Stone’s Throw to Commitment (Hearts and High Stakes #5)

Chapter 1

ALEX

Alex fidgeted in his seat, his fingers drumming against the laptop as he waited for the files to transfer to his flash drive.

A variety of emotions roiled inside him, each fighting for dominance. The lingering fear of his recent kidnapping still sent shivers down his spine.

Anger at The Board’s audacity boiled within him, and a constant worry for Ava gnawed at his sanity. He felt a pang of helplessness, knowing he couldn’t protect her from every looming threat.

And the incredible events that followed his rescue, including their confrontation with Raven and the sudden involvement of Homeland Security, had left him struggling to catch his breath.

They’d demanded to be a larger part of Raven’s team, a man who had yet to show them his face. He’d agreed, but was that what they really wanted?

Did they want to be pulled further into the drama with The Board after what had already happened?

He imagined Ava was struggling just as much, but he wouldn’t know for sure. She had agreed to meet with the Homeland agents and provide the information they requested. It was a necessary move, but the thought of her being grilled by the feds…

He hadn’t been sure she should do it. The memory of their conversation with the agents replayed vividly in his mind.

“So, what do you say, Ms. Collins? You’ve been in close contact with several high-ranking Board members. We’d like to know what you know,” Agent Sanderson said.

“Whoa, wait a second,” Alex said, holding a hand up between them. “I don’t know about this.”

“What’s to know, Mr. Stone? We could hold her for forty-eight hours under the Patriot Act without any explanation at all. We’re asking politely.”

“Just what are you accusing her of?” Alex shot back.

Agent Sanderson shot her partner a look. “Should we be accusing her of something?”

“Absolutely not. And I don’t think she should be talking to you without an attorney present.”

Ava pressed a hand against his chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Can you give my husband and me a minute?”

Agent Sanderson shifted her weight before she waved a hand to indicate they could step away. Ava dragged Alex a few steps away, shooting him a glance.

“Ava, don’t do this. This is a bad idea.”

“I’m not sure I have a choice, babe. And I’d rather go willingly than be dragged there as an enemy of the state.”

“Avs, they’re going to put the screws to you. You heard her. She said you’ve been in close contact with Board members.” Alex’s mind raced. What if they find out more than they expected? What if they turned this all against her?

“And I have been. Sebastian Bancroft is a high-ranking Board member. I can explain everything.”

“Really?” Alex exclaimed. “What are you doing to say? I was hanging out with him because a creepy dude who goes by the name of Raven said I should get close to him?”

She clicked her tongue. “I wasn’t going to go with that, no. I wasn’t going to mention Raven at all.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I’m not going to give anything away to them. I’ll give them everything they need on Sebastian, but beyond that, I’m not going to give away all our secrets.”

“Babe, I’m not certain you’re going to be able to dance around everything we’ve done with Raven. What if they know about my abduction? What if they know you got into a Board stronghold?”

Ava shifted her glance to the agents again who watched their every move. “Alex, again, I’m not sure we have a choice. I’ll say as little as possible.”

“Put them off. Let me call Barry. Tell them you’ll meet them tomorrow.”

She sucked in a breath before she nodded. “Okay. But I think this is a chance we need to take.”

“You said that about trusting Raven, too. We can’t do both.”

She raised her eyebrows. “We can, and we will. I’m playing all these people against The Board. Between all of us, maybe we’ll be able to take them down.”

Alex puffed out his cheeks, his hands falling onto his hips. “Okay. I guess…we’ll take every opportunity we can.”

“Yep,” she said before they returned to the agents. She crossed her arms. “All right, I’ll tell you everything I know, but I can’t do it tonight.”

Agent Sanderson shifted her weight, clicking her tongue.

“Please,” Ava said. “It’s been a long night, and Alex is right. I’d like an attorney present.”

Agent Sanderson raised her eyebrows. “Something you’re afraid of?”

“Yeah, that the government is going to twist something I say and use it to threaten me into doing whatever they want like spying for them.”

“We’re not in the habit of–”

“Of what? Using informants? Of threatening people to get them to do your work for you? I don’t buy it. Now, I’m willing to cooperate and play ball with you, but I want my attorney present.”

“Also,” Alex chimed in, “why are you not asking me to give information?”

