Ava barely slept. She wasn’t sure when her eyes finally closed, or when she drifted out of the moment with Dominic standing in her apartment. She only remembered the sound of his voice lingering in her mind long after he left, low and steady, like a line she couldn’t step away from.
When her alarm buzzed, she shut it off and sat upright, exhausted but alert. Her thoughts were a mix she didn’t know how to organize—danger, reporting, the shell companies, and Dominic, all layered in a way that felt too close.
She showered, dressed, and forced herself into work mode.
Facts first. Feelings later. Much later.
At the newsroom, Lena caught her within seconds of walking in.
“You okay?” Lena asked.
Ava nodded. “Just tired.”
“You look like someone who didn’t sleep.”
“Because I didn’t.”
Lena exhaled. “I talked to legal again. They said the filings you found aren’t simple. If someone intentionally built that network, they did it with inside help.”
“I know.”
Lena paused, lowering her voice. “Is anyone bothering you?”
Ava hesitated. “Define bothering.”
“That’s a yes.”
“It’s complicated,” Ava said.
“It’s always complicated with you.” Lena crossed her arms. “Just be careful. And don’t go to any more questionable buildings alone.”
Ava didn’t respond.
Lena squinted. “You’re avoiding something.”
Ava walked toward her desk. “I’m avoiding a lot of things.”
Before Lena could press further, Ava sat down and opened her laptop. She focused on the vendor spreadsheets again, trying to ignore the memory of Dominic’s hand lightly closing around her elbow.
She couldn’t.
Her phone buzzed.
Dominic: “Are you at work?”
Ava’s pulse hit once, sharp.
She typed back: “Yes.”
Another message appeared immediately.
“Good.”
She stared at the word longer than she should have.
A second message followed.
“Don’t leave the building today without telling someone where you’re going.”
Ava exhaled, not sure if she was irritated or something else.
She typed: “You can’t monitor my movements.”
He responded:
“I’m not monitoring. I’m asking.”
Ava leaned back, annoyed at how much that distinction mattered.
She typed: “I’m fine.”
He replied:
“Not the question I asked.”
Ava shut her eyes briefly, then put her phone face-down on the desk.
Her feelings were a mess.
Lena leaned over the divider. “Was that your anonymous source again?”
Ava almost choked. “What? No.”
“So it was someone,” Lena said slowly.
Ava kept her voice controlled. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s the third time you’ve used that word today.”
“And it’s accurate.”
Lena stared at her. “Ava… who are you talking to?”
Before Ava could answer, Ethan Ward appeared at the entrance of the newsroom.
She froze.
He scanned the room until his gaze landed on her.
“Ava Sinclair?”
Ava’s stomach tightened. “Yes?”
He approached professionally, but with a tension she could read instantly. “Mr. Hale asked me to deliver something.”
Lena blinked. “Mr. Hale? As in—”
“Yes,” Ethan said politely.
He handed Ava an envelope.
She accepted it slowly. “What is this?”
“Information you should see,” Ethan said. “And a request from Mr. Hale that you don’t ignore it.”
Ava’s pulse jumped. “Why didn’t he bring it himself?”
“He thought that would be… disruptive.”
Ava wasn’t sure if that meant disruptive for her or for him.
Ethan lowered his voice. “He also said to tell you he’s not trying to influence your reporting.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “But he sent you here.”
“He’s aware,” Ethan said, “that the lines between you two are not strictly professional at the moment.”
Ava froze completely.
Lena’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
Ava nearly buried her face in her hands. “That’s not— we’re not— it’s not what you think.”
Ethan stayed neutral. “I’m only repeating his message.”
Ava muttered under her breath, “Great. Perfect.”
Lena whispered loudly, “A CEO is sending people to deliver you personal messages—Ava, what exactly is going on?”
Ava ignored her, opened the envelope, and found several printed documents. Vendor records. Internal timestamps. Access logs.
And a single handwritten line at the bottom:
*You were right. Someone wanted you scared.
Not the same person who wants you informed.*
Ava’s stomach flipped.
Lena leaned over her shoulder. “Is that… his handwriting?”
“Lena.”
“What? I’m observing.”
Ava folded the paper and stood. “I need air.”
“Again?” Lena said.
Ava ignored her and stepped toward the hallway.
But before she reached the door, her phone buzzed again.
Dominic: “You got the documents?”
Ava didn’t reply.
Another message:
“I sent what I could safely send.
If you want the rest, meet me.”
Ava’s pulse spiked.
She typed: “Meet where?”
