Ethan didn't relax.He stayed where he was while using his body as a solid barrier in front of Ava, his arm still braced across her as if the darkness itself might reach for her next as the knock came for a second time. The silence stretched until the faint sound of footsteps retreated down the street below,only then did he breathe.
"Gone," he murmured.
Ava hadn't realized she was holding her breath until her lungs burned. She exhaled shakily while her back still pressed to Ethan's chest. The steady heat of him was impossible to ignore now,grounding in a way that made her chest ache with conflicting relief and fear.
He didn't move away immediately and neither did she.
Finally, Ethan stepped back, giving her space again as if the closeness had been accidental rather than deliberate. He turned the lights back on low—just one lamp, casting the room in amber shadows instead of full exposure.
"They weren't trying to get in," Ava said quietly.
"No," Ethan agreed. "They wanted to be seen or maybe it was nothing."
"Why?"Ava said as her stomach tightened.
"Because intimidation escalates before violence," he said. "It's a countdown."
"How much time do I have?" Ava asked as she wrapped her arms around herself.
Ethan didn't answer right away. He crossed the room, reopened the tablet, and studied the residual signal patterns still faintly ghosting the screen and then his jaw tightened.
"That signature," he said.
Ava looked up. "You recognize it."
"Yes."
"From when?"
Ethan's fingers stilled over the screen and for a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer at all.
Then he shut the tablet and leaned back against the table.
"Eight years ago," he said. "Before I left the police."
"There was a task force that handled financial crimes, digital laundering, corporate shell networks tied to political donations.Quiet cases,the kind that don't make headlines until someone decides they want blood."
"You were part of it." Ava as her throat went dey.
"I led it."
That surprised her,not because she doubted his capability but because leadership implied trust,authority and things people didn't hand out lightly.
"What happened?" she asked.
Ethan's mouth curved into something that wasn't a smile. "We got close."
"To what?"
"To proof," he said. "The kind that doesn't disappear quietly and makes people nervous."
Ava's fingers tightened unconsciously.
"And then?" she prompted.
"And then my partner's apartment caught fire."
Her breath hitched. "Like your office."
"Yes."
"Did he survive?"
Ethan finally looked at her.
"No."
The word landed heavily between them.
"I'm sorry," Ava said softly.
He nodded once, accepting it without acknowledgment.
"They ruled it an accident," he continued. "Electrical fault,old building and case shut within a week."
"But it wasn't," Ava said.
"No,it wasn't."
"What did you do?"
"I kept digging," he said. "Until I realized I wasn't just being watched—I was being managed. Every lead went cold,every warrant stalled and witnesses recanted."
"And you?" she asked.
"I was offered a choice," Ethan said. "Walk away quietly or get buried with the truth."
Ava swallowed. "So you left."
"I resigned," he corrected. "And took what I knew with me."
She hesitated. "The name. You recognized it."
"Yes."
He exhaled slowly, as if the sound itself carried weight.
"Marcus Hale."
The name meant nothing to her but the way Ethan said it made it dangerous.
"Who is he?" Ava asked.
"A fixer," Ethan said. "Not the man at the top but the man who makes sure nothing ever reaches it."
"And he's connected to what I have."Ava said as her stomach churned
Ethan studied her carefully. "What do you really have?"
"I didn't steal anything," Ava said as she stretched both hands up. "I found it."
"People don't die over accidents," Ethan replied. "They die over exposure."
Ava turned toward the window and stared at the city beyond the glass. "I didn't go looking for this. It came to me."
"How?" he asked.
"Through work."
"Logistics?"Ethan asked as his eyes sharpened.
"Yes."
"Shipping routes," he murmured. "Inventory flows,shell movements."
She nodded. "Patterns don't lie, maybe someone got sloppy."
"And you noticed," he said.
"And I copied it," she admitted. "Before I understood what it meant."
"If Marcus Hale is involved—"Ethan said as he pushed off the table slowly.
"People will die," Ava finished quietly.
"You already know," he said as he stopped in front of her.
"Yes,from what you said and from what I've experienced, they've been on me since the day I knew about it."
Silence stretched between them again and then Ava asked the question she'd been avoiding.
"Do you regret it?" she asked. "Walking away back then."
Ethan's gaze held hers as something raw flickered briefly beneath the surface.
"Every day," he said.
The honesty in it caught her off guard and before she could respond, her knees wobbled slightly.
Ethan noticed instantly and reached for her without thinking as his hand held her firm at her waist, steadying her.
"Hey," he said. "You okay?"
"I think so," she whispered. "Just tired."
He didn't let go right away.Her breath hitched as she became acutely aware of where his hand rested and how easily he could pull her closer but didn't and the restraint was louder than any touch.
"You should sit," he said quietly.
She nodded, letting him guide her to the couch. He sat across from her this time,giving her space but his eyes never left her.
"You need to understand something," he said. "If what you're holding connects back to Hale and his people, this isn't just about survival."
"It's about damage," Ava said.
"It's about consequences," he corrected. "People like him don't just remove threats. They erase them."
"I don't want blood on my hands," she said as a chill slid through her.
Ethan's voice softened. "That's why you're still alive."
She looked up. "Because I hesitated?"
"Because you're careful," he said. "And because you came to me instead of selling it."
She gave a small, humorless laugh. "I didn't know who else to trust."
His gaze darkened slightly at that.
"You don't trust me," he said.
"Not completely," she admitted.
"Good."He nodded.
"Good?" Ava asked surprisingly.
"Yeah, good."
"Why good?" Ava asked with a curious face.
"Because trust without verification gets people killed," he said. "You're still thinking clearly."
She studied him. "And you? Do you trust me?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately but then: "I trust that you're trying not to become someone you won't recognize later."
Something in her chest loosened at those words.
"What happens now?" Ava asked.
"Now," he said as he stood, "we confirm whether Marcus Hale is active again."
"And if he is?"
"Then protecting you stops being optional," he said. "And choosing silence stops being safe."
"Ethan," she said softly as her pulse raced.
"Yes?"
"If this destroys your life—"
"It already did once," he said. "This time, I won't look away."
Their eyes held as the tension between them became tighter.
"But by tomorrow,you will have to give me what you have."