He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving the door ajar. Sarah settled on the couch with the laptop, continuing their research. The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows across the walls.
Despite her focus on the screen, Sarah found her mind wandering. How quickly everything had changed. Four days ago, she'd been celebrating a career-defining victory. Now she was hiding in a cabin with Diego Castillo, both of them targets, reluctant allies in a conspiracy neither fully understood.
And underneath it all was something else—something she wasn't ready to examine too closely. A pull toward Diego that went beyond their circumstantial partnership. She'd felt it in Vegas, before she knew who he was. She'd felt it again when he'd saved her life, when they'd fought side by side.
Sarah shook her head, dismissing the thought. Stockholm syndrome, she told herself. Trauma bonding. Nothing more.
Three hours into her watch, she heard Diego cry out. A sharp, pained sound from the bedroom. Sarah ten
