Chapter 19
ALEX
Alex slid into the passenger seat of Kyle’s car, shaking his head.
Where was the man who’d rescued Ava? And did he really want to find him?
The very idea felt ludicrous. Here he was, hunting down the person who’d saved Ava’s life, yet had been a thorn in his side for so long.
Part of him wanted to be grateful, to see this man as a hero.
But another part—the louder, more distrustful part—couldn't shake the feeling that trusting Sebastian Bancroft, aka Shadow, was like inviting a wolf into the sheepfold.
How could he reconcile these conflicting feelings?
“Well, that was a bust. You want to check anywhere else?” Kyle asked.
“Where?”
“Walk the beach?” Kyle suggested with a shrug.
Alex heaved a sigh. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
They climbed out of the car again. As Alex slammed his door shut, he tugged the zipper of his hoodie higher to shut out the icy breeze that wafted past him. “Did it suddenly get cold or is that chill in the air a warning that we should cut ties and run home?”
Kyle screwed up his face as he glanced at Alex. “Something wrong, Mav?”
“Yeah, something’s wrong. Ava nearly died and miraculously came back to life and instead of spending time with her, I’m wandering around on the beach looking for a guy who has been a thorn in my side since we met him after he told her she needs to stay dead.”
“Wow,” Kyle answered with a whistle. “That’s…a lot to process.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Okay, let’s parse through it. I mean…Ava is alive…win.”
“Definitely in the win column,” he said as they hit the sand, trudging through it toward the pounding surf.
“Okay, umm, Raven-slash-Sebastian–”
“Now nicknamed Shadow–”
Kyle waved his hand in the air. “Yeah, wait…we need to revisit that. The whole nickname thing needs to go in the loss column.”
“I agree completely. Same with the whole searching for this guy thing. Loss.”
“Or win,” Kyle responded. “He could be gone for good. No threat.”
Alex chewed his lower lip. The man had said exactly what he’d been thinking. Was the loss of Sebastian really a loss? “I think the same thing but Ava…”
He heaved a sigh, recalling how insistent she’d been about finding Sebastian.
“Ava insists we need to find him?” Kyle asked. “I don’t get it either.”
“Okay, thank you,” Alex said with a bob of his head as they continued along the stretch of beach he’d last seen Sebastian running along. “I agree. Why is she advocating for him?”
“Well, I mean…probably because she’s a super nice person. I mean, Ava was really nice to me even after I kissed her–”
“Please stop mentioning that because it just makes me upset. Because now I’m wondering if Biceps Bancroft put his lips on Ava’s.”
Kyle tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. “Ohh…you think they kissed, and now she has a soft spot for him like she has for me.”
“No, I don’t know. Ava’s not stupid. I’m giving her far too little credit. If she thinks we need to find him, we do. I just…”
“Don’t want to hear that?” Kyle asked.
“Exactly.” Alex glanced behind him again, searching the beach for any signs of the missing man.
“I’m with you, brother. I don’t like this guy or get Ava’s insistence, but at the same time, she’s a smart cookie, so maybe we should listen.”
“Yeah.” Alex ground to a stop, kicking the sand around in front of him.
“Should we split up, take a look around in a wider area?”
Alex’s eyes went wide as his pulse sped. “Heck no. Are you crazy? That’s how people die, Doc.”
“Well…I thought…you’re right. This is a terrible idea. I’m terrified of Perfect Stubble, too.”
“I’m not terrified,” Alex said with a frown. “I’m just…okay, yeah, he’s pretty creepy.”
Kyle nodded. “Yep. Okay, so, should we continue or head back?”
“Head back. Maybe I can pull some surveillance footage from the neighbors security cams or the street cams. If he’s on foot, they still may have caught something.”
“Good thinking, Mav. And I will assist you by making sure I keep everyone else away from you under the guide of medical care.” Kyle poked a finger at him.
“Perfect. Because after this little…disappearance, I’m pretty certain Julia is going to be concerned.”
“I can handle Julia,” Kyle answered as they stalked past the old pool slides of the resort.
Alex’s features pinched as he glanced at the man. “Seriously? Because it seems like…maybe you think you can, but can you?”
“I can. Trust me, I can. It’s Sierra we need to worry about. I can’t handle her. She’s too much, and she’ll get the truth out of me.”
