Chapter 8
AVA
“Where are we going?” Ava asked, her heart thudding as he guided her through unseen streets. With her voice muffled by the dark hood, she could barely hear herself.
His robotic voice sent a shiver down her spine as she continued forward with no knowledge of her whereabouts. “To a secure location.”
“That’s what you said the last time. And you turned out to be wrong. You’re slipping, Raven.”
His grip on her arm tightened, and she imagined his jaw was doing the same.
“Woo, tough crowd,” she said. “Not even an answer. You know, the least you could do is talk a little to pass the time.”
He still didn’t answer.
“Hey, are people staring? I mean the whole hood feels like an attention draw. Couple that with the creepy mask you’re wearing, and I feel like we’re really drawing attention.”
He tugged her to an abrupt stop. Her blood went cold as she wondered if she’d finally gone too far.
Suddenly, she heard a van door slide open before his voice sounded again. “Get in.”
She swallowed hard as he shoved her into the back of a van.
“You can take the hood off,” he said before sliding the door shut.
She ripped her hood off, desperate to catch a glimpse of wherever she was but the thin sliver of light from the door disappeared almost immediately.
A curse escaped her as she scrambled to the door and searched for the handle to open it.
Her fingers wrapped around it, and she yanked but it didn’t budge. She heaved a sigh as the van shook around her when the front door slammed shut.
The engine fired, and they began to roll forward. “Hey, the least you could have done is let me ride up front. Especially if we’re going far.”
A tiny window opened, a sliver of light shining in from the front. “It’s not far.”
She scrambled toward the opening, attempting to see through the slit, but the only view she had was of Raven’s masked face.
“So…how did Miranda find your lair?”
“That’s a good question,” he answered. “One that I’d like an answer to.”
She arched an eyebrow as she sat back on her haunches. “I’ll bet.”
“I’m serious, Ava.”
Her lips parted as she furrowed her brow. “You’re asking me? How should I know how she found you?”
“Have you been talking to Chris Maxwell about me?”
She curled her fingers into fists as she glared at him. “No, I haven’t. In fact, I’ve protected you from the very beginning. Chris isn’t that trustworthy.”
“Then how did Miranda Vale track me?”
“I can’t believe this. You’re accusing me. You know what…if that’s your attitude, you can just stop this van and let me out right now.”
He didn’t stop, his gloved hands tightening around the wheel. “There’s no other way. You or Alex.”
“Oh, come on. Do you think Alex sold you out?”
“Yes,” he answered. “During his time with The Board. Maybe for better treatment. Maybe because he’s jealous.”
“That’s ridiculous. On all counts,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
“Is it?”
“Yes, of course it is,” Ava said, anger rising in her voice. “He has no reason to be jealous.”
The van lurched to a hard stop, sending Ava plowing into the front wall. “Ouch. Call your stops, you jerk.”
By the time she scrambled to her knees and peered through the small slit, the front door was already slamming shut. “Raven!”
Seconds later, the van door whipped open. Gloved hands reached for her, yanking her out of the back and into a dark alley.
He wrestled her forward, placing her between the van and a brick wall that blocked the street.
With a finger raising in warning, he spoke again. “I find it strange that one day after Alex Stone had been in Miranda Vale’s possession, my safe house is raided.”
“I don’t. You’re all over her radar, now. She could have had you followed. She could have used some clue from when you were inside that facility to track you. You drove that van, didn’t you? Maybe she followed it or tracked it. Come on, Raven, stop blaming us.”
“I’m not blaming you, Ava. I’m blaming him. He would be all too happy to get me out of the picture.”
Ava heaved a sigh and shook her head. “That’s not true. I know you don’t want to hear this, but there’s really no reason for him to be jealous because I’m in love with my husband, not you. You can leave all the roses you’d like, Raven, but I belong with Alex.”
He heaved a sigh as he tightened his fingers into fists. “Your allegiance lies only with Alex Stone, and that’s why I question your loyalty.”
He stepped toward her, and she instinctively scrambled backward.
Raven’s head cocked before it shook. “Ava…you have no reason to be afraid of me.”
“Don’t I? You knock me out repeatedly, kidnap me, zip-tie my wrists, and constantly accuse me of betrayal. Yet somehow, I’m supposed to leave Alex for you.”
“Everything I have done–”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said with a dismissive wave. “For me or to beat The Board or whatever. I’m sick of this, Raven. We can’t beat The Board when we can’t even trust each other.”
“You don’t trust me? I’ve gone out on a limb for you more than once.”
