Chapter 16
AVA
Ava drummed her fingers against Sebastian’s laptop as she worked to bypass the multiple security measures he had in place to protect the computer at his safe house. The constant thought of whether or not Sebastian would connect with Alex distracted her.
She arched an eyebrow at the screen, the words on it melting together as she stared at them, her mind elsewhere.
“I should have told him not to ditch the mask before Alex is here. He’s going to lose it if he knows it’s Sebastian.”
She puckered her lips, wishing he’d left her a cell phone to contact him with.
With a sigh, she returned to her work but soon slammed the laptop lid closed. She’d never made progress when the only thing on her mind was the reunion with Alex.
Her stomach twisted into a knot. What if Sebastian just told Alex that she was alive but didn’t bring him here.
Her nose wrinkled. “Ugh, I should have been really explicit with him about what I expected.”
She paced around the living room floor, her eyes falling onto the picture of Sebastian and Vivienne together.
Her fingers lingered on the frame as she studied it. Did his parents know he was trying to dig out from under The Board’s influence, or was he working on this alone?
She puffed out her cheeks as she added it to the list of questions she’d have to ask him when he returned. After he revealed his identity to Alex, and they picked him up off of the floor.
“I really need to make sure he’s sitting down when Sebastian takes that mask off,” she murmured as she made another pass through the living room.
With a sigh, she checked the clock again. How long had it been since Sebastian had left? She really should have made a much more careful note of the time.
It had to have been at least an hour already. Her heart sank as she slumped into the chair. Which meant she had another hour to go.
She pulled the laptop onto her lap and toggled open a browser page, searching her own name.
A variety of articles spilled onto the screen, bringing tears to her eyes as she imagined Alex dealing with these reports.
She scanned a few headlines announcing her death before clicking into an article to read about how the DHS had confirmed she’d been aboard the plane when it took off.
She glanced through the comments, many of which poured out condolences, a few of which were mean-spirited enough to suggest this wasn’t a problem given Alex’s money because he could buy a new wife.
With a frown, she closed the article and slammed the laptop lid down. “Jerk.”
Ava pulled her legs up under her, finally letting the stillness of the cabin settle around her.
The quiet was both comforting and unsettling.
She usually didn’t mind solitude, but now, it felt oppressive.
She longed to see Alex, to feel his arms around her and hear his voice assuring her that everything would be all right.
The ticking clock in the background seemed to amplify her anxiety, every tick a reminder of the time slipping away.
Everything about this seemed surreal. Thinking of him believing she was dead made a wave of nausea wash over her. She hoped Julia and Kyle had taken good care of him, but he shouldn’t have had to live through that.
And all thanks to Chris Wright. Her fingers curled into fists as she considered Chris’s about-face, his sudden urge to stick it to her. He’d nearly gotten her killed. If she hadn’t listened to the note from Raven, she’d be gone by now.
She let her head rest against the wing of the chair as she sighed. Why hadn’t she insisted Sebastian give her a phone to keep her updated.
The clock ticked more time away before she finally heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway.
Ava leapt from her seat, setting the laptop on the cushion as she peered at the window. Through the sheer curtains, she could make out the form of a vehicle approaching, lights shining toward the house.
Her brow furrowed. That wasn’t the van.
She peered out the window for another second before she crept to the door and inched it open.
The car slowed to a stop and sat in the driveway. She squinted at it. Was that Alex’s SUV?
She pulled the door open further and stepped onto the porch. If it was, where was Sebastian’s van? Had Alex insisted on driving? Why weren’t they getting out of the car?
She imagined Raven telling Alex to get into the van, and Alex nervously refusing him flat out. It brought a smile to her face as she descended the stairs and stepped into the moonlight, her eyes trained on the car.
Her heart ramped up, thudding harder against her ribs as she spotted no movement inside the vehicle. What if it wasn’t Alex?
Had The Board found her? Had Raven betrayed her?
She took a tentative step closer, her muscles tensing as her instincts kicked in.
Finally, the driver door opened, and she froze, her eyes narrowing in the dim light to spot the driver.
“Ace?” she called, her voice meeker than she’d expected.
A moment later, his lanky form stepped out of the vehicle, his wide eyes locking onto hers, shock carved into his features. “Sparky?”
His voice broke a little when he said the word that sent her racing toward him.
