Chapter 14
AVA
Ava’s heart still pounded hard, partly from the effort she’d made hurrying through the streets of New York and partly from the experience with Raven.
Their mysterious so-called friend had picked a heck of a way to discuss the upcoming betrayal he predicted.
With a deep sigh, she dug her phone from the cupholder, her hands still trembling as she considered calling Alex and letting him share the weight of her dread.
She sucked in a breath, closing her eyes to rethink her choice.
He relied on her strength, her unflappability.
Today, she felt neither strong nor unflappable.
She had to tell him, but with him in New Orleans, it would only upset him when he needed to focus on other things.
Despite wanting to seek his support, she couldn’t. She let her head fall back against the headrest as she attempted to collect her thoughts.
“You’ve been through things before, Ava. You didn’t run to Alex every time.” Although you’ve never been kidnapped, her mind added.
As her heart rate began to return to normal thanks to the rhythmic breathing, she forced herself to practice, her phone rang.
She flinched before glancing at the display, relieved to see Alex’s name. She arched an eyebrow, hoping she could handle the conversation without giving anything away. Alex was good at reading her, but she hoped she could pull it off.
She swiped to accept the call, toggling on the speakerphone. “Hey, Alex, what’s–”
“No time for pleasantries, Sparky. We have a major situation here. Are you seeing this video feed? Sunshine has found herself in a rather tricky predicament. Any advice?”
The video popped onto her screen as Alex patched her into a call with Julia Harrington. Flames consumed what looked to be a room in an old Victorian house.
Her heart shot back up to top speed as she took in the fire and smoke that surrounded her sorority sister.
“Oh my God, Julia,” Ava answered. “Uh, yeah, turn around, give me a view of the entire room.”
The camera panned the room in a slow circle, wobbling as it showed Ava more flames. “I’m sorry. I’m shaky.”
The room was a maelstrom of orange and black, smoke billowing like storm clouds.
Ava recognized the panic in her friend’s voice, and forced her own down, steadying her voice. “That’s okay, Julia. We’re going to find a way.”
“I mean, the curtains are almost out,” she said, her voice hiccupping with a sob. “I could go for the window.”
Ava’s heart skipped a beat as she hurried to squash that idea. “No, no, no, no, no. Do not break that window. The influx of oxygen is going to make things worse. Where’s the door?”
“It’s behind that beam.” Julia choked on the smoke again, coughing. “Sorry, the smoke’s getting thick.”
Ava bobbed her head as her mind searched for options from the limited feed she’d seen. “Okay, drop as low as you can and cover your mouth with your shirt. Shallow breaths. We need to move fast before you pass out.”
“The door is locked,” Julia offered. “I could pick it, but…”
“No, we don’t have time for that.” Ava kept her voice firm, trying to infuse confidence into her panicked friend. “Give me another look at the room. As slow as you can.”
Ava leaned closer, taking in every detail as the camera slowly scanned the room again. As Julia continued to circle, a sob escaped her, likely driven from overwhelming terror coursing through her.
“It’s okay, Julia. We’re going to get you out of there,” Ava reassured her.
Julia sniffled, another choking cough escaping her. “I’m sorry.”
Ava leaned closer, her eyes catching sight of something as Julia turned. “It’s okay, but can you turn back just a smidge to your right?”
The view slid back to the right.
“There,” Ava said, stopping Julia’s movement on the other end of the line. “What is that?”
“Candleholder, I think,” Julia answered through coughs.
“Is it heavy?”
“I’m not sure.” The camera moved toward it, bobbling around before Julia answered, “Yeah.”
Ava’s mind worked through scenarios, searching for the best one. “Good. What’s the layout of the house? What’s on the wall to your left?”
“Another room, I think?” Julia said.
“Put the phone in your pocket, but keep it on,” Ava instructed. “Take that candelabra and smash a hole through the wall.”
The view jumped around as it descended to waist level. The scratch of fabric on the microphone blared through Ava’s speakerphone as she waited for the pounding to begin.
A loud bang sounded as she waited, followed by several more. Ava curled her fingers into fists, willing her friend the strength to break through the aging plaster.
A message popped on her screen from Alex. What do you think, Avs? Does she have a shot?
Ava shifted in her seat, sensing his upset as she hurried to answer. Depends on what we find in the next room. I hope you have paramedics and fire rescue on the way.
His answer came quickly. Already on their way, but ten minutes out. Does she have that kind of time?
Ava shook her head, hating to pass the grim news on to him, but she needed to prepare him. No. We need to make sure she gets out of there or at least somewhere less smoky and dangerous to await a rescue.
The chat bubble appeared and disappeared several times before Ava sent him another message. She needs you to stay clear-headed, Ace. We’ll get her through this.
This time, his response came more quickly. Right. I’m good.
A smiley emoticon followed as Julia announced, “I’m through.”
The image on Ava’s screen jumped around again as Julia pulled the phone from her pocket and aimed it at the hole.
“There’s fire in there, too,” she added, her voice shaky.
“That’s okay. Climb through, Sunshine. You may be able to get to the door there.”
“Right.” The phone slid back to her waist, the image jarring around as Julia climbed through the hole, spilling onto the floor in the next room.
“Okay, it looks like…maybe a clear path to the door.”
“Go for it, Julia,” Ava encouraged. “Touch the doorknob first. You don’t want to walk into a wall of flames.”
“Right, okay.” The camera moved across the room until, with a sob, Julia said, “It’s hot.”
Ava’s shoulders slumped as she held back a sigh, eager not to upset her friend. “Okay, the fire’s close there. That’s not an option.”
Julia groaned again. “Should I go back and get the candelabra?”
