POV: Ethan ColeWe hit the streets running.[TIME TO ENFORCER ARRIVAL: 43 MINUTES]The countdown burned in my vision like a ticking bomb. Forty-three minutes to get across town, grab Maya's evidence, and get out before Morrison's people torched everything.Not enough time. Not nearly enough."This way!" Maya pointed down a side street where cars were parked along the curb.I spotted a motorcycle. Black. Older model. Easy to hot-wire.'Perfect.'The system fed me the steps as my hands worked. Strip the ignition wires. Connect the right ones. The engine roared to life."Get on!" I yelled.Maya didn't hesitate. She swung her leg over and wrapped her arms tight around my waist. Her breath was hot against my neck through the helmet I'd grabbed from the seat. We took off fast, weaving through midnight traffic like we were running from the cops. Which we kind of were, just not the official kind.The storage facility was across town. Fifteen minutes if traffic was light. Twenty if it wasn't.

POV: Maya SantosMy hands wouldn't stop shaking on the steering wheel.I'd driven three blocks from the storage facility before I had to pull over and kill the engine. The van sat in the shadows of an abandoned building, boxes of evidence stacked behind me, and all I could think about was Ethan facing six armed men alone.He's going to die. For my case. For my revenge.That thought me sick.I checked my phone out of habit. Seventeen missed calls from the law firm. Morrison was probably applying pressure through my boss, trying to locate me, threatening my job if I didn't come in and explain myself.My job. Right. Like that mattered anymore.Forty-eight hours ago I'd been a struggling paralegal. Underpaid, overworked, but safe. Now I was a fugitive harboring stolen evidence and fleeing from corporate enforcers who wanted me dead.My entire life had imploded, and I wasn't sure if I'd made the right choice.'No. Don't think like that. You did what you had to do.'I'd spent eight months i

POV: Ethan ColeThe Ashford Tower’s the second tallest building in the city. I'd been to buildings like this a hundred times before the accident. Business meetings, merger negotiations, the usual CEO bullshit. Felt weird walking in now without a suit and briefcase, just jeans and a jacket covering bruises from fighting Morrison's goons.Security didn't even look at me. Victoria had obviously cleared me through.The elevator was waiting. Doors open, top floor button already pressed. Sixty floors up in silence.'This is either gonna save me or kill me.'The doors opened to an office that reminded me of the one I used to have. Huge mahogany desk, floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the whole city, and artwork on the walls that I actually recognized. A Rothko on the left, probably worth seven figures. A smaller Pollock on the right.Victoria had taste. And money to back it up. She sat behind the desk, and I recognized the power play immediately. She'd positioned everything to put visi

POV: Ethan ColeAdvanced Combat Level Two hit different than the first upgrade.Everything slowed down. Not like movie slow-motion, just... I could see what they'd do before they did it. Where they'd move, how they'd attack, everything.Maya on the ground with her hands tied, blood on her face. And three assholes with weapons who thought they'd get away with hurting her.No witnesses, no reason to hold back.The system showed me where to hit. Red spots glowing on their bodies. Places that would leave permanent damage instead of just knocking them out. And for the first time since all of this started, I picked permanent.The first guy was going for his gun. I kicked his knee sideways as hard as I could. The joint shattered, and he went down screaming.Good. He'd never walk right again.The second one swung a baton at my head. I caught his wrist and slammed his hand into the steel doorframe. Once. Twice. Three times until bones snapped.His hand was destroyed. The baton fell and he coll

POV: Maya SantosI watched Ethan's face drain of color like someone had opened a valve and let all the blood out.Pregnant. The word hung in the air between us.My legal instincts were screaming. This was manipulation. Had to be. Emma Hart didn't get to orchestrate someone's murder and then play the scared pregnant victim card.But Ethan was staring at his phone like it might explode, and I realized he was actually considering believing her."Give me the phone," I said.Ethan looked at me blankly."The phone, Ethan. Now."He handed it over and I hit redial on Emma's number. She picked up on the first ring."Ethan?" Her voice was still that breathy whisper."It's Maya Santos," I said. "And I need you to answer some questions."Silence on the other end. Then a shaky exhale."Who are you?" Emma asked."Someone who doesn't buy your bullshit." I kept my voice hard and professional. "You claim you're pregnant with Ethan's baby. Give me conception timeline. Medical confirmation. When are you