Chapter 11
ALEX
Bright sunshine streamed in through the large windows overlooking the roiling ocean when Alex’s eyes finally fluttered open.
He sucked in a breath, taking a second to get his bearings when he twisted to find Ava next to him, already awake.
“Good morning,” she said with a soft smile.
He offered her a sleepy smile back. “Yes, it is.”
“You are such a flirt,” she answered. “You want some coffee.”
“Eventually,” he answered as he grabbed her hand to ensure she didn’t flit off to the kitchen. “For now, I just want you to stay here.”
“Bad dreams?” she asked as she smoothed a lock of his hair away from his forehead.
“Mmm, no. Just…for a second there, I woke up and thought things were normal. And then I remembered that they aren’t.”
“You mean with Kyle? Yeah, that was scary stuff and so far, nothing from Julia. I was hoping for an update, but nothing so far. I wonder if it’s bad news.”
“Oh, right. Kyle.” His features pinched as he recalled the wild adventure of tracking the missing doctor for Ava’s sorority sister.
Ava cracked a smile, her features confused. “What did you mean about things being normal?”
“I meant that normally I’d wake up on the couch alone and realize you were in Silver Pine.”
She lifted her chin before she nodded. “I see. And then you’d hack my webcam.”
“Sometimes,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “But now…now, I just get to see your beautiful face in person when I wake up.”
“Aww, Ace, you’re so sweet.”
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head before he sighed, squeezing his eyes closed with a sigh. “Okay, now I need the coffee.”
She chuckled as she patted his chest and kissed his cheek. “Coming right up, babe.”
He clung to her hand until she was too far from him for them to touch. His head fell back against the cushion behind him as he waited for his morning caffeine boost to arrive.
A quick check of his phone showed nothing yet from Julia. He grabbed his laptop, tempted to hack the hospital system to read the records on Kyle and determine his condition when Ava arrived with two coffee mugs.
“Thank you, Sparky.” He took a sip of the hot liquid before he set it on the coffee table. “Also, I did not just ask you to stay with me so you could deliver me coffee in the morning.”
“Oh, that’s good to know. I did, however, stay with you because you always make me breakfast.”
“Is that a hint?”
“Maybe,” she said with a wink.
“Can I get another sip of coffee first?”
“You can drink that entire cup. I’m not starving…yet.” She wrapped her hands around her own cup and took another sip before she nodded to his laptop. “What are you up to?”
“I was going to hack the hospital records to see what’s going on with Kyle.”
“Or you could just text Julia,” Ava said with a shrug.
Alex furrowed his brow as he glanced at her. “I could, but that’s not as impressive. And I’m still trying to impress you.”
She set her coffee aside to give him a kiss. “It’s totally impressive. Just text her.”
Alex sucked in a breath as he typed out the brief message and sent it. Julia answered quickly, thanking him for his help and letting them know that Kyle would be okay.
“Whew,” Ava said with a brush of her brow. “That’s good news. I bet she’s relieved.”
“And Grantster. Despite his weird relationship with the kid, I think he cares about him.”
“And Julia,” Ava said as she flicked her gaze out the window to the crashing waves. “Do you think he’d do anything for her?”
“I don’t know. I’d do anything for my wife,” Alex answered.
“Yeah, but you’re awesome. Is Grant?” Ava drummed her fingers against her leg, the crease between her eyebrows deepening into her concentration face.
“Uhhh, I’m getting a little uncomfortable here with you doing that much thinking about another billionaire.”
Ava twisted to face him, confusion on her features. “Huh?”
“Why are you thinking this much about G-Force Harrington? And asking if he’d do anything for his wife.”
She shook her head. “No, would he do anything for Julia? That’s the question.”
“I mean, I hope so, for Julia’s sake, but it’s really not our business.”
“Actually,” Ava answered as she retrieved her laptop from the coffee table and opened the lid. “It is our business.”
“How so? I know you were friends, but I didn’t think you were that close.”