He skirted the still-open car door, his features still registering disbelief as he hurried toward her. They collided together, wrapping their arms around one another in a tight embrace.
Alex’s shoulders shook with sobs as he held her tight to his chest before he leaned back, cupping her face in his hands. “You’re real, right?”
“I’m real,” she promised as she pulled him closer for a soft kiss.
His breath caught in his throat as they parted, and she wiped at a tear that had stained his cheek. “Next time answer your phone.”
His features pinched. “Wait…you called me…last night. That was real?”
“Yes, it was real. But the call dropped or something.”
He shook his head. “No, Kyle gave me a sedative. Ava, I was beside myself with grief after that news report.”
“Understandable,” she answered. “And I’m sorry. I tried to get to you as soon as I could, but…”
“Avs, what is going on here? How did you survive that explosion?”
She shook her head, her fingers lacing through his, anchoring herself in the reality of the moment.
“I didn’t. When I got on the plane, I found a rose and a note on my seat.
Raven told me to get off of the flight. If he hadn’t warned me…
” Her voice broke, and she took a shaky breath. “I’d be gone, Alex.”
Alex’s jaw hung open for a second before he pulled Ava tight against him again. “Okay, I guess I owe him a thank you next time I see him.”
“Where is he?” Ava asked, glancing at the car to see if he was inside. “You met with him, right?”
“Yeah, I did,” Alex said with a nod as they parted.
She grinned at him. “The two ships thing did the trick, huh?”
Alex heaved a shaky sigh. “So, that was a clue from you.”
She nodded.
He let his head drop back, exhaling hard. “We really need a code word or something for when this happens again.”
“Happens again?” Ava asked. “I hope this never happens again. We were lucky that Raven got wind of this and saved my life.”
“I’m going to send him the really nice cheese sampler for this,” Alex said with a nod as he tugged Ava toward his car.
She pulled back with a shake of her head. “I can’t go back yet, Alex. I need to stay for a little while.”
He furrowed his brow at her. “What?”
“The Board knows I went to DHS, okay? They planted that bomb to kill me. I need to take a few people out of the mix before we move forward with the bigger players.”
“Who?” Alex asked.
She crossed her arms, her fingers curling into fists. “Chris is the one responsible. He told them about the DHS flight.”
Alex growled as he tensed. “I told you not to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I know, I know. You were right. But it’s too late now. We need to get Chris out of the picture, and then I can make my triumphant return to life. At least I think that’s Raven’s plan. Where is he?”
“Uhhh,” Alex said with a scratch of his head. “Yeah, about that…”
Ava slid her head forward. “Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”
Alex screwed up his face. “What? I didn’t kill him. We were meeting at the old resort when DHS came after him.”
“What?” Ava cried, her voice filled with worry. “Oh, no. We have to get him out of this.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. Someone bonded with Raven while they were temporarily dead.”
She clicked her tongue. “I did not. It’s just…I know who he is, and it kind of makes sense.”
Alex’s eyes widened and his jaw flopped open. “You know who he is? Because he was still doing the creepy mask thing with me.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good thing, though. And yes, when he brought me here, I tore the mask off. So, I now know his identity.”
“Who is it?”
Ava tugged a corner of her lips back as she lifted a shoulder. “Why don’t you come in and sit down?”
“Oh, no. How bad is this?”
“I mean, it’s not terrible. But I feel like you’re going to pass out, so I really want to avoid dragging you into the cabin.”
He pressed a hand against his forehead as he shook his head. “Ava, you’re not making this any better.”
She took his hand and pulled him toward the building. “Think of it this way…Raven is the reason I’m alive so…we should credit him for that alone, right?”
Alex slid his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he kissed the top of her head. “Yes. Ava…when I thought you were gone…”
She wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed. “I’m not gone, Ace. I would never leave you.”
She led him into the dimly lit cabin and eased him into a seat.
“Okay, I’m sitting. Who is it?” Alex asked.
Ava perched on the corner of the coffee table, her lips tugged into a frown. “Raven is…”
“Wait, wait,” Alex said. “I’m not ready. I need a second.”
He sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes before he slowly blew it out and opened them. “Okay, now…is this like a ‘Wow, that’s a surprise’ sort of thing or is this more like the plot twist we never saw coming?”
