Chapter 8
AVA
Ava leapt to her feet after seeing the security footage, racing toward the door where the break-in attempt occurred. Her heart pounded hard as her bare feet slapped the floor with equal vigor.
She arrived at the glass slider, peering into the night as she flipped the lock and pulled it open.
“Ava!” Alex shouted as she streaked outside, racing across the lawn in the direction the figure had run.
The grass, dewy in the early morning hour, iced her bare feet, making her trek slick.
She skidded to a stop at the edge of the property, gasping for breath from the hard run as she scanned the night. But she spotted no one.
Where had they gone?
Down the street, a car engine roared to life and tires squealed against the pavement. She hurried to the streets, the rough pavement scratching the tender soles of her feet. Taillights pulled away from her at too far of a distance for her to identify the car’s make and model or get a license plate.
Her shoulders slumped as she slapped a palm against her forehead. She’s gleaned no additional details about the attempted break-in from her efforts.
She cursed under her breath as she balanced her hands on her knees, allowing her disappointment to sink in.
Her stomach twisted into a knot as a thought danced through her mind. What if this person had only been a distraction?
Was there a partner slipping into the house now?
Her heart stopped as worry for Alex swept through her. She sprinted back across the lawn to the house. With wide eyes, she stared at the door, still gaping open. The alarm no longer rang, instead only an eerie silence hung in the air.
Diving through the door, her pulse racing, she shouted, panic lacing her voice. “Alex!”
He didn’t answer, sending a shiver down her spine. Terror gripped her, heightening her senses as she tiptoed down the hall. Her eyes darted around in search of any signs of an intruder.
“Alex!” she tried again, not caring if the sound of her voice alerted a trespasser.
In fact, she hoped to draw the person toward her, desperate to make certain they didn’t harm Alex.
“Ava,” his voice called, sounding distant but stressed.
She snapped her gaze to the ceiling, quickening her steps to get to the stairs. She took them two by two. “Alex!”
“Ava,” he shouted, breathless as he stumbled out of his bedroom. He desperately tried to load a clip into a handgun, but with his shaky hands, he found it impossible.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she reached him, cupping his face in her hands. “Is there someone here?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’m fine.” He tried again with the clip but couldn’t get it locked.
She grabbed both items from his hands and expertly snapped in the clip before she loaded a bullet into the chamber and flicked off the safety. “We need to check the house. Make sure that wasn’t a diversion.”
He nodded, his features still registering fear and shock.
“Hey,” she said, shifting the weapon to one hand, “you sure you’re okay?”
He bobbed his head as he swallowed hard. “Yeah, I’m good. I just…I’m glad you were here.”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Me too.”
She skirted him, entering the bedroom he’d just left behind, weapon at the ready. “Stay behind me.”
He crept close to her, pressing against her back as she whipped open the door to his walk-in closet and poked behind the suits, sports coats, and hoodies. After checking the bathroom, they left the room behind.
A banging at the door startled them as she stepped into her room. He glanced at her, his eyes wide until the shout reached them. “Suffolk County PD!”
“The police,” she said, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Answer it. I’ll finish checking up here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said with a squeeze of his arm. “Answer it. See if they have any information.”
“Okay,” he said with another nervous nod before they parted ways.
She made a sweep of the entire upstairs before she descended to the foyer. Alex stood with two uniformed officers, his arms crossed tightly as he answered questions. She stowed the weapon in the waistband of her pajama pants, hiding it with her shirt.
The taller of the officers raised his eyebrows at her as she joined them.
“Uh, this is my wife,” Alex said as he wrapped an arm around her. “Ava Collins.”
The officer jotted something on his notepad before he set his dark eyes on her. “And you were also home at the time of the intrusion attempt?”
“Yes,” she said with a nod, “and if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish checking the house.”
“We’d be happy to do that, Ms. Collins. Your husband seemed to think there wasn’t anyone here.”
“I’d like to be sure,” Ava said.
“Of course. I’m certain you’ll both sleep better once we’ve verified that. Why don’t you two wait outside just in case?” He glanced down at her bare feet. “Oh, uh, if you need to grab shoes.”
“I’m fine,” she said as she tugged Alex toward the door. “I’d rather make certain the house is secure as soon as possible.”
The man nodded as he drew his weapon. “Strictly precautionary, ma’am.”
Ava wrinkled her nose as the two officers stalked further into the house. She shot Alex a disgusting glance. “Do I look like a ma’am?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “But you look a little uncomfortable without your slippers.”
She glanced down at her bare feet before she shrugged, her arms crossed tightly as the chill in the night air set in. “I’m sure they’ll be finished soon.”
“Here,” he said, pulling her closer to him, “stand on my feet.”
She carefully stepped onto the nautically themed slippers covering his feet as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and she slid hers around his neck to balance.
Pressed close to him, it was much warmer. Almost everything felt right about it, though a sense of guilt coursed through her.
She told herself this was more about keeping her feet from freezing than anything else, but their natural closeness had awakened questions within her that she didn’t have answers to.
“Warm enough?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said, tearing her gaze away from the front door to face him.
With their faces inches apart, the intimate moment sent warmth rushing through her. Her lips curled on the corners as she offered him a grateful smile, her voice softening. “Thanks.”
“Of course,” he whispered, his grip tightening around her until the officers appeared at the door, holstering their weapons.
“House is clear. Would you mind stepping back inside to answer some questions?”
“Sure,” Alex answered as she started to step off his feet.
Before she could, he scooped her up and carried her into the house.
“I’ll grab your slippers,” he said as he set her down in the foyer.