Ava raised her eyebrows as she toggled open a window and twisted the laptop for him to see. “This.”
Alex leaned closer to the screen, his eyes narrowing. “Is that…”
“Grant Harrington with Theodore Bancroft. Yep. Looks like they are friends or at least acquaintances. I wonder if Grant would be able to provide us some access to the Bancrofts.”
“Or better access,” Alex murmured as his mind began to spin through scenarios. “I mean, we have access. We are totally going to their Fourth of July party. Oh, and we should talk outfits for that because I really want to make a splash in something matching that says mister and missus.”
“Right. And we will, but I wonder if we could ask Julia for a little help with our situation to give us an in with these people.”
“It can’t hurt. And since we’ve kind of helped her already…”
Ava lifted her eyebrows as she closed her laptop. “One good turn deserves another?”
“My thoughts exactly. I’ll ask the kid the next time we talk. She’s supposed to be calling once Kyle wakes up so we can say hello.”
“I’ll let you say hello. I’m going to shower while you make me that breakfast that you promised.”
“Oh, I see how this works. I’m slaving in the kitchen while you’re enjoying a long, hot shower.”
“Right. That’s exactly how it is.” She dumped her laptop on the counter, finished the last of her coffee, and kissed his cheek before she rose. “I’d really like waffles.”
“Oh, waffles, huh?”
She bobbed her head, a grin on her face.
“Whatever wifey wants,” he said as he stood.
She kissed him before they separated, and he headed for the kitchen to whip up a breakfast for his wife. As he mixed the batter, he fielded a call from Julia, glad to see her stepson looking much better than he had while strapped to a chair in the abandoned warehouse.
Although, it appeared they had another problem. His mind spun as Julia explained how Grant may lose his energy company to his ex-wife after an aggressive stock buy-up.
Fueled by the information Ava provided him that morning, he made a bold move, agreeing to purchase as much stock as he could. This favor should cement the repayment he’d eventually ask for. It would also mean he’d need to make another trip to New Orleans.
His nose wrinkled at the idea as he placed a call to his finance manager, and he hoped Ava didn’t mind since she’d likely be stuck sitting in a hotel room while he played white knight at the board meeting.
He hoped she didn’t mind. So far, his marriage wasn’t turning out the way he’d hoped.
He’d finally gotten his shot at having a real commitment with Ava, and so far, it had consisted of chasing down leads for a mysterious man who used the name of a bird and counteracting a crazy woman who threatened to destroy the Harringtons.
What if the constant threats and demands on them were driving them apart instead of bringing them closer?
After a brief conversation, he set the ball rolling to purchase as much stock of Grant’s company as possible. As he ended the call, he wondered if he should have run it past Ava.
He lifted the waffle from the iron and set it on a plate, hoping the golden-brown, sweet-smelling breakfast would make Ava agree with him.
She shuffled in, her hair still wet, and plopped onto a stool as he set the waffle and warm syrup in front of her. “Ohhh, this looks good.”
“Hey, babe,” he said with a tentative smile.
She drizzled syrup on a wedge of the waffle before she cut into it. “Yeah?”
“I did a thing…and now I’m not so sure I should have.” Alex’s voice, laced with uncertainty, shook a little.
“Okay. Hey, before you tell me about the thing, did you hear from Julia?” She flicked her gaze from her plate to him, her features turning questioning.
He winced. “I did. And that’s when I did the thing.”
“Asking her about helping us with the Bancrofts?”
“Not exactly because…well, the good news is Kyle’s all good.”
Ava popped another piece of waffle into her mouth. “Oh, good. Your waffles burning.”
“Shoot,” Alex murmured as he hurried to lift the lid on the iron and rescue his breakfast before it was ruined.
Ava hurried over to help him salvage it before a culinary disaster. “So, what’s the bad news?”
“Huh?” he asked as he set his overly brown waffle on his plate.
“You gave me the good news. But you are acting like there is bad news.”
