Chapter 4 #2
“Oh, right, so what should I call you? We need a super cool nickname since I’m totally part of this team now. We’re like the A-Team.”
Ava puckered her lips as she glanced at him while she dug for her phone. “Go with Maverick. He’s always liked that.
“Oh, nice, Top Gun-style, yeah. That’s cool, Maverick.”
“Nice choice, Sparky,” Alex answered as she freed her phone.
She arched an eyebrow at the display. Kyle glanced sideways at her. “Who’s texting you? Please tell me it’s not GQ with some smarmy line about the playfulness of your pose.”
“It’s Raven,” she replied. “He got word of the arrest warrant. He’s warning me to leave. He wants me to meet him.”
“No,” Alex said. “That’s a bad idea.”
“I’m telling him I have it handled,” she said as her thumbs flew across the virtual keyboard.
The doorbell chimed in her earpiece. “There we go,” Alex said.
A shuffling sounded before he said, “Oh, hello, officers. What can I do for you?”
“Is your wife, Ava Collins at home?”
“Sadly, she is not,” Alex said through her earpiece as Kyle made another turn, heading out of town.
“Do you know when she’ll be in?”
“What is this in regard to?” Alex asked.
“A little matter we’d like to clean up with Ms. Collins herself,” the officer answered.
“Well, I wish I could tell you when she’d be home, but she doesn’t exactly share her itinerary with me.”
“We’d appreciate a call when Ms. Collins is home.”
“Will do,” he answered before the door slammed shut. “Too bad Ms. Collins is not going to be home anytime soon.”
“We’re about twenty minutes out from the hotel,” Ava reported as her phone rang. “It’s Raven.”
“Speakerphone, please,” Alex requested.
Ava swiped to accept the call, toggling on the speakerphone. “What part of I’ve got this handled didn’t you understand?”
Kyle winced, giving her a sideways glance before the robotic voice filled the car. “This isn’t the small setback you’re pretending it is. A few nights in a hotel won’t solve this problem.”
“No kidding,” Ava retorted. “But neither will getting arrested.”
“We need to move you to a secure location. Don’t unpack. I’ll be in touch.”
The line went dead as Ava clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “Jerk.”
Kyle rubbed his chin. “Does he always use the creepy robo-voice?”
“Yep,” she said as she stuffed the phone back into her purse and glanced out at the scenery. “Even in person.”
“You’ve met this guy in person?”
“Uh-huh.” Ava heaved a sigh. “We need a plan.”
“I’m working on that, Sparky, but I need a little time to figure out what evidence they think they have on you.”
“I know you are, babe. I wish I was there with you to work it out.”
“Me too, but you’re better off not with me as much as I hate to say that.”
Ava sighed. “Me too. I’ll send Kyle back to help you.”
“No offense, but Doc doesn’t really do it for me, so I’ll be counting the hours until you’re back home.”
“Me too,” she said with a slight smile.
They arrived at the hotel a few minutes later, climbing from the car as the valet took Kyle’s keys and the bellman pulled Ava’s bag from the trunk. They strolled into the lobby and approached the front desk as Kyle pulled his wallet from his pocket.
“Hello, I’d like a room for a few nights.”
“Of course, sir, I just need a credit card to book the room and your ID.”
“Right.” Kyle slid both across the counter as he glanced at Ava.
“Thank you, Dr. Carter. Do you have a preference for room type or number of beds?”
“Ah, one king. It’s just me and lovely wife.” Kyle wrapped his arm around Ava. “Mrs. Carter. Mrs. Amanda Carter. My wife.”
“Easy, Doc, you’re renting her a room to lay low, not proposing.”
Kyle cleared his throat, shooting Ava a tentative smile. She slid her arm around his waist to reassure him.
“Let’s see…I’ve got a lovely King suite available with fireplace, jacuzzi–”
“We’ll take it,” Kyle said.
“I’ll get that processed for you right away.” The woman pounded on her keyboard for a few moments before she handed his cards back along with a few room keys. “Here are your keys. You’ll take the elevator to the third floor, hang a right, and head to the end of the hall. Enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks,” Kyle said with a nod.
They followed the directions the woman gave them, safely entering the hotel room a few minutes later.
“Okay, Ace,” Ava said as she collapsed on the couch and kicked her shoes off. “We’re in the room.”
“Nice work, Doc,” Alex said through their comm device. “Now, get back here so you can help me solve this ridiculous case.”
“Right, on it. Anything you need before I go, Ava?”
“Don’t you mean Amanda?”
“Right,” Kyle said with a coy smile. “I told you I’d be your back-up hubby. Anything my lovely wife requires before I jet off?”
Ava sucked in breath as she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Thanks, though. Just…do whatever Alex tells you.”
“We’ve got it covered,” Kyle said with a grin.
She returned his expression as he backed to the door. “You’re a good guy, Doc.”
“I’m glad you think so. Sit tight. We’re on it.”
With that he disappeared from the room, leaving her alone.
A knock sounded at the door a minute later, and the bellman dropped her bag inside.
She set it on the luggage rack before she collapsed onto the couch again, letting her head fall back against the cushion behind her with a sigh. “I hate this.”
“So do I, but I want you safe, Avs.”
“I don’t want to spend the night in jail, that’s for sure.”
“Not after what happened to Simon Blackburn,” Alex answered.
“Who’s Simon Blackburn?” Kyle chimed in.
“Worked at StoneCorp,” Ava explained. “He went down for the financial inaccuracies and The Board killed him in prison.”
“Whoa, uhh…” Kyle answered.
“Yep. Be careful, Doc. You’re in deep with the wrong people.”
“It’s fine. I’m committed to this. We’re a team, right.”
She smiled at the statement before she tugged her phone from her purse and texted Alex. Be nice to him. He’s a good kid. He just needs someone to accept him.
She received a response a moment later. I’m always nice. And I’ll accept him as long as he stops kissing you.
She grinned at the message before setting her phone aside. “I’m going off comms while I order room service and take a shower.”
When she unzipped her bag, Ava’s heart melted. “Aw, you packed my unicorn onesie.”
“For luck,” Alex answered.
“Thanks, Ace. Comm going off.”
Ava removed the earpiece from her ear and tossed it on the nightstand with a sigh as she peeled off her dress and tossed it onto the bed before heading for the bathroom to turn on the water.
She wandered back into the bedroom and placed her order for a salad before she grabbed the bathrobe hanging in the closet and tossed it near the shower.
She let the warm water soothe her tense muscles before she shut the water off, toweled dry, and wrapped up in the bathrobe.
With the television on, she dropped onto the couch again to wait for her food. After twenty minutes, she considered calling to find out where it was when a knock finally sounded on the door.
She shuffled to it with a sigh. “Finally, I didn’t think–”
As she pulled the door open, the quick movement took her by surprise. She stumbled back a step, lashing out at the figure in a desperate defense maneuver.
It might have worked if the cloud of gas sprayed in her face hadn’t made her knees buckle. She blinked rapidly, struggling to clear her head, but it was no use.
Her eyes tried to focus as the person closed the door behind them and stepped forward. Ava stumbled a step before she collapsed, blackness filling in at the edges of her vision.
The last thing she heard before she passed out was a chilling robotic voice. “You’ll be safe now, Ava.”