Before Ava could answer, part of the ceiling caved in across the room. Ava’s mind whirled as a small exclamation came through the phone from Julia.
“Sunshine, go back to that collapse. Is it on fire?” Ava asked.
“No,” she answered as she panned back to the pile of debris.
“That beam stretches to the floor above. Can you climb it?” Her pulse quickened as she hoped for an affirmative. With Julia’s extensive climbing experience, she hoped for a yes.
“Uhh, yeah, I can try.”
The camera crossed the room until the picture went unexpectedly haywire. Ava ended up with a view of the ceiling before a heavy groan sounded and the phone changed views again.
“Sorry,” Julia said, “the floor caved in. I’m almost there.”
“No problem, Julia. Easy does it. I know it’s tempting to hurry, but be safe,” Ava cautioned.
This time, the camera moved forward at a much slower rate until Julia reached the beam. She scrambled up it into a darkened attic.
“Okay,” Julia said, her voice shaky, “there’s fire up here, too, but not as much.”
“That’s okay,” Ava answered. “We’re going to need to break a window as far from the flames as possible and see if you can climb down.”
“Okay. Lucky I’m a good climber, but I thought breaking a window would make the fire worse?”
“It will. But at the distance those flames are at, you should be able to make it out. Try to assess the drop before you break it, though, okay?”
Ava licked her lips as she waited for Julia to search for a viable option.
“Okay, I’ve got one, I think. There’s a balcony on the floor below. And then I may have to drop after that, but I’d rather that than be trapped in a burning building.”
“Good luck,” Ava said. “We’ll stay on the line.”
“Okay. Sorry for what may be a lot of noise.” The phone returned to Julia’s pocket before the sound of breaking glass reached Ava’s ears.
The camera bobbled around again before it blurred before rising and facing a railing. Another precipitous drop followed before the view bounced around again, this time landing on a dirty-faced Julia. “I’m clear.”
“Good job, Julia,” Ava answered, her muscles relaxing a little.
“Good. And have you found the Grantster yet?” Alex asked.
“Grant? Why would he be here?”
“Well, uh…thing is, Sunshine, he figured out you were gone, and I may or may not have accessed your location and sent him to you along with Detective Dynamo and Badge McGee.”
Ava grinned at Alex’s tech skills.
“Oh, no,” Julia moaned. “I’d better find them. Hey, Alex?”
“Yeah, kid?”
“I don’t know if Grant told Sierra and Kyle where he was going, but can you go make sure they’re okay? Just tell them I’m fine.”
“Will do, kid. Ace out.”
As he disappeared from the call, a text message appeared on Ava’s screen. Good work, Avs. You saved her life.
She smiled at it as Julia spoke again. “Ava?”
“Still here,” she said as she typed back to Alex. You did, too. Talk later?
“Thank you so much for that. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without you.”
“No problem, Sunshine. Happy to help.”
Julia ended the call as sirens began to ring out in the air. Ava let her head fall onto the steering wheel as relief coursed through her for the second time tonight. The chiming of her phone alerted her to another message. You know it. Just let me finish my babysitting duties.
She grinned at the message, firing her engine and tugging on her seat belt before she answered. Yep. Good luck, babe.
She tossed the phone into the cupholder and backed from the parking space, heading for home. Her mind whirled as she left the city behind, heading down the dark streets toward the Hamptons.
The frightening experience with Julia had drawn her attention away from her own scary encounter with Raven, but now, with the situation solved with Julia, it all came rushing back as the miles rolled by.
She licked her lips before pressing them together, parsing through the unexpected meeting piece by piece. She hoped the location Raven had taken her to would lead to some clue they could use to unmask their mysterious associate.
But for that, she’d likely need Alex’s help.
Her mind turned to the conversation with Raven. He suggested someone was about to betray her–a friend. Who?
Surely, he had no idea that they were about to ask the Harringtons for help. So, who was he referring to?
She glanced at her phone as she drove, wondering if she should send a follow-up message to ask. After all, Raven had pushed the boundaries by kidnapping her. Why shouldn’t she ask?
With no decision made, she pulled into their driveway, and crossed to the house. After locking the doors behind her, she toggled on the security system and shuffled to the couch, collapsing into it.
For the first time, she noticed the ache in her muscles from the trying day. With a groan, she draped a blanket over herself and slouched down in the cushions, attempting to relax.
Her fingers slid onto the empty cushion next to her, Alex’s absence hitting hard. If ever she craved curling up in his arms, it was this moment.
But she couldn’t. They had other things to worry about, and by the sounds of it, so did the Harringtons. She wondered if her idea for them to visit would be a bust.
Instead, she grabbed her phone, toggling open her text message app and staring at the thread between her and Raven. Her thumbs started to type a message before she erased it.
With a click of her tongue, she switched to Alex’s message before she shut off her display. She’d wait until he was finished with Julia’s stepchildren. Besides, she wasn’t entirely certain she wanted to tell him about the kidnapping.
She tossed the phone to the side and let her head fall back against the cushion when the doorbell rang.
“You’re kidding me,” she groaned as she pulled herself from the couch and shuffled to the foyer. “Who could this be? It’d better not be you, Raven. I can’t take anymore of you tonight.”
She toggled off the alarm system and whipped open the front door. Heat washed over her as she stared at the person on the brand-new doormat Alex had made boldly announcing “Alex and Ava’s Awesome Abode.”
After a slow blink, her eyebrows knitted. “Seriously?”
“I’m back, hon. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Chris grinned at her, a smarmy smile that she wanted to slap right off his face.
This was the icing on the cake of her day, and as tempted as she was to slam the door in his face, her mind racing as she wondered why in the world he’d resurfaced and what it would mean for her.