Chapter Three – Strawberry Milk and Red Flags

Leo had a rule.

If something fell off, you didn’t ignore it.

You burned it down, buried the ashes, and moved on.

So it said a lot about Ava that he broke that rule for her.

“She’s clean,” Jin said, scrolling through files on his tablet. “Too clean. No criminal record. No suspicious transactions. No family ties.”

Leo sat behind his desk, fingers steepled, eyes unfocused.

“That’s the problem,” Leo said.

Jin hesitated. “Boss?”

“No one survives this city with no mess.”

Ava noticed the guards immediately.

Again.

This time, she didn’t dodge them.

She walked straight up to the black SUV parked outside her apartment and knocked on the window.

The window rolled down.

“Yes?” Ava smiled. “Can I help you?”

The guard froze like a deer in headlights. “Uh—Miss Ava—”

“Tell Leo,” she said casually, “that if he parks here again, my landlord’s gonna call the cops.”

The guard swallowed. “He’s… concerned.”

She leaned closer. “I’m annoyed.”

Then she walked away, sipping her strawberry milk.

The guard immediately texted Jin.

Leo read the message and laughed.

“She’s fearless,” Jin said.

“She’s reckless.”

“Same thing sometimes.”

Leo stood. “I want eyes on her. Close.”

Jin stiffened. “Boss—”

“No touching,” Leo added. “No interference.”

“…And if someone else touches her?”

Leo’s smile vanished.

“Kill them.”

Ava’s clinic closed late that night.

She hummed softly as she wiped down the counter, calm as ever. Outside, rain tapped against the windows.

The door chimed.

She looked up.

Leo walked in like he owned the place.

“You don’t knock,” she said.

“I don’t ask permission.”

She gestured to the sign. “Clinic’s closed.”

“I’m not a patient.”

She looked him over. “Debatable.”

He smirked. “You’ve been avoiding my men.”

“I don’t like babysitters.”

“They’re not babysitters.”

“They literally follow me to buy milk.”

Leo paused. “…Strawberry?”

“Obviously.”

He exhaled slowly. “You’re enjoying this.”

“Watching powerful men panic?” She grinned. “A little.”

Leo stepped closer. “Why aren’t you scared?”

She didn’t back away. “Why are you so sure I should be?”

“Because I ruin lives.”

She tilted her head. “So do I.”

That stopped him.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

She turned, unlocked a cabinet, and pulled out supplies. “It means people come to me broken, and they leave… different.”

He watched her hands again.

Always steady.

Always precise.

“You were trained,” Leo said quietly.

She glanced at him. “So were you.”

“By monsters.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “Same.”

Later that night, Leo watched surveillance footage.

Ava walking home.

A man stepped out of the shadows.

Leo’s jaw tightened.

The man grabbed Ava’s bag.

“Give it—”

Ava twisted.

Fast.

Too fast.

The man slammed into the wall, wheezing, his arm pinned behind his back.

Leo sat up straight.

“That was a clean lock,” Jin said slowly.

Ava released the man, adjusted her hoodie, and handed him his wallet.

“Don’t try that again,” she said gently.

The man nodded frantically and ran.

Leo stared at the screen.

“She didn’t even break a sweat,” Jin whispered.

Leo leaned back.

Interesting.

The next morning, Ava walked into a café.

Leo was already there.

She paused. “You stalking me again?”

“No,” he said calmly. “I drink coffee here.”

She looked around. Empty café. Guards outside.

“Sure.”

She ordered strawberry milk.

The barista blinked. “We don’t—”

Leo slid a bill across the counter. “You do now.”

Ava laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

He leaned forward. “You disarmed a man last night.”

Her smile didn’t fade. “Self-defense class.”

“You used a technique that takes years to master.”

She took her drink. “I’m a fast learner.”

Leo’s eyes darkened. “What else are you lying about?”

She met his gaze, unbothered. “What aren’t you?”

Silence.

Then Leo said, “Someone’s coming for you.”

Ava’s expression didn’t change.

“They already are,” she said.

That sent a chill down his spine.

“Who?” he demanded.

She sipped her milk. “If I tell you, you’ll overreact.”

“I always overreact.”

She smiled. “Exactly.”

That night, the attack came.

Three men.

Guns.

Leo’s men moved instantly.

Too late.

By the time they reached Ava’s apartment, the place was silent.

The door was open.

Furniture overturned.

Blood on the floor.

Leo felt an ugly twist in his chest.

“Ava,” he called.

No answer.

Then—movement.

Ava stepped out of the shadows.

Uninjured.

Calm.

The attackers lay unconscious around her. One embedded in a wall. Another twisted at a wrong angle.

Leo stared.

“…What did you do?” he asked slowly.

She brushed dust from her sleeve. “You said no interference.”

He swallowed.

“You didn’t need protection,” he realized.

She walked up to him, eyes sharp now—ancient, unreadable.

“No,” Ava said softly. “You needed context.”

She leaned close, voiced a whisper.

“And you still think you’re the main character.”

Leo smiled.

Not amused.

Thrilled.

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