"Damn, handsome. You made her speechless. That was so funny," Ava said as she followed him out, practically bouncing beside him.
"I just don't like staying close to strangers past my comfort zone."
"Wait." Ava looked up at him as they walked toward the garage. "So those specific times you kicked me out were because your social battery was finished?"
Matthew turned around and blinked at her.
"Maybe. Who knows? I don't know."
The look he gave her clearly said, You guessed right. And that's all you're getting.
Ava narrowed her eyes.
"You're asking for an ass‑whooping."
She suddenly ran after him.
"Don't run! Let me whoop your ass!"
Matthew laughed as he hurried toward the car.
"Ava, not everyone is as stupid as you, shorty."
He reached the car first. But before opening the door, his eyes briefly moved over the vehicle.
His expression didn't change.
Matthew was particular about his belongings.
He remembered where he left things, how he left them, even the small details most people wouldn't notice.
Someone's been here.
He didn't look around again. Instead, when Ava reached him, he caught her hand and pulled her closer against his chest, holding both of her hands.
"You're different from them," he said cooly. "At least I don't have to explain myself to them. Or allow them into my personal space."
He said it while looking at her, but his attention was mapping the garage without breaking eye contact.
Two shadows.
Then another angle.
He counted without appearing to count.
His arm remained around Ava, keeping her close while he quietly studied the men and their positions.
The warmth of her body against his was… convenient. And not entirely unwelcome.
"You're a special type," he murmured, looking down at her. "You just don't know when to get out, so I have to help you."
He held both her hands, his expression playful, thumbs resting lightly against her palms.
Ava scoffed.
She rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the lips—soft, impulsive, gone before he could decide what to do with it.
"I'll forgive you once," she said, as if she hadn't just short‑circuited something in his head.
Then she slipped into the passenger seat.
Matthew watched her for half a second before getting in.
His phone came out. He typed a short message, sent it, and slipped the phone away.
Then he entered the driver's seat and closed the door.
The moment he settled inside, his gaze landed on the small incense bottle.
His expression remained unchanged.
So that's what this is.
He recognized the scent immediately.
Matthew bit the inside of his lip and held his breath, then rolled down the window.
He didn't touch the bottle.
He simply leaned back as though nothing had happened.
Then his eyes shifted toward Ava.
She was resting her head against the window, apparently asleep.
Matthew watched her quietly.
Then he noticed the strand of red hair lying across her face.
Ava gently blew at it through her slightly parted lips, the soft puff of air doing things to his focus that he absolutely did not appreciate.
Matthew stared.
Once.
Twice.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
So you're pretending.
At least pretend to the end.
He covered his mouth with his hand, suppressing a laugh.
"Seriously…"
He reached over and carefully moved the strand of hair away from her face, his fingers lingering a fraction longer than necessary near her cheek.
The skin there was warm. She didn't stir.
Matthew started the car.
The vehicle rolled slowly toward the garage gate.
Matthew's eyes remained on the road, but his attention was elsewhere.
Neither of them had any intention of ruining the performance.
As the car reached the gate, Matthew stopped as if he had fainted and lost control.
Two men in black stepped forward.
The doors opened.
The men reached inside and grabbed them.
Ava allowed herself to be pulled away without resistance.
Matthew did the same.
The two were taken toward the back seat.
The doors slammed shut. The vehicle pulled away from the garage.
The car came to a stop far outside the city, at a medium-sized ship docked for sea freight—meant to be out on the water for more than two months.
They were dragged aboard, tied up, and placed in one of the boat's empty rooms.
Matthew and Ava opened their eyes at the same time.
"You know," Ava asked curiously, voice light despite the ropes binding her wrists, "when did you know?"
"Hmm." Matthew glanced around before untying the rope from his hands. "The moment I hugged you."
Ava raised both bound legs and kicked him.
"Asshole. No wonder you were being so touchy," she said, angry at how he'd used her as bait.
" the intention may have been bad." Matthew tilted his head, expression unreadable. "Don't you like the process? Especially when I held you?"
"Sure. Do it again," Ava said, eyes sparkling.
Matthew's lip twitched. He finished untying himself, then moved to untie her.
"So when did you know?" he asked.
"I got the alert on my phone when they broke into my car. Not like 'broke in' broke in—they opened it without a key. I can use password tracking," Ava said, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.
"So you were aware before me, and you have the nerves to be angry I hugged you to see who was following us? What a hypocrite," Matthew said, giving her a light knock on the forehead.