“You haven’t been the subject of Sebastian Bancroft’s attentions lately, Mr. Stone, otherwise we would have.”

Ava heaved a sigh. “And I’m willing to tell you everything about those interactions tomorrow morning with my attorney present.”

“If this is a put-off tactic–”

“I’m going to be there bright and early in the morning,” Ava answered. “And I am going to answer every one of your questions. No one wants to take The Board down more than us.”

“That’s an interesting statement,” Agent Sanderson said. “Why is that?”

“They stole several million dollars from StoneCorp. And since then, we’ve been digging into them without finding much. So if you’ve got the chops to dismantle them, I won’t say no.”

“Well,” Agent Sanderson said, “then I suppose we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, Ms. Collins.”

“I’ll be here.”

The memory faded of the recent conversation, and Alex returned to watching the progress bar inch higher.

“Come on,” he grumbled, checking his watch for the third time in as many minutes.

Hands grabbed his shoulders, squeezing. Alex jumped slightly.

“Tense, buddy?” Kyle asked, his familiar grin trying to diffuse the tension.

Alex’s lips tugged into a frown, not used to the friendship. “A little.”

Kyle smacked his shoulder before he skirted the couch and plopped down next to him. “Files transferring too slow?”

“Something like that.” Alex’s mind processed the entire set of worries that flooded his mind again.

“Want to talk about it?” Kyle asked.

“Nope,” Alex said without even glancing sideways.

Kyle grinned at him, cocking his head. “I’m a good listener.”

Alex winced as he finally slid his eyes toward the man. “No offense, Doc, but…it’s kind of weird.”

“Why? We’re bros.”

“We’re not really bros. And also…it’s just weird. I don’t usually confide in people, and when I do, it’s with Ava.”

“Ava’s not here,” he pointed out.

Alex stared into space, his jaw flexing. “No kidding.”

“Because she’s at the DHS talking to the feds about The Board.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Alex grumbled.

Kyle clasped his hands, leaning his elbows onto his knees. “Alex…Maverick…Mav…we need to talk. I’ve been upgraded to a full member of the team. Even Raven has accepted it. I think it’s time you did, too.”

Alex shifted his weight as the files finally finished loading. He ripped the drive from his laptop and set it aside before he dove into another program, desperate to decrypt something–anything before they got the information from Raven instead. “It’s not that I don’t accept it, but…”

“But?” Kyle prodded.

“Look, Doc, I’m not really a touchy-feely sort of guy, okay? I don’t want to share my innermost thoughts with you. Especially now.”

“I understand your holdback, but speaking as your physician–”

“You’re not my physician. And I have a very pricey celebrity therapist I can call at any time.”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Well, okay, I’m a physician, and the stress you’re under can be extremely taxing. You need an outlet.”

“I have Ava.”

“You can’t tell everything to Ava,” he shot back. “I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re not one hundred percent on board with this whole DHS thing.”

Alex heaved a sigh, the words cutting him like a knife. “I’m not. I’m just…worried she’s going to get caught up in something she wasn’t expecting.”

“That’s understandable. You’ve both been pretty caught up in a web here.”

“Ava’s smart, and she’s savvy. She can handle herself, but…I just can’t shake this bad feeling I’ve got. Like somehow, this whole Homeland Security thing is a big mistake.”

Kyle bobbed his head, his features turning pensive. “She’s not admitting to anything with Raven, right?”

“No,” Alex said as he leapt from his seat to pace the floor. “And that’s the trouble. Like what if they know more than they let on, and they start asking her about how she got me out of that facility?”

“Wouldn’t they know about Raven, then, too? I mean, assuming they knew you were kidnapped and that we rescued you.”

“Yeah, and they may even know she’s been meeting with them.” Alex flung a hand in the air. “I just see them presenting her with a picture of her meeting with Raven and demanding answers.”

Kyle winced at that. “Yeah. But your attorney will shut that down, right?”

“If he can. I mean, they’re claiming under the Patriot Act, they can do what they want. I know Ava can withstand the pressure, but…I don’t want her to have to do that.” He kicked a shoe against a piece of fuzz on the rug before he swiveled on his heel and walked in the other direction.

“Hopefully, it’ll all be over soon,” Kyle answered. “Now, in the meantime, what do we have going on here?”

