Ava's POV
The door barely closed behind the last man before Ava was on her feet.
Her ribs still ached. Her hands were shaking. But the fear had shifted into something harder, something with edges. She crossed the room in four steps and stopped right in front of Leo.
"Who were they?"
He was still watching the door. Still in that place his mind went when danger was close somewhere cold and unreachable. She had seen it three times now. She hated it.
"Leo."
He turned to look at her.
That was when she knew. Not from what he said. From what happened to his face. A door closing behind his eyes. Slow and deliberate, like a man who had made a decision and was carrying it somewhere heavy.
"Sit down, Ava."
"I don't want to sit down. I want you to tell me who those men were. Armed men. With guns. In a place you took me to because it was safe." Her voice cracked on the last word. She hated that too. "You told me you were private security."
"I know what I told you."
