They didn't speak until the city thinned.Manhattan fell away behind them in fragments—bridges, lights, smoke still smudging the sky like a bruise. Ethan drove with both hands tight on the wheel, posture rigid, eyes flicking from mirror to road to reflection, never lingering anywhere too long.
Ava sat beside him, arms wrapped around herself, jacket pulled close despite the warmth inside the car. The adrenaline was wearing off now, leaving something hollow and shaky in its wake.
"How did you get a car?"She asked as her hands still trembled lightly.
"I have a car." Ethan said.
"I mean when did you prepare the car?"
"When you were asleep."
Ava didn't ask questions and shook her head lightly.
When they finally pulled into the hotel driveway, it felt unreal—too polished, too calm, like the world hadn't just tried to kill them.The building rose sleek and expensive against the night, all glass and steel and quiet authority. Armed security at the entrance,valet staff moving with smooth efficiency and cameras everywhere.
"This works," he said as he exhaled once
Ava studied the place. "They won't expect this."
"I don't think they would ever do."
Inside, the lobby glowed with warm light and hushed luxury,marble floors,low music and the scent of something expensive and calming. It felt like stepping into another life—one that didn't belong to either of them.
The receptionist looked up as they approached with a professional smile until her gaze flicked to Ethan and then it softened just slightly.
"Yes?" she asked, voice polite but curious.
"One suite," Ethan said without hesitation.
Ava blinked.The receptionist did too.
"One… suite?" she repeated, cheeks coloring faintly.
"Yes."
"And—" the woman glanced at Ava, then back at Ethan, clearly trying not to smile,
"—one bed?"
"Yes."Ethan said as he still looked straight.
The key cards slid across the counter a moment later, the receptionist suddenly very focused on her screen.
Ava didn't say a word until the elevator doors closed.
"One bed?" she asked.
Ethan's jaw tightened. "Security."
"Of course it is."
The elevator rose in silence, the hum loud between them. Ava leaned back against the mirrored wall, watching him from the corner of her eye. He looked… composed while considering everything,like he was holding himself together by force alone.
When the suite door closed behind them, Ava didn't wait.She dropped her jacket, kicked off her shoes, and went straight for the bathroom like it was oxygen.
The bathroom was enormous—marble floors cool beneath her feet, a glass-enclosed shower big enough to breathe again inside,soft lighting,chrome fixtures and plush white towels stacked like something sacred.
She locked the door and only then did her legs give.She pressed her hands to the counter, stared at her reflection—hair tangled, eyes too bright, a faint smear of soot still shadowing her skin. She looked like someone who had survived something she wasn't ready to name.
The shower came on warm as slight steam filled the space, wrapping around her as the water hit her shoulders, her back, her neck. She tilted her head forward, bracing herself against the tile, and let it wash everything away—the gunshot, the explosion, the sound of Ethan's voice when he said I knew it would.
She stayed there until her fingers wrinkled and the tightness in her chest finally eased and only then did reality tap her shoulder.
She reached for a towel,wrapped it around herself and froze because she had nothing else.
"No," she muttered, scanning the bathroom as if clothes might magically appear but they didn't.
Ava cracked the door open and peeked into the suite. Ethan was by the window, phone in hand, posture alert, back to her.
"Ethan?" she called.
He turned instantly and then stopped.
His gaze caught—just briefly—on the towel,on the bare skin of her shoulder and the damp curl of hair clinging to her neck.
His expression shifted as something unreadable flashed through it.
"Yes?"
"I… don't have clothes."
"You don't have—" He stopped, blinking once. "Why would I have your clothes?"
She rolled her eyes despite herself. "Because you're the one who plans for everything."
"I plan for exits,not wardrobes."
"Well," she said, tightening the towel, suddenly very aware of how exposed she was, "unless you want me walking around like this, you'll have to go buy some."
"You want me to go buy you clothes." He asked as he stared at her.
"Yes."
"…What size?"
Her lips twitched. "You're on your own."
Ethan made his way to the elevator down to the hotel mall.Ethan moved through it like he was clearing a hostile zone, shoulders tense, eyes sharp,except this time, the threat was glass mannequins and fluorescent lighting—and the fact that he was standing in front of a display of lingerie.
He picked things quickly and then froze.
He stared at what he was holding and exhaled through his nose.
"Get a grip."
He added jeans,a soft shirt and then shoes. Then—after a moment's hesitation—he grabbed something warmer too for her and for himself as he barely looked.
Back in the suite, the lights were too dim but enough for him to see.
"AVA?" he called, unlocking the door but there was no answer.
He stepped inside—and stopped dead.
Ava was asleep on the couch wrapped in the towel.One leg bare where the fabric had slipped as her skin glowed in the low light. Her hair was still slightly damp and spread across the cushion with her breathing slow.
Ethan swallowed hard as heat moved through him, sudden and unwelcome. He looked away instantly—but it was too late. His body reacted before his discipline could stop it.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath.
He crossed the room fast, dropped the shopping bags on the chair, and reached for the throw blanket—
Ava shifted which made the towel slip further.
His breath hitched and every instinct screamed at him to touch,to cover or to wake her gently.
Instead, he snapped, "Ava."
She stirred and blinked while looking up at him, confused and soft and far too close.
He tossed the clothes at her without ceremony.
"Get dressed," he said with his voice tight. "Now."
Then he turned on his heel and headed straight for the bathroom.
The door shut behind him and he turned the shower that came on cold.The water hit his sk
in and he braced both hands against the wall, jaw clenched, pulse racing.
He laughed once, sharp and breathless.
"Oh shit."