Chapter 3 #2
He grinned at her. “For you, I’m definitely available.”
Alex and Kyle both groaned.
“Wow, could he be any more obvious?” Kyle asked.
“Ava, I hope you’re not smiling at him. Frown, you should frown.” Alex tapped around on his keyboard. “Ugh, I wish I had a view of her face.”
“Well, it seems like I’m interrupting your pool time.”
He took a few steps closer to her, still rubbing the towel against his bulging biceps. “Just getting in a few laps before our session. I find exercise really enhances my creativity.”
“I’ll bet you do, GQ,” Alex mumbled.
“You were right with Slick Sebastian. I mean this guy is as slick as an oil spill,” Kyle added.
“Would you mind if I changed?” Sebastian asked.
“Please let him change, Sparky. We’re sick of seeing his abs.”
“I don’t mind at all. Actually, I had a request that I could handle while you’re…slipping into something more suitable.”
He grinned at her. “Name it.”
“This is nauseating. Kudos to you for sitting here so calmly.” Kyle clapped Alex on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Alex said. “I can’t wait to shut The Board down so I don’t have to.”
“I seem to have lost an earring during the…issue we had at the party. A set of rubies from my husband, very dear to me. No one’s found it, have they?”
“Not that I’m aware of, though I’d be happy to ask the staff.”
“Thanks. If they haven’t found it…would it be possible to check the panic room?”
“Of course,” he said as he led her into the house. “Just let me change, and I’ll help you look if it hasn’t already been found.”
“Thank you,” she said as she eased onto the couch.
As he disappeared from their view on the camera, Kyle said, “Ava? Don’t go into that panic room with him.”
“I have to,” she answered in a low voice.
Kyle glanced at Alex. “Say something.”
“I kind of need her to go in there, plus she has a black belt so…” Alex cleared his throat. “Also, I trust her.”
“Thanks, babe,” she answered as Sebastian reappeared, still buttoning a shirt.
“Wow, he had to show off that bare chest one more time, huh?” Kyle clicked his tongue.
“Well, it seems no one has found your earring, so it looks like the panic room is calling our names.”
Ava rose and followed him. “Alex wanted me to pass along his thanks for you tucking me away in that room to ensure my safety.”
“Nice one, babe. Way to remind him how important you are to me.”
Sebastian offered her a smile as they climbed the stairs. “I don’t think you need tucking away, Ava. You were very impressive with the way you handled those men.”
“Ouch, that was a burn on you,” Kyle said to Alex. “He’s literally calling you out for being too protective.”
“Can you be too protective?” Alex asked.
“I don’t think so, but Slick over there…he is one of these…I would let you fly free, Ava. I wouldn’t hide you away types.”
“Idiot,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “Hey, you want an orange soda or some cheeseballs?”
“Absolutely, yes,” Kyle said with a nod. “Want me to grab them?”
Alex offered him a thumbs up, and he scurried from the couch. “Hey, babe, try to get a view of the code to open that room on the pearl cam, if you can.”
“Well, I’m just glad the situation worked out the way it did,” Ava said.
“Have you heard anything about the woman who was shot?” he asked as they arrived at the room.
Ava shifted, trying to make the code visible as he typed it in, but Alex wasn’t able to see the first two numbers. “She’s doing well, going to make a full recovery.”
“Oh, great,” he said as the door slid open. He motioned for her to enter before him, and she strode inside.
“Avs, try to get that device as close to the cameras as you can,” Alex said.
“I’ll look on this side, if you check the entrance,” Ava said as Kyle returned with their snacks.
“Awesome, Grantling.”
Kyle winced. “Can I upgrade my nickname? I really hate being called Grant’s sequel.”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “Sure thing, Doc McStuffins, now that you’re integrating into the team, I think I can accommodate.”
“Doc McStuffins? Like the kid’s show?”
“Medicine Man?”
Kyle winced. “I sound like I’m a special kind of crazy.”
“Healing Hands?” Alex tried.
“Noooo.”
“How about just Doc?”
Kyle arched an eyebrow. “Okay, I like it. It’s way better than my existence being tied only to my dad.”
Alex offered him a fist bump as Ava let her camera fall on the compact she’d placed on the desk. He set his hands on the keyboard, pounding on it as he started the program to probe the system.
“I don’t see the earring,” Sebastian called from across the room.
“Me neither,” she answered. “Oh well, it was a long shot.”
She took a step toward the still-open door when he stepped in front of her.
“Uh-oh. I knew she shouldn’t go in there with him. He’s totally going to kiss her.”
“Something wrong, Sebastian?” she asked.
“You set your compact down,” he said with a sly grin as he reached around her, his chest rubbing against the camera. “Wouldn’t want you to forget it.”
“Oh,” she said, false surprise in her voice. “Silly me. I was so focused on that earring, I forgot I’d even taken it out.”
He held it out to her as he stepped back.
“I need more time, Avs. That wasn’t two minutes.”
“Thanks,” she answered as she accepted it. “You know, I hate to be a pain, but…can we take one more look? I’ll be heartsick if I don’t find this earring.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” He grinned again.
“Good job, Avs, though I hope he doesn’t want to fix your broken heart when you don’t find it.”
“How long?” Kyle asked, his leg bouncing up and down.
“Another minute,” Alex said as the progress bar inched higher on his program.
Sebastian scanned the floor. “From what I remember, it was one of those dangling types, right?”
“Very good memory.”
He grinned at her. “Well, I’m an artist, detail is important. And…my mom would be proud that I noticed that.”
“I’m sure she’s proud of you either way,” Ava answered.
“Almost, Avs,” Alex reported.
“She’s certainly supportive of my art, though she still holds out hope that I’ll hop into the family business.”
“And will you?” Ava asked.
Alex held his breath as the program finished its final pieces of code. A new window appeared, cameras populating on the screen. “We’re in.”
“In some ways, I already have,” Sebastian answered.
Suddenly, the camera angle shifted. When it rose back to Sebastian, Ava’s hand, an earring clutched between her fingers, was pictured. “I found it!”
“Hey, there it is,” Sebastian said. “Mystery solved.”
“Thank you for letting me look for it,” she said as she slipped the earring back into her purse.
“Good work, Avs. Very smart taking that earring along.” He couldn’t see her face, but Alex knew she would appreciate his compliment.
“Now, why don’t we get down to business. I really want to discuss a pose that captures everything that you are.”
“I’m going to vomit up my cheeseballs,” Kyle said. “This guy is so gross.”
“Yep,” Alex said with a sip of his soda, “but now we have eyes in the sky for everything.”
“That may be a bad thing,” Kyle answered.
Alex cycled through the cameras, following Ava and Sebastian through the house.
They returned to her pearl cam as she and Sebastian disappeared in his studio to discuss her portrait.
Over an hour later, as Ava said her goodbyes to the man, an alert flashed across the top of his screen. With a keystroke, he swapped his view to read it, his eyes narrowing.
“What are you doing?” Kyle asked.
“I’ve got an alert coming through on my tracker here. It keeps a constant search of various databases for my name and Ava’s name.”
“What popped up?” Kyle leaned closer to the screen.
Alex clicked into the notification, his forehead creasing. He leaned closer, his heart speeding up as his lips parted. “Oh, no.”
“What is it?” Kyle asked.
“It’s an arrest warrant for Ava…for murder.”
His mind whirled as he tried to sort through the nonsensical change and think ten steps ahead. Someone must have been setting Ava up…but how were they going to get her out of it?