Fated: An Open Heart AU

Inevitable

The man in the shadows watched the surveillance feed, hands fisted tight at the scene unfolding in front of him. He saw a mysterious woman shimmer out of the darkness and point a gun at Larry. The words she said were etched in his brain, his lips silently moving as he repeated the conversation, word for word. It wasn't the first time he'd watched this play out.

His nemesis looked on, bemused at the handcuffs in his hands. There was something between them, he observed as anger threatened to destroy his carefully cultivated control before he shook it off.

It had taken him six months to learn not to fly off the handle whenever someone even mentioned the name Ethan. And another year to plan his revenge. He was too far into now to let anything get in his way.

The great Ethan Ramsey might think he had survived, but he'd only delayed the inevitable. It was time for the end game.

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Cassie's heartbeat accelerated as sweat poured down her face. She could feel her arms and legs get limber as their muscles remembered what they were supposed to do. Her breathing ragged, she reached for that one last high, chased it as her body screamed for it.

"Good morning, Dr. Ramsey."

Ethan stood, arms crossed, in the doorway to her home office-slash-gym. His blue eyes met her green ones in the reflective glass of the floor-to-ceiling wall overlooking the city. It gave the illusion of being outside, something Cassie needed whenever she had to complete her daily run indoors. It also reflected anyone and anything behind her so that she wasn't caught off guard.

She switched the treadmill to wind-down mode, tripping lightly over her feet before she adjusted to the slower pace and his presence.

Despite her bravado last night, this man unnerved her and made her want things she'd never wanted before. Knowing he was in the guest room on the other of her bedroom had been enough to keep her awake and just a bit horny.

It was the adrenaline, she told herself as she stared at the ceiling. And okay, maybe it was also the way his laser blue eyes bored into hers, stripping away her defenses and making her ache with want. It had been like that every time they met and when the danger had passed, it intensified those hormones ten-fold.

"Morning," he said, voice gruff from sleep. "Do you always run like demons are chasing you?"

"Not demons," she smirked. "Just bad guys. You do know what I do for a living, don't you?"

"Intimately," he replied, eyes unblinking as they stared at each other's reflections.

The beep of the treadmill stopping broke the spell and they both looked away. She reached for the water bottle and towel, wiping the sweat off her face before unscrewing the cap. In her haste, the bottle slipped out of her hand and rolled across the carpet to rest near his bare feet. Luckily, there had been very little water left.

"Do I make you nervous?" he asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Why do you say that?" she scoffed.

"Just an observation."

Cassie didn't like the way he was watching her, like she was a specimen on a petri dish. She pushed past him calling out over her shoulder.

"I'm going to shower and get dressed. I suggest you do the same, Dr. Ramsey. We have a long day ahead of us."

Round one goes to me, thought Ethan as he watched her stiff, retreating back. Keeping Agent Cassie Valentine on her toes was now his lifelong mission.

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An hour later, Cassie and Ethan took the elevator down to the parking garage. He was dressed in dark jeans and a fresh shirt, having not packed much for an overnight trip. She was wearing black slacks, a green shirt and a leather jacket that looked like it had seen its fair battle. Her ever present gun was secured in a holster around her hip.