Chapter 5 Clues in the Shadows

Ethan followed Sienna across the rooftop, his mind racing as fast as his feet. She moved like she had done this before-quick, calculated, like a woman who had been running for far too long.

They jumped down onto a fire escape, metal rattling beneath them, and climbed down to a side alley. Sienna led them through a maze of backstreets, only stopping once they reached an abandoned parking garage.

Ethan pressed his back against a concrete pillar, catching his breath. "Start talking."

Sienna kept watch near the entrance, gun still gripped in her hand. "Not here."

His patience snapped. "No more running, Sienna! Who the hell are those guys, and why are they after you? And me, apparently."

She hesitated.

Ethan stepped closer. "You called me. You don't get to shut me out now."

Finally, she looked at him. "Three years ago, I left because I thought I had no choice. Someone made sure I believed things that weren't true."

Ethan's body went rigid. "Things like what?"

She licked her lips, like she wasn't sure how much to say. "Like the idea that you betrayed me."

His blood turned to ice. "What?"

Sienna exhaled. "I was manipulated, Ethan. Into leaving you. Into walking away." She clenched her fists. "And now I know who did it."

Ethan's breath came slow and steady, though his chest was tight with anger. "Who?"

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a sudden noise echoed through the garage. The unmistakable click of a gun being cocked.

"Step out, Sienna," a voice called from the shadows.

Ethan's muscles coiled. He instinctively reached for the weapon at his hip-except he wasn't carrying one. He hadn't expected to need one tonight.

Sienna backed up slowly, her grip tightening around her gun. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath.

Ethan turned his head slightly. "How many?"

"Two."

"Armed?"

"Of course."

Ethan exhaled. "You really know how to make an entrance back into my life, don't you?"

Sienna gave him a sideways glance. "Trust me, I didn't plan on it."

A dark figure stepped out from behind a row of abandoned cars, a pistol aimed directly at them. "No sudden moves."

Sienna lifted her hands slightly, but Ethan saw it-her finger tightening around the trigger of her own weapon, just enough to be ready.

Ethan met her gaze.

Then, in perfect sync, they moved.