“Thanks,” she said, twisting to face the officers.
They closed the door behind them as they stepped inside. “Sorry to send you out there in the cold.”
“No, it’s fine,” she answered. “You’re certain the house is clear?”
The taller officer nodded. “Yeah, we checked thoroughly. You can rest easy, Mrs…uh, Ms. Collins. Now,” he said as he removed his notepad again, “you were both awake at the time of the attempted break-in.”
“Yes,” she answered with a nod. “We were in the living room when the alarm went off.”
“You usually early risers?”
“Ah, I normally am but…we actually hadn’t gone to bed yet.”
The man arched an eyebrow as he glanced up at her. “Any particular reason for that?”
“Uh, we were taking a look at some financial records from Alex’s company,” she said as he returned with her slippers. She slid them on her feet as she finished answering, “After we finished, we were both too wired to sleep, so we decided to do a little gaming.”
“I see. So, you would normally be asleep at this time?”
“Usually, yes,” Alex said as he slid his arm around her shoulders.
“And you were alerted to the break-in attempt by the alarm.”
Ava slipped an arm around his waist. “Yes. Alex toggled on the security cameras, and we spotted someone at the sliding door leading to the east lawn.”
“Did you recognize the person?”
Ava shook her head. “His or her face was obscured by a hood.”
“Can we see that footage?”
“Yes,” Alex said, “I’ll have the security company email it to you.”
“Thanks,” the officer said as he tapped his pen against the notepad. “Anything else you can tell us?”
“They had a car waiting here. I ran after them, didn’t catch them, but I did hear a car pull away. It was too far to get a plate.”
The shorter officer furrowed his brows. “You ran after them?”
“I did, yes.”
“That’s usually not recommended, Ms. Collins,” the taller one said.
She offered him a polite smile. “With all due respect, officer, I’m a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. I can handle myself.”
The man bobbed his head up and down. “Oh, good to know. Any description of the car?”
She shrugged as she shook her head. “Dark sedan, four-door. I’m sorry, it was too far off to get a good look.”
“Okay, we’ll take a look at the CCTV, see if anyone’s security cameras are pointed at the street. We’ll do our best to run this down, but with any luck, this was an isolated incident. Perp probably thought you were both asleep, they could get in, grab a few valuables to fence, and get out.”
Ava shifted her weight from foot to foot. She doubted this was a small-time crook hoping for an easy score. She had a sinking feeling it was tied to their investigation. And that chilling thought sent a shiver down her spine.
“We’ll also post a black and white outside the house. I hope that’ll help give you some peace of mind.”
“Thank you,” she said with a fleeting smile.
“You take care now,” the officer said as he shoved his notebook into his pocket. “And call us if you remember any other details.”
“We will,” Alex said with a wave as they let themselves out the door.
He tightened his grip around her as she flicked the lock and dumped the gun onto the entryway table as she blew out a long breath.
She twisted to face him. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, you?”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m fine. I just…can’t shake the feeling that this is connected to your problems at StoneCorp.”
“Someone trying to frighten us off the case?” Alex asked as she shuffled into the living room and collapsed on the couch. She flicked her gaze out over the ocean as the sun started to make its appearance, coloring the water with vibrant shades of red and orange.
“Or worse,” she answered as she settled back into the pillows, her eyes heavy.
He eased into the cushions next to her and wrapped an arm around her. “Do you think?”
“I think someone went to the trouble of skimming millions from you, and this person will do anything to cover their tracks.” Her head fell onto his shoulder, her eyes closing. The adrenaline from the evening finally left her system, leaving behind only a crushing exhaustion.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Alex’s sleepy voice asked.
She threaded her fingers through his as she murmured an affirmative response. The frightening moments when she’d worried about his safety faded from her mind. Tucked close to him with the sun banishing the shadows, she felt herself drifting off to sleep after the long night.
Until an unsettling thought struck her.
She sat straighter, her eyes going wide. “What time is it?”
“Hmm?” Alex said, drifting into sleep.
“Time,” she repeated as she shuffled the folders around in search of her phone.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes slits.
She glanced at the screen, her heart thudding. “Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot,” she murmured as she scrolled through her contacts to find Chris and press the call button as she ran her fingers through her hair.
She tapped her fingers against her thigh as the line trilled, and she got his voicemail.
A curse escaped under her breath as she waited through the greeting before the beep sounded.
His voice, one that had provided comfort at some point, now became an irritation as she struggled to juggle her life there and her life here.
“Hey, Chris, it’s me. I was hoping to catch you before your speech, and I’m still before it, technically. ”
She gave him a nervous laugh as she plastered a lock of hair behind her ear. “Anyway, I just wanted to say good luck. I know you don’t need it, though. And, uh, I’ll talk to you on the flip side. Love you. Bye.”
She ended the call with a sigh as she tossed the phone onto the cushion next to her and let her head sink into her hands.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
She rolled her head up, her tired eyes focused on the rolling sea outside. “Chris had a presentation this morning. I always call him for luck. I nearly missed this one.”
“Okay, so, it’s no big deal. We were obviously dealing with something here.”
“That he has no idea about. It just…looks like I totally forgot about him.” And she had. She had forgotten entirely.
In the short time she’d been back with Alex, Chris and her life in Silver Pine had become a nearly forgotten memory, fading so quickly from her mind, that her head spun.
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Alex said.
Her features pinched at the words. Would he? If she told him everything going on here, would he understand?
More importantly, did she? Why hadn’t she been honest? Why was she still lying? And why was her life in Silver Pine quickly slipping into oblivion?