"I… I can take care of myself." Lily managed to stutter."Can you? Against professional killers? Against people with resources that make Ethan look poor?" Victoria laughed without humor. "Sweetheart, you're standing on a rooftop alone because Ethan walked away the moment things got uncomfortable. That's who he is. He's sentimental right up until sentiment requires sacrifice."Lily tried to speak but her throat had closed around words that wouldn't come."Meet me tomorrow. Same club, same time. Sign the partnership. Let me give you the resources to actually protect yourself instead of depending on a man who'll abandon you the second you stop feeding his hero complex." Victoria's voice went soft, almost maternal. "I'm trying to save your life, darling. The only question is whether your pride will let you accept help from someone honest enough to tell you hard truths."The line went dead.Lily sat staring at her phone, Victoria's words echoing in the space Ethan had left empty. She tried

Marcus approached after the FBI left, and Lily couldn't look at him without feeling something complicated twist in her chest."Mr. Cross has been protecting you this whole time," he said quietly. "He knew Victoria would come after you. Knew she'd use your anger against him to manipulate you into something illegal. So he asked me to document everything in case she crossed the line.""Then why didn't he TELL me?"The anger came flooding back, hot and righteous and easier than the gratitude trying to surface beneath it."Why didn't he just explain what Victoria was planning instead of letting me almost destroy myself?"Marcus's expression was pained, caught between loyalty to his employer and sympathy for the woman standing in front of him surrounded by evidence of her own near-destruction."Because he wanted you to trust him without proof. He wanted you to choose him because you believed in him, not because he'd provided evidence that forced your hand." Marcus paused, something like reg

"Give or take. I prefer working around crowds—more confusion, more suspects, easier to disappear." His smile was professional and chilling. "She won't see it coming. They never do."He moved toward the door, paused with his hand on the handle."One more thing. If she's under protection by Friday night—if your ex-husband gets wind of this and moves her somewhere secure—the plan can change and the price can get a little bit higher. I'm nice, but I don't work for little. Understood?""Understood."The door closed behind him with barely a sound, and suddenly Vivian was alone with her mother and the weight of what she'd just purchased.Diane stared at her daughter like she was looking at a stranger."When did you become this?"But Vivian was already at the bar, pulling out champagne she'd been saving for celebration, popping the cork with hands that didn't shake despite having just ordered someone's death."When I realized that playing nice gets you cheated on. Being forgiving gets you div

"Where—" Lily couldn't help but ask. Trust is a very costly thing these days."Secure location. That's all you need to know right now." Harrison's eyes met Lily's in the rearview mirror, and they were cold but not unkind. "The less you know, the safer you are. Someone wants you dead badly enough to hire Jackson Volkov—that means we assume every detail could be compromised.""Who's Jackson Volkov—""The man Vivian Cross paid to kill you. Professional assassin. Ten confirmed kills across Europe. Never been caught because he's smart, patient, and thorough." Harrison took a corner hard enough that Lily had to brace against the door. "He's also expensive, which means your ex-husband's ex-wife is either very determined or very insane. Possibly both."The city blurred past in streaks of light and shadow, familiar landmarks becoming alien when viewed through the lens of running for your life."Where are we going?" Lily tried again, needing something solid to hold onto when everything felt lik

"Don't." Lily's voice broke on the single syllable. "Don't say that.""Why?" Ethan closed the distance between them to nothing, and his eyes held things that terrified her more than assassins or death threats or any physical danger. "Because it's easier to hate me? Because then you don't have to admit you feel it too? Because if you acknowledge that what's between us is real, you can't keep pretending I'm just another person who destroyed you for profit?"Lily's hand moved before conscious thought—palm connecting with his cheek in a slap that was half fury, half desperation.But Ethan caught her wrist mid-swing this time, fingers closing around hers with gentle firmness that somehow felt more intimate than violence."No." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Not again. I let you hit me once because I deserved it. But I won't let you hurt yourself trying to hurt me."He held her hand between them, and suddenly they were too close—close enough that Lily could feel his breath, could se