"Ouch. Did I not give you a warning yesterday? That the person who attacked me would attack again?" Ava said as she stood up, rubbing her wrists.
"It seems the person is going to finish the job. Literally," Matthew said, looking out the boat window. "They're taking us away from the city. Security probably won't trace this to your family—that would be too easy.
Someone is using another person. But now that person is taking it farther than expected."
He glanced at her, lazy and observant. "You do make a lot of enemies."
When the boat finally stopped, Ava and Matthew exchanged a look.
They could hear footsteps approaching their door.
The moment it opened, Matthew moved.
He yanked Ava up by her bound hands, using her momentum to launch a kick at the first man who stepped inside.
Before the second could react, Matthew landed a punch squarely on his face.
The third and fourth men reached for their weapons.
Ava hit the floor running.
She snatched the knife from the waist of the man she'd just kicked and hurled it at the third man's head.
"Headshot," she yelled as he dropped.
Matthew used the second man as a shield, dragging him in front of him to block the gunshot from the fourth.
Then he shoved the dead body at the attacker, closed the distance, picked up the fallen gun, and killed the fourth man with a single shot.
Ava had already grabbed a loaded gun from the floor and shot the first guy head.
Together, they left the room. The noise had alerted more men, who came rushing down the corridor.
Ava and Matthew shot anyone in their path, moving like a single unit.
She fired first—two quick shots.
One man dropped, another clutched his groin area soaked with blood and stumbled back before falling.
Matthew gave her a shock expression mouth open before he stepped into the gap, and shot the third man that was running to alert the men in the island.
The remaining four opened fire.
Ava rolled behind a stack of crates. Bullets sparked off the metal.
She peeked out, fired twice more. One man went down.
Matthew used the distraction. He moved along the wall, silent, then popped out behind the last two.
Two shots. Both fell.
They moved forward.
The corridor opened into a loading bay.
Outside was a small island.
Dense bushes surrounded the shipping site, with a large warehouse farther inland.
Cargo containers were stacked around the property, and floodlights illuminated parts of the dock while leaving other areas swallowed by darkness.
Silence, except for the hum of the lights and the distant crash of waves.
They moved forward.
Ava jumped down first.
Matthew followed.
They moved behind a cluster of containers.
"If we wait on the boat, those waiting at the warehouse would be alerted. I already contacted my men before I entered the car to trace my phone," Matthew explained, voice calm even as he scanned the perimeter.
Ava nodded. "You follow behind. Try to sneak in."
She ran before he could say anything, disappearing into the dense bush surrounding the small island used for shipments.
Matthew watched her go, then moved after her, silent as a shadow.
Inside the warehouse, twelve more men heard the gunshots from outside.
Everyone froze.
They exchanged looks.
"What the fuck was that?" one of them muttered.
Ella's fingers tightened around the weapon in her hand.
"Those fucking bastards…"
Her voice shook slightly, but she forced herself to steady it.
"There is nothing they can do. Go check what is happening."
The men moved immediately.
No panic.
No shouting.
They checked their weapons, exchanged quick hand signals, and split into groups.
Two headed toward the warehouse entrance while the others spread out, keeping their backs away from open spaces and their weapons trained toward the doors.
Ella remained behind.
She was terrified.
But every time fear rose in her chest, one thought crushed it down.
Ava.
Because of Ava, everything had fallen apart.
She had been expelled.
Her father's business had collapsed.
Her father had lost his right to inherit his grandfather's company and had been reduced to nothing more than someone who received an allowance.
He wasn't allowed to make decisions or build anything of his own.
Her mother continued spending money as though nothing had changed.
Her father had turned to gambling.
And Ella?
She had been forced into a marriage with an old man.
She was barely nineteen, yet suddenly she was expected to become a stepmother to three children.
One was older than her.
One was around her age.
And the youngest was a spoiled little brat who was five years younger than her and treated her like a servant.
Ella had become little more than a nanny in her own marriage.
Humiliated.
Disgraced.
And eventually thrown out.
Then everything became worse.
Her husband had caught her sleeping with his son.
The son had promised to marry her after his father's death.
Instead, when she threatened to expose his plan to kill his father, he tried to kill her too.
So when someone offered her a deal, Ella had accepted.
Kill Ava.
In return, the person behind the deal would eliminate her ex-husband and his children, burn down the evidence, and deal with her parents as well.
The son was already dead.
Her former husband was dead.
The second child had lost his mind.
