The Betrayal

Emily sat at her desk and stared at the case papers strewn out in front of her while the city lights flashed outside the office windows, creating long shadows across the room. She was under a lot of pressure from the investigation, but she had other things on her mind as well. Ethan

Their relationship had changed ever since Nathan had shown up. Unspoken but unavoidable, there was something in the air that neither of them wanted to discuss. Ethan didn't share, as he had made plain. Emily, on the other hand, wasn't sure what that meant for her.

She was startled out of her reverie by a knock on the door. As always, Ethan's face was unreadable when he entered, but there was something new about the way he gazed at her, as if he could see past the impenetrable barriers she had erected.

He whispered, "You look like hell," and shut the door.

Emily grinned, but it fell short of her eyes. "I appreciate the support."

He walked up to her desk and looked at the files. "Is there anything new?"

She gave a headshake. "It doesn't make sense. There's always another loose end when I believe we're making progress.

Ethan sat opposite her, his eyes unwavering. That's the way it goes, Hayes. There is no tidy little container that contains the truth.

With a sigh, she reclined in her seat. "I just feel like someone is purposefully giving us the wrong pieces."

Although Ethan's jaw tensed a little, he took a moment to react. His quiet spoke louder than words as he simply observed her.

Emily's eyes narrowed. "What?

Nothing," he responded, but she felt worried at the tone of his voice.

Her phone buzzed before she could push any farther. An anonymous tip appeared on the screen as she looked at it.

She glanced at Ethan. "A location was sent by someone. claims it has something to do with Collins.

Ethan got to his feet. "Leave now."

They followed the address to a dilapidated warehouse on the city's outskirts. The only sound in the area was the soft hum of the streetlights, and the air was heavy with the smell of oil and rust.

Emily's gut was telling her that something wasn't quite right.

"Are you certain about this?" As they entered, Ethan inquired.

"No," she said, holding her revolver tightly.

The wooden floor creaked under their feet as they walked carefully across the dimly lit room. The sense of uneasiness grew stronger as they descended farther.

Then they noticed it.

A table with a nice stack of case files, their case files. And one photograph next to them.

Emily took a step closer and her breath hitched. It was an evening photo of her and Ethan.

"We've been set up," Ethan said as he looked around the room.

The doors slammed shut before Emily could react. A second later, a recognizable voice broke the stillness as the room was filled with artificial light.

"I didn't anticipate seeing you two here."

Emily's heart sank when she turned abruptly and met the eyes of the last person she had anticipated.

Nathan.

It felt like a cut to the gut to be betrayed.

Nathan's countenance was unreadable as he leaned on the table.

Almost as an afterthought, he said, "Emily, you really shouldn't be here."

Ethan's fingers hovered close to his revolver as his body turned rigid next to her. "Are you collaborating with them?"

A sneer formed on Nathan's lips. "It's not that easy."

Anger seething beneath Emily's skin caused her fingers to tremble at her side. It really is that easy. Whether you support the truth or not is up to you.

Nathan shook his head and let out a breath. "Em, you continue to perceive things in black and white. You've always had that issue.

Something sharp twisted inside her as he whispered her name, but she pushed it away.

"What's your point?" Ethan insisted.

Nathan looked him in the eye evenly. "Survival."

The word was thick and unwavering as it hung in the air.

Then he took something out of his pocket and threw it at them before they could move. a USB drive.

He said, "Everything you're looking for is on there," in a tone that Emily couldn't understand. "But what you find might not be to your liking."

Ethan moved closer and grabbed it from the table while Emily hesitated.

Nathan gave her a final glance. "Watch out, Em."

After then, he turned and vanished into the night.

There was tension between them back at Emily's flat.

Sitting on the couch, Emily gazed at the USB disk she was holding. She was still attempting to make sense of what had transpired.

Nathan was not on their side. Or was he making a perverse attempt to assist?

Ethan paced next to her, clearly frustrated. "Are you alright?"

Emily gave a halting laugh. "No."

He paused in front of her and lowered himself to eye level. With a calmer tone, he stated, "We'll work this out." "With each other."

His tone tightened something in her chest. She had had enough of lugging things by herself.

She took a deep breath. "Ethan."

He remained motionless and silent. He did nothing except wait.

And Emily broke down for the first time in years.

She muttered, "I'm sick of not knowing who to trust." "Of feeling like I could lose everything if I took one wrong step."

Ethan's eyes grew softer. "This is not something you have to do alone."

For a minute, Emily closed her eyes. Ethan was still there when she opened them. Firm. steadfast.

Then she grabbed for him before she could change her mind.

The tension that had been building between them for weeks finally flared when their lips met. As he slowly but deeply kissed her, Ethan's hands found her waist and drew her in.

It was not hurried. It wasn't careless.

There was no denying it.

Their foreheads were lying together and their breathing was erratic when they eventually separated.

Ethan touched her face with his thumb. "This time, you're not shoving me away."

Emily's heart pounded as she gulped. "No."

She didn't want to for once

Later that evening, Emily sat at her workstation and stared at the USB drive after Ethan had dozed off on the couch.

As she inserted it into her laptop, her fingers shook a little.

The files loaded immediately, revealing a deluge of emails, documents, and surveillance logs. Then a name.

One she didn't anticipate seeing.

Knight, Ethan.

As Emily clicked on the file, her breath caught. There was a secret message.

He isn't who he claims to be.

Suddenly, it felt cooler in the room.

Her eyes strayed to Ethan's sleeping spot. The man who kissed her as if she were the only thing in the world. She had recently begun to trust him.

However, she wasn't sure now