Alex stopped, his features pinching. “You can’t tell her, Doc. Not a word.”
“Yes, I know,” he answered. “So, I need to avoid her. We need to avoid everyone. I’ll just whisper something to Julia about you needing some time.
I’ll pretend to be really…concerned.” Kyle wrinkled his forehead, his lips forming a slight pout.
“See? This is my concerned look, and Julia falls for it every time.”
“Hmm, that’s a pretty good concerned look. I like it a lot.” Alex nodded approvingly as they resumed walking.
“Thanks,” Kyle said with a grin. “I’ve practiced it a lot. You know, at first, one my first angles when I met my dad was to steal Julia. So, I worked on that concerned look a lot. I had to use it when I accused Dad of abusing her.”
Alex slid into the car again, one corner of his lips tugging back into a confused expression. “You accused Grant of abusing Julia?”
“Yeah,” Kyle said as he tugged on his seat belt. “Went for the whole abusive spouse thing hard. Even decked him when he got in between our conversation.”
“That’s messed up, bro,” Alex answered as Kyle fired the engine.
He pulled away from the van, leaving the old resort behind. “I know. I did some really screwed up things, but it’s all in the past now.”
“Right, now you just do illegal things,” Alex said with a chuckle.
“Exactly,” Kyle said with a grin.
A few minutes later, they pulled into Alex’s driveway, climbing from the car and pushing into the house.
Julia raced from the living room, her features pinched with worry. “Alex, thank goodness. Where were you?”
“I, uh, I just went for a drive, you know? The walking was…it reminded me of Ava. And, uh, I wanted to clear my head. So, I got in the car and just drove.”
“Then he blew a tire,” Kyle added.
Alex poked a finger at his friend. “That. Yep. When it rains, it pours.”
Julia pressed a hand over her heart. “Well, thank goodness you are back. We have been worried sick. Why don’t you come in and sit down?”
“Umm, actually, I’m going to go upstairs–”
“Alex, I’m a little concerned that’s not healthy right now. I’m certain Kyle would agree.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t,” Kyle answered as he stepped between them. “The thing is, Julia…”
Alex used the distraction as his cue to race up the stairs. He hurried to his room, closing the door behind him as he blew out a long breath. Had he blown it with Julia?
He’d been sick with grief when he’d left, was he too jovial upon his return? He wandered to the mirror, crinkling his features as he tried to pout. Could he pull off a concerned look, too?
No, it looked like he was trying too hard. He shifted his features, trying to look more pathetic, but he only came across as sickly.
With a grimace, he left the mirror behind. He’d just have to remain quiet so he didn’t give anything away. Hopefully, if Julia noticed anything, Kyle could convince her that it was just a blip.
He unzipped his hoodie and shed it on the chair before he grabbed his laptop. He couldn’t deny how much lighter he felt knowing Ava wasn’t dead.
Her miraculous appearance at the cabin had almost been surreal for him. As he opened his laptop, he found himself wondering if she had been a figment of his imagination.
No, Kyle had seen her, too. Or at least heard her.
He drummed his fingers against the laptop as he waited for the man to return and tell him he’d heard Ava, too. That it wasn’t all his imagination.
With a crinkle of his nose, he kicked himself for not installing spyware on Sebastian’s laptop to make it easier for him to hack it and turn on the webcam to see Ava.
He’d have to install a camera in something and leave it at the cabin on his next visit.
As he vetted options for the device, a knock sounded at the door. Kyle peered in with a frightened glance on his face. “Hey, Mav, so…hey, why don’t you come downstairs with us for a while?”
“Uhh, no,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
Kyle wrinkled his nose, tilting this head awkwardly. “I really think it’s for the best, buddy.”
“We talked about this. It’s not.” Alex tried to read the odd nervous tic the man repeated over and over.
Julia pushed into his bedroom next. “Alex, I really think you need to come downstairs. I’m uncomfortable leaving you alone like this. I understand this is a shock, but you need people right now. Not to sit alone in your room.”
“Julia,” he said, shifting the laptop off his lap, “thing is…I’m used to being alone. You know? It feels normal to me, so…”
“Alex, no,” she said with a shake of her head. “Being alone right now is a bad thing. I know you’re used to it, but you haven’t been without Ava before.”
Alex tried to let his features twist with upset.
“Alex? Are you sick?”