Alex puffed out a breath. “Trying and failing to decrypt what’s basically a military-grade encryption on these files before Raven does.”

Kyle’s features pinched. “Why not just let Raven do the hard work?”

“Because I don’t trust him,” Alex shot back. “Whatever comes back on these files…it’s going to be what Raven says is on them. Not what we know is on them.”

“You think he’s lying?” Kyle said with a shrug. “To what end?”

“To manipulate us.” Alex collapsed into the seat. “I mean, think about it…we know nothing about this guy.”

“We know he likes masks and black,” Kyle retorted.

“And why? Why won’t he reveal his identity?” Alex perched on the edge of the cushion, his fingers drumming his forearm.

“Even the voice thing…he has a real issue with you knowing any clue about who he is.”

“Which makes me even more curious. Is it someone we know? Is it someone high-profile? Why all the secrecy?”

“You suspect it’s because he’s lying.”

“Yes…is he Board? Is he just here to keep us running in circles?” Alex narrowed his eyes, his lips puckering.

“Okay, devil’s advocate here, why would he get you released from The Board’s clutches if he was working for them?”

Alex lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Make it look good. Prove himself? Lull us into a false sense of security before he makes his move against us?”

“Which is what, exactly?”

Alex leapt from his seat again as his program continued to run on his laptop. “I don’t know. I don’t know! Maybe…”

He heaved a sigh, collapsing into his seat again. “Maybe I’m an idiot.”

Kyle clapped him on the shoulder. “No, you’re not. This is why it’s good to talk things through.”

Alex glanced at him. “Yeah, you’re right. And yes, this has been helpful, somewhat.”

His laptop buzzed, a massive set of red letters announcing his program’s failure again. He slammed his hands down against the laptop before he rubbed his forehead.

His fingers flew across the keyboard again before he set the program running.

“So, what are you doing? Why run it again?”

“Trying a few different specs to see if something hits.” Alex’s phone chimed, and he snatched it from the table, hoping it was Ava.

Instead, he found a message from an untraceable number. With a sigh, he slid his eyes closed.

“Bad news from Ava?” Kyle asked.

Alex flashed the screen toward him.

“Ohhh, our pal, Raven.”

“Yeah,” Alex said with a nod. “A nice message asking where Ava is. And what am I supposed to answer?”

“No details. Just say…she’s busy, what do you need?”

Alex shot him a glance before he started typing. “Oh, that’s kind of good. You’re like Ava with these things. I just freeze up. Okay, sent.”

A second later, the phone rang. Alex swiped to take the call, toggling on his speaker phone. “Raven…to what do I owe this phone call?”

“No games,” the robotic voice said. “Where is Ava?”

“I told you, she’s busy,” Alex answered. “What do you want?”

“The flash drive. I texted to tell her to bring it to our special place, but she didn’t show.”

“I told you she’s busy.”

“Busy doing what?” Raven snapped.

Alex shot Kyle a nervous glance. “Stuff…”

“That’s not–”

“Look, Raven, buddy, there’s no reason to get your knickers all in a twist. We have the flash drive.

We’d be happy to bring it to you. Thing is…

Ava’s having a spa day. I think she more than deserves it after the whole ninja rescue, and I really don’t think we should disturb her.

So, why don’t you just…tell us where you want us to meet you, and we’ll run right out. ”

“Who is this?”

Kyle heaved a sigh, his lips forming an unimpressed frown. “Doc.”

“Who?”

“Kyle Carter. Look, pal, I’m a member of the team. You can’t treat me like–”

“I want Ava to bring the drive. If I don’t have it by three this afternoon, I’m going to assume something is wrong, and I will need to reevaluate this partnership.”

“Wait–” Alex started, but the line had already clicked.

With a sigh, he tossed his phone down. “Great.”

“Maybe Ava will be back by then. This can still work,” Kyle said.

“And maybe she won’t be. But what will happen, is she’ll be ticked off if we lose Raven.”

Kyle pressed his hands together, balancing his chin on his fingertips. “Then we need to get Ava out of that Homeland Security interview before three or we’ve got trouble.”

Trouble. Everything in his entire life was trouble, and it was constantly getting worse. When were things going to get better? Or were they only going to get worse?