Ethan didn't move for a full minute after the call ended. His pulse pounded in his ears, his fingers tightening around the phone as if willing it to ring again. But the silence that followed was absolute.

Sienna.

The name alone sent a hurricane of emotions ripping through him-anger, betrayal, longing. He had spent the last three years convincing himself she no longer existed. That what they had was buried, just like the wreckage of their marriage.

And yet, here she was. Her voice still haunting, still familiar, but now laced with something else. Fear.

He exhaled sharply, pushing back from his desk. His instincts screamed at him to let it go. To pretend she hadn't reached out. She had walked away from him first. She was the one who-

No. Don't go there.

Instead, he grabbed his coat and keys.

If Sienna was in trouble, ignoring it wasn't an option.

Sienna Blake pressed her back against the cold brick wall of the alley, her breaths shallow, her fingers trembling as she gripped the burner phone.

She had less than five minutes before they traced the call.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she peered around the corner. The city pulsed with life beyond the shadows-neon lights flashing against the slick pavement, people laughing in rooftop bars, taxis weaving through the streets. But she was stuck in the dark, running from ghosts no one else could see.

She had taken every precaution. She changed phones, switched safe houses, stayed off the grid. And yet, they had found her again.

She had no choice now. She had to go to the one person she swore she'd never see again.

Ethan.

The irony wasn't lost on her. She had walked out of his life, leaving nothing behind but silence. But now, when it mattered most, he was the only person she could trust.

If he still wanted to save her.

A car's headlights slashed through the alley, tires screeching as it came to a stop.

Sienna's stomach dropped.

They were here.