“Right, umm, Sunshine has another problem. Well, Grantster does. And I might have agreed to buy a good portion of his company to try to swing a vote on executives his way.” He slid onto his stool, waiting for her reaction.
“Oh, that was nice of you. Stinks for Julia, though. She’s really going through it.” Ava stuck another piece of her waffle into her mouth.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
She shrugged. “What else do you want me to say?”
“Well, I’d have to go to New Orleans for the board meeting. Probably today.”
“Okay,” she answered.
“I’m starting to get concerned that you’re not at all bothered by this.”
“Should I be? I mean, you’re not having a torrid affair with Julia, are you?” She laughed at the implication.
“I’m not. But…well, you’ll probably be stuck in a hotel room again, sitting there while I play white knight.
And really, you shouldn’t be because, first, you are my wife and my first priority and I’ve been totally terrible at showing you that, and second, you have been half the force behind helping Julia and you’re getting no credit. ”
“I don’t need credit. Go play white knight. It’s your money bailing Grant out.”
“It’s our money, first of all, and second, that still doesn’t fix that you have not been my priority.”
“Alex, we’ve been a little busy with all the threats around us lately. It’s fine. We’ll have plenty of time to spend together once we figure this out with The Board. And we need Grant and Julia’s help with that, so this is perfect.”
He took her hand in his, squeezing it. “I just want this to work.”
“I know you do. I do, too. Oh, and also, I won’t be sitting in a hotel room, so it’s okay.”
His features twisted with concern. “What? Why?”
“I will not be going to New Orleans with you,” Ava answered. “I have new orders from our aviary amigo.”
“No,” Alex said, tossing his fork onto his plate, a chill snaking down his spine. “No, no, no. You will not be carousing around with Raven while I’m in New Orleans.”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that trouble was lurking just around the corner, threatening to tear them apart.
“No, I’ll be looking at the logistics behind his next request which is a little odd even if I say so myself.”
“What is it?”
“Stealing some sort of list directly from a server.” Her features pinched as she recounted the request.
“I’ll hack it while I’m on my way to New Orleans.”
“Can’t,” she answered as she poured more syrup onto her waffle. “It’s not connected. It’s an on-site operation.”
“No. Ava, no.” He shook his head before he sank it into his hands.
“I’m not going to be doing this until after your back. I need your tech support. But I’ll do some reconnaissance while you’re gone.”
“I don’t like being separated.”
She grabbed his hand, waiting until he finally shifted his gaze to her. “Alex, I know you’re scared–”
“Uh, yeah. There are people trying to kill us and a bird trying to steal you from me. I’ve gotten rid of Crossbeam Chris and now I’ve got Randy Raven.”
She clicked her tongue. “I’ll be okay. You go to New Orleans, play white knight, ask Grant and Julia to come to the Hamptons, then come back home to me, okay?”
“This is our first time apart since…the thing happened.”
“I know,” she said. “But it won’t be long. And we have to start to trust this. Let’s just do what we have to do, okay?”
He heaved a sigh as he nodded. “Do you promise not to forget me?”
She grinned at him. “I promise.”
“Okay. I’ll go to New Orleans and secure the Harringtons’ help. Don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
They finished their breakfast, and with the stock buy up looking good, he packed his bags for a brief trip to New Orleans, hating every moment of the experience.
He hoped he could fly home the next day.
Even with the short trip, the thought of leaving Ava behind filled him with a profound sense of loss.
Would their relationship survive the challenges they were facing, or would this be the breaking point?
One night without Ava.
Compared to the many nights he’d spent without her, it should be easy, but now that they were really together, it felt like torture.
He’d spent so many of his lonely nights imagining what it would be like to have Ava truly with him, and now that he had her, it hadn’t been anything like he dreamt. Their first few days of their real marriage had been tainted with trouble.
Would this trip to New Orleans coupled with the demands of Raven and the pressures of The Board spell the end of their budding relationship?