“Huh? No, I just…look, Julia, I need time to grieve. I need to be alone.”
“That’s the last thing you need.”
Without warning, Sierra burst into the room. “What’s going on here?”
“I’m trying to convince Alex that he shouldn’t be alone right now,” Julia said.
Sierra scoffed. “Umm, well, duh. Your wife just died. And you weren’t in the middle of a bitter divorce or anything, so you are too upset to be alone.”
“I’m not,” Alex tried.
Sierra poked a finger at him. “You are. Look, if Ava were like Lydia, I’d get it. But she was nice. So, you’re probably, like, super upset. As upset as I was that time I tried to buy that Gucci bag, only to find out my so-called best friend got it first.”
“Uhhh, yeah, maybe even more upset than that,” Alex said with a bob of his head.
“Exactly,” Sierra said. “Which is how I know you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’ve already offered to stay up here with him. He won’t be alone,” Kyle tried with a grin.
“That’s even worse.” She held her hands up, acting like a scale. “Alone, with Kyle. Hmmm, yeah equally bad. Both of you, downstairs, now. Don’t make me say it again.”
Alex winced as he shot Kyle a glance. The man shrugged, offering an apologetic glance.
With a sigh, Alex climbed from his chair with a heavy sigh. He didn’t want to have to play the grieving widower when he was ecstatic, but he’d do his best.
As they trailed behind the others on their way downstairs, he leaned closer to Kyle, his voice a whisper. “Hey, you heard Ava on the phone, right?”
“Yeah,” Kyle confirmed. “Why?”
“Just making sure I’m not crazy.”
“If you’re not, you will be by the time we get done with this forced family time,” Kyle hissed.
They entered the living room, finding Grant setting up a board game. Alex screwed up his face as he stared down at the board for Clue. “What is this?”
“Clue, duh,” Sierra answered.
“This is hardly appropriate after–” Kyle began.
Sierra poked a manicured finger at Kyle. “Sit down, Professor Plum, no one asked you.”
Alex swallowed hard, sinking in front of the spot for Mr. Green. “Looks fun.”
“Thank you, Alex,” Sierra said with a grin.
They started their game play, and Alex shifted in his seat as time passed. Accusations were made, clues were gathered, though he only half-heartedly played. His gaze fell on the clock over and over, watching the time.
He tried to sneak away to check his phone by offering to gather snacks, but Julia waved him down, ruining his escape plan.
He sank onto the cushion with a heavy sigh.
Finally, after the fourth round of play, he excused himself for the night. “Well, it’s been…a real blast. And took my mind off of everything for just a little while. I can’t thank you enough, Sierra, but I think I need some rest. I’m beat.”
“Aww, of course, Alex. We understand. Thanks for joining us,” Julia answered.
“I’ll head up with you. I just want to get a few vitals, assess if you need a sleeping aid,” Kyle offered.
“Great,” Alex said with a tight-lipped smile.
They left the living room behind, and Alex dug his phone from his pocket as they climbed the stairs.
“Did Ava text?” Kyle asked.
“I’m checking now. That was torture.”
“I told you,” Kyle answered.
Alex checked his phone, his heart hammering harder as he spotted a message from Ava. Hey, Ace, can you call me?
“Oh, no. She asked me to call her.” His fingers trembled as he typed back quickly that he was calling her now before he pressed the call icon.
He shut the door to his bedroom behind them both as the line trilled.
Ava picked up a second later, her voice taut with urgency. “Alex… get Doc to the Beach Comber, right now. Sebastian’s been shot. He’s losing a lot of blood.”
The words hit Alex like a physical blow.
For a moment, he felt paralyzed, a wave of panic rising in his chest. He forced himself to breathe, to think.
There was no time for second-guessing or doubts.
If Sebastian died, they would lose their only insider to The Board’s secrets.
He glanced at Kyle, who looked equally stunned, and realized they needed to act fast.
Alex’s heart hammered against his ribs at the news.
For a split second, his mind went blank, overwhelmed by the sudden urgency.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
Panic wouldn’t help them now. He needed to stay calm, focused.
His eyes snapped open, locking with Kyle's.
They had to get out of the house without raising suspicion, and they had to do it quickly.
'We need to find a way to slip out unnoticed,' he muttered, the weight of their predicament pressing down on him.
The clock was ticking, and every second counted.