“Yeah, well, so have I for you. I just helped you fight off two attackers, then handed over my weapon. And you don’t trust me. Maybe it’s time this arrangement came to an end.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Raven said as he reached into his pocket.
He lunged forward, spraying the canister in her face.
As the gas hit her, her eyes rolled back in her head. She fell forward, collapsing against Raven before she blacked out.
When she opened her eyes again, darkness surrounded her. She blinked a few times before she tried to sit up. Her head swam as she tried to place herself. Something seemed familiar, a scent, the feel of the fabric on which she lay.
As her eyes adjusted, her heart skipped a beat. She reached sideways, finding a lamp on the bedside table and flicking it on. “Home?”
Before she could think any further, the door burst open. Alex raced in with Kyle behind him. “Ava?”
“Alex?”
“Ava!” His features twisted with relief as he raced to her and pulled her into his arms. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”
She wrapped her arms tightly around him, pulling him close. “I’m fine.”
She glanced over Alex’s shoulder at Kyle, who shifted his weight from foot to foot across the room before she reached a hand out to him.
He reluctantly crept forward, squeezing her hand.
Alex pulled back, gently rubbing a thumb against her cheek. “Thank goodness you’re home. I was so worried.”
Ava heaved a sigh. “There isn’t much to worry about, but I’m glad I’m home, too. Unfortunately, I think it means our association with Raven has come to an end.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wait,” Kyle said, his eyes going wide. “Was one of the guys at that loft Raven?”
Ava’s lips parted as she stared at him. “What loft?”
“The loft you were presumably at with the two dead Board pawns,” Kyle said.
Ava shifted her gaze from Kyle to Alex, her eyes questioning. “You were at the loft? How did you find it?”
“He’s using my own program to hide your cell phone location. I hacked it to send me your location with a ten-minute delay so he wouldn’t notice. We went to the loft…and found the two dead people.”
Ava bobbed her head. “They came while we were there. With a little help from me, he killed them both.”
Alex slid his eyes closed, his fingers tightening on her hand. “Ava…you could have been hurt, or worse.”
“He cut my zip ties at that point.”
“You’re not invincible,” Alex said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ava sighed as she shook her head. “No, I’m not. And this has to stop. After we were attacked, he put me in the back of a van and was moving me to a new location when we got into a massive argument.”
“An argument?” Kyle asked. “About what?”
“Loyalty. He actually questioned how The Board found his safe house and accused you of giving him up.”
Alex’s features pinched. “Me?”
“Yep. He said you told Miranda about him when you were being held hostage either to get better treatment or because you’re jealous of him.”
“I didn’t,” Alex said, his eyes wide. “I didn’t say anything about Raven.”
“I believe you. I told him you didn’t. He insisted you did and since my allegiance was to you, he questioned my loyalty.” She rolled her eyes.
“So, what then? He brought you home? What was on the drive?” Kyle asked.
“He kept the drive, never decrypted it. After I woke up, I was sick. By the time I recovered, we were being attacked. Then we got into the argument.”
“But he took you somewhere else, right?” Kyle asked. “By the way, I should do an exam. Whatever he gave us hit us pretty hard, too.”
“Yeah, well I’ve got a double dose. During our argument, he stopped the van, pulled me out, and we continued to fight about loyalty until he said our relationship may need to come to an end and sprayed me. Then I woke up here.”
Kyle skirted around Alex, pressing two fingers to her throat. “Your pulse is good. You having any dizziness or nausea?”
“This time around, no. Just a little grogginess.”
Alex leapt from his seat, his fingers curling into fists as he paced. “This has to stop.”
“I agree,” Ava said. “This little arrangement with Raven is too unpredictable, and we don’t have enough information to go after The Board alone.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Kyle asked.
Ava raised her gaze to him as he stood next to her before she flicked her eyes to Alex. “I think we should take the DHS offer.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, a tremor of fear in his voice.
Ava nodded. “Yes. Alex, we can’t do this alone. And Raven is…unpredictable.”
Alex eased onto the bed, taking her hands in his. “Okay.”
He slid his gaze to Kyle. “You in on this, Doc?”
“Oh…I get a vote?”
“Of course, you get a vote, Doc,” Ava said. “You’re part of this.”
“Oh, okay, ummm…” He rubbed his chin pacing the floor. “On one hand, DHS is kind of scary. But on the other, the masked maniac is really scary. And on yet another hand, The Board is super scary. Okay, yeah, I’m good. We go with DHS.”
Ava squeezed Alex’s hand as she reached for Kyle’s. He held his other hand out toward Alex.
“Ew, dude, no,” Alex said.