The captive's kiss

wet grass and pine as they arrived, and the sun filtered softly through the trees, casting faint light on the abandoned-looking building. Inside, the concrete wal

l, yet the implications weighed heavily in Ava's brain. A tide of emotions whirled inside her, almost free yet ha

ure tense. He sat down opposite h

asked softly, the tone soft

stion weighing right down to the very core of her bein

but Lucas wasn't some lone wolf. He had strong connection

felt dissipating as fast as it had come.

ey may come to avenge him, or to clean up loo

and bad news," he announced with a tautness in his voice. "The good news is that no one followed us here. The

y her gaze swung to Ethan. "How much?" she

attract every mercenary and bounty hunter in

stay hidden forever, and we'll have to gather as much information as we can about Lucas's conne

re she deeply had sunk-their survival depended on treading its dark currents. One big, new question was le

y did Lucas want me so badly? It wasn't just because of

exhaled loudly. "Lucas was power hungry, yeah. Yet with you, Ava-there is something more. There is j

ought that too in the beginning, till I began to investigate your f

old wind ran down her s

d, mixed up with some influential people. She kept that part of her life hidden, but when I searc

other was secretive, but this... it did not make sense.

sn't just another player. She was pivotal-somebody with the kind o

's reserve; subtle she was in her protectiveness, the whispered warnings about bei

because." Ava's voice trailed off

finished. "Whatever your mother was part of, Lucas was able to think

ng wild and hard, a determination stirred. Her whole life, she'd felt like she'd been in Lucas's web, but now she understood t

o get some rest while we can. Tomorrow, we start piecing this together.

me kind of ordinary person, caught in the crossfire of someone else's thirst for power. But her mother had kept secrets-secrets which had pulled her daughter into a world of danger

they arrived at an abandoned office building where Ethan had arranged to meet an old contact-a man

e desk, eyes fixed intently on them as they approached. The weathered lines

gaze shifted to Ava, and a spark of recognition flick

ipped. "You kn

e was strong-one of the best we had. When she disappeared from this w

feeling her throat

walked away from everything. But she never stopped looking over her shoulder, and sh

in an instant. "Wh

den away somewhere safe. They contain information many would kill to keep hidden. And Lucas. he was

kept records, knowing one day they'd be th

e asked, her voice stro

Marianne kept that secret close, even from me. But if you follow the threads, find her contacts

She had lived feeling helpless for so long, but now

aid-her voice stea

r would be proud. But remember this: trust no

contract tying them together. The battle was far from over-in fact, it had only just gotten underway. But this tim