The safe place didn't feel safe and that was the first thing Ava noticed.The brownstone Ethan brought her to blended too easily into the Upper West Side with brick façade, iron railing and a tree shedding dead leaves across the stoop like it had been there forever which meant it was the kind of place people didn't look twice at.
Ethan unlocked the door quickly, ushered her inside, and locked it behind them. Then he locked it again at a second bolt which was heavier as metal slid home with a sound that made her spine stiffen.
"No windows in the front room," he said.
"The back windows are reinforced too and the walls are thick."
Ava nodded as she absorbed details without thinking.
The apartment was spare and kind of temporary, like a place meant to be used, not lived in. It has a couch,a table and a chair pulled back slightly as if someone had stood up in a hurry.
"Sit," Ethan said and she did.
He crossed the room and knelt near a low
cabinet, pulling out a matte-black case and setting it on the table and when he opened it, Ava's breath caught.
It was a hardware, not consumer tech or anything she recognized.It consisted of compact devices, cables, a tablet with a reinforced screen.
"You're not just a detective," she said quietly.
Ethan didn't look at her. "Well,as you can see,I never said I was."
He powered the tablet on and code streamed across the screen almost immediately with maps blooming into view—New York pulsing with signals like a living thing.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Finding out how loud you are."
"I turned off my phone,"Ava said as her stomach tightened.
"That doesn't mean it stopped talking."
Ethan reached toward her which made her stiffen—but he only slid her phone from her coat pocket as his fingers brushed her side just long enough to register heat before he pulled back.
"Watch," he said as he connected the phone to the tablet and the screen lit up.
Ava leaned forward, dread crawling under her skin as lines multiplied showing signals branching, looping and bouncing between towers.
"What is that?" she whispered.
"Active pings," Ethan said. "Shadow processes and as well location mirroring."
"I didn't authorize that."Ava said as her pulse spiked.
"You didn't need to."Ethan said as he tapped once and the web expanded.
Her breath caught. "How long?"
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Longer than today."
Ava turned away, wrapping her arms around herself. "So they knew where I was, like everywhere."
"Yes."
"Can you shut it down?"She said as her voice trembled despite her effort.
"I already did."
Ethan disconnected the cable and powered the phone off completely.
Ava swallowed. "Then why does it still feel like—"
"Because they don't need your phone anymore," Ethan said.
Her eyes snapped to him. "What?"
"They've been watching long enough to predict patterns," he said. "If you go quiet suddenly, they'll notice."
A chill slid down Ava's spine as she stood abruptly, needing space. "I need air."
"There's none you want outside," he said calmly.
She paced instead and stopped near the window but not touching the glass.
"You said I'd be safe with you."
"You are."
"That's not what this feels like."
Ethan watched her for a moment and then reached for the hem of his shirt which made Ava freeze. He pulled it over his head in one smooth motion, exposing skin she absolutely did not expect to see so suddenly. There were lean muscles, old scars tracing his ribs and shoulder, the subtle tension of someone permanently coiled for impact.
Her breath caught as her gaze stayed exactly where it shouldn't which made heat rush to her face as she realized she was staring.
Ethan didn't comment or look at her.
He turned slightly, reaching behind himself to retrieve a sensor patch from the case, exposing the broad line of his back.
Ava turned away immediately while her heart suddenly pounded for reasons that had nothing to do with surveillance.
"I'm not—" she started, then stopped.
"I know," Ethan said evenly, as if he'd felt the shift in the room without seeing it.
He applied the sensor to his skin with efficient movements.
"I'm checking whether they latched onto me," he continued. "After the office."
She exhaled slowly as she steadied herself.
"You think they followed you," she said.
"I know they did."
Just then the tablet chimed which made Ethan frown.
"What?" Ava asked.
"They're probing," he said. "and trying to reestablish a connection."
"To my phone?"Ava asked as her blood ran cold.
"No," he said quietly. "To me."
She turned back slowly. "You're being watched too."
Ethan met her gaze. "I always was."
He dressed quickly, pulling his shirt back on and sealing the moment away like it hadn't happened—but Ava could still feel it, lingering.
He shut the tablet with finality.
"We might be moving again," he said.
Her heart dropped. "Already?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Somewhere darker."
Ava took a step toward him and staggered.She always knew her life would end like this but it was still too much for her.
Ethan caught her instantly with his hand firm around her elbow, pulling her close to steady her and for a moment, neither of them moved.Her fingers brushed his wrist as his grip tightened reflexively and their eyes locked.Something charged passed between them, like recognition, restraint, something unspoken and dangerous.
"Why are you doing this?" Ava asked quietly. "You could walk away."
"Because," he said after a beat, "I recognize this kind of surveillance."
Her throat tightened. "From when?"
"From a case that ruined careers," he said. "And buried people."
Just then a sound scraped faintly outside like metal against brick.
Ethan stilled and then raised a finger to Ava to keep quiet but then another sound rang closer this time which made Ethan move without warning and killed the lights.
Darkness swallowed the room.He drew Ava back against his chest with one arm braced protectively in front of her while his breath steadied near her ear.
"Don't move," he whispered.
Ava's pulse thundered as she kept
silent while her eyes wandered in the dark room. Outside—A shadow passed the window and moved to the front door and then
Knock knock knock.