Dominic replied:
“You choose. Anywhere public.”
Ava closed her eyes.
She knew she should refuse. She knew every line between them was already too blurred.
But she also knew something else—
She wanted to see him.
Her fingers moved before her mind caught up.
“Fine. Twenty minutes. Midtown Coffee.”
His response came instantly.
“I’ll be there.”
Midtown Coffee was crowded, which was the only reason Ava agreed to meet there. Noise made things feel less dangerous. People made things feel less complicated.
Or that was what she told herself.
She arrived first and took a seat near the window. Her hands were wrapped around a paper cup she wasn’t drinking from. She tried to steady her breathing, but every passing minute made her more aware of what she had agreed to.
She saw him before he stepped inside.
Dominic crossed the street with purpose, coat still on, expression controlled—but not cold. Not tonight. He scanned the café briefly until he saw her.
The moment their eyes met, something in her chest tightened.
He walked to her table.
“Ava.”
“Dominic.”
He sat across from her, his movements deliberate, quiet. The air between them felt different—charged but contained, like both of them were holding a door shut from the inside.
“Thank you for coming,” he said.
“I almost didn’t.”
“I know.”
Ava frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me after last night.”
She looked down at her cup. “Last night shouldn’t have happened.”
“No,” he said. “But it did.”
Ava didn’t answer.
Dominic studied her for a moment, then reached into his coat and placed a small folder on the table.
“This is what I couldn’t send through Ethan.”
Ava looked at it without touching. “Is it safe for me to have?”
“It’s safer than not knowing.”
Ava hesitated, then opened the folder. Inside were three documents—internal memos, security access summaries, and one photo taken from a camera she didn’t recognize. It showed a blurred figure near the warehouse district.
“Is that the man who followed me?” she asked quietly.
Dominic nodded. “One of them.”
“One of them?”
“There’s more than one group watching the leak. Some want to hide it. Some want to expose it. You were caught between them.”
Ava stared at the photo. “So who warned me?”
“Not the same person who followed you,” Dominic said. “Whoever sent the messages doesn’t want you gone. They want you alert.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
She exhaled slowly. “Why are you involved in this at this level?”
“Because someone inside my company is manipulating information,” Dominic said. “Someone with access to things they shouldn’t have. You found parts of it before I did.”
Ava’s eyes lifted to him. “So I’m ahead of you.”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t like that.”
He didn’t deny it. “No.”
Ava leaned back in her chair. “Then why help me?”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Because you’re already in the middle of it, and I won’t pretend I’m fine with that.”
Her breath caught.
Dominic lowered his voice. “I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m not asking you to step back. I’m asking you to let me keep you from getting hurt.”
“That sounds a lot like control.”
“It’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because if I wanted control,” Dominic said quietly, “I wouldn’t be sitting here asking.”
Ava looked away, heat rising under her skin.
The silence stretched, heavy and honest.
Finally she said, “This complicates everything.”
“It does.”
“And you’re still here.”
“Yes.”
She let out a slow breath. “So what now?”
Dominic leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, voice low enough only she could hear.
“Now you tell me what you plan to do next. And I decide how to protect you without getting in your way.”
Ava’s pulse jumped. “You make it sound like you’re part of my decisions.”
“I am,” he said. “Whether either of us planned that or not.”
Her fingers tightened around the coffee cup.
She didn’t disagree.
Dominic watched her carefully. “You can walk away if you want. From this meeting. From me. I won’t stop you.”
Ava looked up, eyes meeting his directly.
“I’m not walking away.”
The reaction on his face was subtle—barely a shift—but she felt it.
Relief.
Tension.
Something deeper he didn’t say out loud.
Dominic nodded once. “Then we start from there.”
Ava swallowed. “And what does ‘there’ mean?”
His voice lowered.
“It means you’re not doing any of this alone anymore.”
Her heartbeat hit the back of her ribs.
For a moment, neither of them looked away.
Then Dominic said, “Ava… there’s something else you should know.”
She braced herself. “What?”
“The warehouse wasn’t the first time someone followed you.”
Ava froze.
Her fingers stiffened against the cup.
Dominic kept his eyes on hers. “It’s been happening longer than you think.”
Her stomach tightened. “How long?”
“Long enough,” he said. “And long before you and I met.”
Ava’s breath faltered.
Everything she thought she understood shifted.
Dominic leaned closer.
“I’m not telling you this to scare you. I’m telling you because you need to know exactly what you’re walking into.”
Ava whispered, “And you’re still letting me?”
“No,” he said softly. “I’m walking in with you.”
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