“Ava, it’s me, Faisal.”

She hadn’t heard right and yet she had. The voice, the words, even the shoes. It all came together. All of it was familiar. The fear fell away. She relaxed in his arms, her heart pounding a zillion times an hour.

“If I let you go, promise me you won’t run,” he said.

“It’s a mistake to be here with me.”

His arm eased and she slid down, landing on her feet and turning to face him.

The look he gave her was both intimidating and full of concern. “You could have died, running the way you did.”

“But I didn’t,” she said obstinately as if her earlier fears had been based on nothing but her imagination. “It was a mistake to follow me,” she repeated, for he hadn’t responded the first time she’d said it. “Fai,” she whispered. “You need to get out of here. Trust me.”

“We’ll get out of here together. It’s what I do, protect.”