His pulse surged as he moved to the window.
In the distance, the faintest silhouette of Ava darted into the alley, merging with the shadows of the night.
Damn it.
Ethan didn't even pause to think and without a second to lose,he vaulted through the open window, ignoring the sharp sting of glass that nicked his skin. He landed with a roll, immediately sprinting in her direction. His lungs burned as his shoes slapped against the wet pavement as he chased her through the maze of alleyways.
Ava was fast, no doubt. He could hear her breathless strides ahead and the echoes of her panic mixing with the low hum of the city's heartbeat but Ethan was faster,more like he knew the neighborhood too well.
He rounded the corner just in time to see her slip through a steel gate into another alley, disappearing into the shadows. She was too damn quick. She had a head start—but he wasn't about to let her get away.
His hand brushed the gate just as she reached the end of the alley and turned the corner and then…
Nothing.
No sound.
No sign of her.
Ethan stood still for a moment while his chest heaved and his eyes scanning the area for any sign of movement. There was no one but the faint glow of the streetlights filtering down from above.
The silence settled over him, thick and unnerving. He stood there for a beat longer, then cursed under his breath and turned back toward the building, he ran a hand through his hair as frustration seethed beneath his calm exterior.
With a cold breath, he retraced his steps back to the apartment. He didn't bother checking the building; he already knew she'd be long gone by the time he got back.
He entered the apartment, the sound of his boots heavy against the floor but what bothered him more was what she'd left behind.
The flash drive.
His gaze shot to the desk, where it sat, abandoned and untouched.
Ethan walked over to the desk, picked it up
with a steady hand, and connected it to the laptop. His fingers hovered over the keys, every muscle in his body tense, waiting for the screen to light up but nothing.
"You planned this," he muttered but it wasn't what he expected.It was all work-related files,corporate documents, spreadsheets,mundane office crap,the kind of stuff anyone in her position would have but he wasn't stupid.
He unlocked a deeper level of the drive, moving past the mundane files, digging deeper. That's when he found a hidden folder buried under layers of protection.
This… This wasn't work.
He opened the folder and images,hard drives,old news reports surfaced but one file stood o
ut.
A video.
He clicked on it and then his eyes widened
"What the fuck?"