Ava's pulse raced as she looked around the dark road.
Others?
Her stomach dropped.
"How many?" Lucien demanded.
The hunter grinned despite the gun at his head.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Lucien knocked the man unconscious with the butt of the pistol.
Then he turned sharply toward the car.
"Get out."
Ava opened the door immediately.
Aurora followed behind her.
Lucien grabbed Ava's arm and pulled her slightly behind him.
"We need to leave. Now."
"Wait," Aurora said suddenly.
Her eyes scanned the dark forest lining the road.
"I hear something."
The sound came seconds later.
Engines.
More than one.
Lucien cursed under his breath.
"They're coming."
Ava's heart pounded violently.
Headlights appeared through the trees.
Three vehicles.
All moving fast.
Aurora shook her head.
"Well… that escalated quickly."
Lucien turned toward the forest beside the road.
"We go through there."
Ava hesitated.
"It's completely dark."
Lucien met her gaze.
"Trust me."
The same words he had said before.
And somehow they still made her heart race.
Without another second of hesitation, Lucien grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the trees.
Aurora followed close behind.
Branches scraped against Ava's arms as they ran deeper into the forest.
Behind them, the vehicles screeched to a stop.
Doors slammed.
Voices shouted.
"They're here!"
"Spread out!"
Ava's breath came in sharp bursts as they ran.
Lucien slowed slightly when the forest grew thicker.
"Quiet now," he whispered.
They moved carefully through the shadows.
Ava could hear men searching behind them.
Flashlights cut through the darkness.
Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure they would hear it.
Then suddenly—
Pain exploded in her head.
Ava stumbled.
Lucien caught her instantly.
"Ava?"
Her vision blurred as images flooded her mind.
A large office.
A powerful man sitting behind a desk.
Documents spread across the table.
And her own voice saying something she barely recognized.
"If this information gets out… they'll destroy everything."
The man across from her looked terrified.
"You can't expose them."
Ava shook her head in the memory.
"I have proof."
Back in the forest, Ava gasped.
"I remember!"
Lucien held her steady.
"Remember what?"
Her eyes widened.
"I wasn't just someone they erased…"
Lucien leaned closer.
"What were you?"
Ava's voice trembled.
"I was investigating them."
Aurora blinked.
"Them?"
Ava looked at Lucien, fear and realization flooding her expression.
"The people hunting me… they're not just criminals."
A pause.
"They're a secret organization."
Lucien's face darkened.
"What organization?"
Ava swallowed.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"The one that controls everything."
In the distance, flashlights grew closer.
Men were moving through the forest now.
Lucien looked around quickly.
"We'll talk later."
He grabbed her hand again.
"Right now we survive."
As they disappeared deeper into the forest, Ava realized something terrifying.
Her erased memories weren't just dangerous.
They were powerful enough to destroy people who ruled from the shadows.
And those people would never stop hunting her.