“Ummm, plot twist we never saw coming but we probably should have because in retrospect it makes so much sense.”
Alex dug his fingers into the arms of the chair, bracing himself. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“It’s Sebastian,” she said.
Alex’s jaw dropped open, and he rapidly blinked his eyes before he leapt from his seat, pacing the floor as he ran his fingers through his hair. “What? No. No, no, no, no, no. No. It’s not…nope. Try again, Ava.”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she glanced up at him.
“Sorry? You’re sorry? Beefcake Billionaire is Raven?” He rubbed his forehead. “Wow, so he’s been after you on two levels.”
“I told you it made sense.”
“Wait, he kidnapped and helped you unkidnap me.”
“He said he practically drew me a map as Sebastian, and you know, I never did understand why he didn’t drug me before we went to the facility. Turns out, he really wanted me to find you.”
“Why didn’t he just not kidnap me in the first place.”
“Apparently, Miranda did that without his approval.”
“Miranda…” Alex growled, his fingers curling into fists. “Of course. Well, that settles it. We can’t trust Sebastian. So, this is over.”
“We have to trust Sebastian. He’s in with The Board. And he’s determined to take them down.”
Alex scoffed. “So, he says. Ava, these people robbed me, kidnapped me, and now tried to kill you. No, we aren’t helping Biceps Bancroft.”
“Alex, we have to. I know this is hard. It was hard when I realized who he was, but…I don’t know…I believe him.”
Alex’s shoulders slumped. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not. I’m so not that I even hacked your laptop and grabbed those files we lost when we were attacked. I was working on trying to get into his system at his safe house to get the decryption software, but I hit a wall. And then my wonderful husband arrived, and I had to reunite with him.”
He offered her an amused smile. “That’s funny, Avs. Don’t try to butter me up by reminding me that you are actually alive because I’m ready to kill you.”
She cupped his face in her hands as she kissed him. “You are not. And as much as you hate this, you know I’m right. Now…we need information on what happened with Sebastian.”
She shoved the laptop toward him and patted his chest. “Think you can handle that, babe?”
“With my hands tied behind my back, Avs. I just don’t know if I want to. I’m still not convinced, but if you insist who am I to say no to my beautiful, still alive wife?”
She perched on the arm of the chair as he collapsed into it and opened the laptop. With a few flexes of his fingers, he navigated to the DHS and carefully hacked his way inside.
“Let’s see…what happened to you, Rav—Sebast—what are we supposed to call him?”
“Oh, I gave him a new nickname, babe. Shadow.”
“Ohhh,” he said, his eyes going wide. “I like it.”
She grinned at him. “I do, too. He hates it.”
Alex returned his gaze to the screen, smirking. “I like it even more now.”
“Okay, let’s see where Shadow is.” Alex navigated through the file system in search of any information.
“There,” Ava said as she poked a finger at a file with her name. “Try this one.”
Alex shook his head, a frown deepening as he scrolled through the file. “Nothing in here, and you’re listed as deceased.”
His voice wavered slightly, the weight of the words hitting harder than he anticipated. He paused, glancing up at her, the reality of her “death” sitting uncomfortably between them.
She rubbed his shoulder, laying her head against his. “I’m not dead, Ace.”
He snaked an arm around her. “And I am super grateful for that, Sparky.”
They shared a kiss before he returned to his search. He shook his head after a few minutes. “I don’t see anything.”
She clicked her tongue as he moved on to the other task of finding the decryption software as Ava rose and stalked across the room to the picture above the mantel.
Her eyes shifted to the television, and she grabbed the remote and toggled it on.
A reporter stood on a familiar looking beach. Ava crinkled her brow as she squinted at the television. “Hey Ace, this is the abandoned resort, right?”
Alex glanced up from his laptop, cocking his head. “Yep, that’s it. What happened?”
She turned up the volume, listening to the report.
“…where we are being told a suspect in the bombing of the DHS flight that killed Ava Collins, wife of tech guru, Alex Stone, has slipped through the fingers of FBI agents. The agents ask that anyone in this area be on the lookout for a wounded man wearing a mask. Agents tell us that they believe he has been shot.”
Ava whipped around to face Alex, her eyes wide. “Shot? Alex, we have to find him.”
She turned back to the television, her nose wrinkling. Had they just lost their only ally in the fight against The Board?