Chapter 10 #2
“Don’t worry, doctor, I will take very good care of her.”
“Good. I’ll get your paperwork started for your release.”
The doctor shuffled from the room as Alex perched on the edge of her bed. “Oh, thank goodness you’re okay. You’re going straight home to bed.”
“Alex–”
“We’ll play video games and…oh wait, with a concussion, maybe that’s not a good idea. Well, we’ll take it slow. If you get headaches or anything, we’ll stop.”
“Alex…”
“And then, you can tell me how you relax without them. And how many clients you have. And–”
“Alex, stop.” She cupped his face in her hands.
“Is something wrong? Are you sick? Does your head hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. I just…are you okay?”
He offered her a fleeting smile. “Of course, I am. I’m just…Ava that call…I thought…” He sucked in a breath, shaking his head. “You’re okay.”
“I’m okay. What is with all the questions though?”
“Oh, that. Ummm, well…”
Before he could explain, someone hovered in her doorway, clearing his throat. Ava glanced over Alex’s shoulder, her eyebrows shooting up. “Chris. Hey.”
He stared at her, his eyebrows tightly knit. “Ava…you okay?”
“Yeah. Yes, I’m fine,” she said, dropping her hands from Alex’s cheeks.
“What happened?”
Her brow furrowed. Had Alex not told him? Were they not together? “I was in a car accident.”
His eyebrows shot up as his jaw opened. “What? Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
Alex reached for Ava’s hand, his grip tight and reassuring against her cold skin. His eyes scanned her face. “She has a concussion and bruised ribs. And a sprained wrist. We need to get her home and settled.”
Chris offered him an unimpressed glare. “I assume they called you because you’re her husband.”
“Yeah. Sorry, I was just about to call you,” Alex answered.
“Yeah, sure you were.”
The tension between the two of them was thick enough to slice through. What happened between them?
“Ava, can I talk to you alone?” Chris asked.
Ava swallowed hard, her gaze floating to Alex. His obvious upset over her condition made her not want to kick him out, but the look on Chris’s face was undeniable. He wanted a private moment with her for some reason.
“No,” Alex answered, leaping from his seat. “No, you can’t.”
“Are you serious?” Chris asked, his features scrunching.
“Yes, I am. She has a concussion. She was just in a car accident. We need to just take care of her.”
“And that is exactly what I intend to do. I know you want to play hero here, but she’s my fiancée. I’ll take care of her. We don’t need your help.”
“Okay, that’s not…” Ava shook her head. “No one needs to take care of me, first of all. And second, I want you both in my life. There’s no reason for you to fight over this.”
The men stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
Finally, Chris flicked his gaze to Ava. “I think you’ve had some private time with Alex already. I’d just like a minute alone. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, is it?”
Ava shifted on the uncomfortable bed. “Alex, can you give us a minute?”
The hurt expression on Alex’s features broke her heart. She’d try to make it up to him later when Chris inevitably had something to do that kept him away from actually getting his hands dirty caring for her.
The haughty glance Chris gave him didn’t help as Alex bobbed his head. “Sure. I’ll be…out here.”
“Don’t go far, okay? I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
He offered her a fleeting smile, though the sadness never left his eyes as he shuffled from the room.
She made a mental note to dig deeper on that front the moment they got home.
Chris followed him to the door, shutting him out before he twisted to face her. “I guess that car he bought you wasn’t so great, huh?”
“That car he bought me saved my life,” she answered, annoyance creeping into her voice.
“I’m sure it had the latest in safety technology, yes, but–”
“No,” she interrupted. “It called the police after the crash. If they hadn’t arrived when they did, I may not be alive.”
“The accident was that bad?” Concern finally edged out the neutral expression on his features.
“No. But I don’t think it was an accident. I think he hit me on purpose.”
Chris fluttered his eyelashes as he crept closer to the bed. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. He got out of the truck with a gun. If the police hadn’t shown up when they did thanks to Alex’s program…I may not be here.”
“Okay,” Chris said with a sigh, “and this is exactly why when you are discharged, we are not going back to Alex Stone’s house.”
Her forehead crinkled. She’d been making the case that Alex had saved her life, and Chris wanted to reciprocate by leaving him? “What?”
“Ava, that’s it. You were nearly killed. This is over. We are going to a hotel tonight, and we’re going home tomorrow. He can send you the divorce papers in the mail. Sign them, and let’s put this behind us.”
“No. Chris, we need to figure this out. And we can’t leave Alex alone to do that.”
“We absolutely can, and we will. And I don’t think he’s in any danger, Ava.”
Ava’s fingers twisted around the sheet covering her. “What are you saying? Chris, someone came at me with a gun.”
“Who probably never would have shot at you.”
She scoffed. “How can you say that?”
“Because I go back to what I said when we first found out about this Board entity, Ava. Alex is doing this himself. He is after you.”
Ava heaved a sigh, letting her gaze fall to her lap. “Chris, we’ve talked about this.”
“I know what you said. I know you want to believe your good buddy couldn’t do this, but Ava…he and I had a discussion while you were off visiting Simon Blackburn.”
So, there had been an argument between them. She’d figured as much. “What are you saying? He admitted to setting this up?”
“No. He played the victim like he always does. But it’s pretty obvious to me, Ava, that he is interested in you.”
“Of course, he is. He’s my best friend. He wants the best for me. He–”
“No, Ava.” Chris rubbed his forehead before he shook his head. “Look, I’m not going to argue about this. Let’s go to a hotel. You watch how fast The Board disappears once you’re no longer playing along, okay?”
Ava’s jaw clenched as she stared up at her fiancé, suddenly not recognizing the man she’d wanted to marry.
“All right, Ava, do you want more proof? Do you want to know why I didn’t know about your accident?”
“The hospital called Alex because he’s my husband?” she conjectured.
Chris huffed out a chuckle as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “No. Because we weren’t together. But I followed him to see where he was after he was so…secretive about where he was going when he left the house.”
Secretive? Alex wasn’t usually secretive, but she sensed he didn’t trust Chris. She struggled to keep her annoyance in check. Alex didn’t need to run his life past Chris.
Chris flashed the phone toward her. Moonlit pictures filled the display. “Swipe, Ava. Take a good look.”
She studied the image of Alex with another figure before snatching the phone from his hand and swiping to the next one. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized Miranda Vale.
“Yep, that’s right. He met with Miranda. The woman who came on to him earlier in front of you. That was all staged, Ava. All of it. All an elaborate play to make you jealous. To snap you into “protect Alex” mode. To make you ask him to postpone the divorce.”
Ava swiped to the last picture, noting Miranda’s hand on Alex’s arm, the look in her eyes as she gazed up at him. She shook her head, her features pinching. “No.”
“Yes, Ava. I didn’t create those pictures. I snapped them not an hour ago. Alex Stone is lying to you. And it stops now.”
Ava’s stomach twisted as her heart dropped. Why had Alex been with Miranda? And what was she supposed to do now?