The youngest had been sent to stay with an uncle while everything their family owned was stripped away.
If Ella succeeded, she would finally be free.
She would also get paid.
Ella swallowed hard.
I just have to kill Ava.
That thought steadied her.
Outside, the two men sent to investigate stepped through the warehouse doors.
They barely had time to look around.
Two gunshots cracked through the darkness.
Both men dropped.
Matthew stood several meters away, gun lowered.
He didn't waste another bullet.
Behind the warehouse, Ava was already moving.
She had slipped around to the rear entrance while the others were distracted.
Inside, the remaining men immediately stood.
"What the fuck is going on?"
The warehouse lights suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Ava had cut the power.
"Is someone trying to play games with us?" one man shouted.
The leader immediately raised his weapon.
"Turn on your flashlights."
Several beams snapped on.
"Five of you, check the outside perimeter. Use the back entrance."
He pointed toward the upper level.
"The rest follow me. We're going out through the upstairs windows."
The men separated professionally.
The five assigned to the rear moved first.
They didn't rush.
Two stayed near the doorway while the others spread across the yard, checking behind containers, beneath the loading platform, and along the warehouse wall.
One crouched near the bushes.
Another kept his weapon trained toward the trees.
The remaining three watched different angles, covering their teammates.
Upstairs, the others moved in a tight formation.
No one spoke unnecessarily.
They communicated with quick gestures, checking corners before advancing.
A shot rang out.
The light bulb hanging above the five men in the backyard shattered.
Glass rained down.
One man screamed and grabbed his face.
A fragment had struck him in the eye.
"What the—!"
Ava was already running.
The men reacted instantly.
Two of them fired toward the sound of her footsteps.
Bullets tore through the darkness.
Ava ducked behind a stack of crates and fired back.
The injured man staggered blindly, firing wildly.
"Stop shooting!"
One of his own men grabbed him and punched the weapon out of his hand before he could hit anyone.
Ava used the confusion.
Two quick shots.
Two men dropped.
The others scattered behind cover.
Upstairs, the gunshots reached the men moving toward the window.
"Fuck."
They rushed toward the sound.
The man at the back suddenly slowed.
A shadow appeared behind him.
Matthew stepped from one of the rooms.
His arm moved once.
The man collapsed silently.
Matthew immediately slipped into his position.
The remaining men didn't notice.
He followed them.
The next man fell just as quietly.
The third finally sensed something wrong.
He stopped.
Turned.
Matthew was already behind him.
The shot came before he could react.
The man dropped.
The second man raised his weapon.
Matthew grabbed the fourth man's body and pulled it in front of himself as the bullets tore through it.
The fifth man turned toward the movement.
But Ava was already behind him.
She fired.
He dropped.
"Headshot," she said softly, a smirk touching her lips.
She tossed the empty gun aside.
Matthew lowered his weapon.
For a brief second, they looked at each other across the warehouse.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Ella stood downstairs.
Her weapon was raised.
She slowly stepped into the light.
"Hands up."
Her voice was steadier now.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot."
Ava's smile disappeared.
Matthew's eyes narrowed.
Ella tightened her grip on the gun.
"Now… let's see which one of you is going to die first."
"Come down. Be good. Don't do anything stupid Trust me, I would love to put a bullet through both of your skulls."Ella called from belowher eyes filled with madness that made her look older than nineteen.
"Who the fuck is that?" Matthew whispered to Ava as they started down the stairs.
"I don't know. She's so ugly. I don't do ugly people," Ava whispered back, deadpan.
They descended, hands raised.
"Do you know me? You must remember me, right?" Ella said, voice dripping with mockery.
Matthew narrowed his eyes, studying her as if she were a mildly interesting stain on the wall.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"Nope. Not at all," he said, shaking his head.
Ava almost laughed out loud.
"You don't remember me? You don't remember me, and you are the reason I'm like this!" And you are the reason I'm like this!" Ella screamed.
"Okay, now I'm just being dragged into a matter I know nothing about. Are you sent by the elder?" Matthew asked, tilting his head as Ella's face twisted in confusion.
"Then I don't know you, and I don't want to," he added casually.
"I'm the girl who attended Crownside High, Class 2! I wanted to join your group in the class study group, but this Ava ruined everything! She nearly got me expelled, got my family bankrupt, got me married to an old man—all because of her jealousy!" Ella yelled, voice cracking.
On Thursday part, Friday Saturday and Sunday that is today are coming out before the day end love you all and right happy New month