Chapter 23
ALEX
Alex frowned, his heart aching as the cabin disappeared from sight in the side mirror of the van. He let his head fall back against the headrest with a deep sigh. Ava’s miraculous reappearance had been amazing, but it also came with fear.
Fear of leaving her and losing her again.
He’d lived through the harrowing twenty-four-hour period where he’d thought she was dead. He never wanted to go through that again.
And what he hated even more was Biceps Bancroft spending the time with her. He didn’t like the man or trust him. Not yet.
But Ava had insisted they go deal with Chris. He grumbled under his breath. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Chris Maxwell.
The man had been the bane of his existence when he’d arrived ready to marry Ava. He’d gotten rid of him once, only for the man to rear his ugly head again and this time, nearly cost Ava her life.
“We need a plan, Mav,” Kyle said from the driver seat as he navigated back to the Hamptons.
“Tell me about it,” Alex said with a groan. “It’s normal that I can’t stop wishing I didn’t have to leave Ava at that cabin, right?”
Kyle glanced at him before he clapped him on the shoulder. “I think it’s understandable. You thought she was dead. It was a shock.”
Alex bobbed his head. “And I feel like every time I leave her now, she may not come back.”
“I get it. It’s still pretty raw. And we have to pretend she’s dead to everyone else.”
Alex scrubbed his face, fidgeting in his seat. “I’m going to have to lay it on thick with Chris. How can I do that when I know she’s alive? Ava has way too much faith in me. She could do this. She has a game face like you wouldn’t believe. Me? No.”
“You have it way worse than me. You’re the grieving spouse. I’m just the grieving backup spouse.”
“And the bad cop,” Alex pointed out, poking a finger at the man. “You’ve got wall slamming to do.”
Kyle sucked in a sharp breath. “I know. I’ve got to bring my game face, although, I think I can do it. I really haven’t liked that guy from the first time he showed up at the house, and I punched him in the face.”
“Right, you did. I forgot about that.”
“Not that Ava needed my help. She’s pretty bad ass.”
“She is. Although, I still hate leaving her with Biceps. Even if he has a gaping hole in his gut.”
Kyle patted his shoulder again. “Don’t sweat it. He’s not going to be moving around anytime soon.”
“Still don’t like,” Alex said as he glanced out the window at the scenery zipping by.
“So, tell me more about Chris. I’ve only had a few brief encounters with him, so I don’t know how to go for the kill. What drives this guy?”
Alex shrugged as he shifted his gaze back to Kyle. “I don’t know him that well either except to know I don’t like him…at all. When I was trying to win Ava back, he literally had her in tears constantly.”
“Win her back? Wait…you were married to her. Shouldn’t it have been him trying to steal her?”
Alex shook his head. “Fake marriage, remember? We were fake married. And Ava was asking for a divorce so she could marry Chris. And then I realized I couldn’t live without her and asked her to come to the Hamptons to sort it out. And then I told her I loved her.”
“And she dumped Chris, so now he hates both of you.”
“Incorrect,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “She dumped him first, then I told her I loved her. So, he hates her for dumping him and also hates me because he knew I loved her and blames me for the reason she dumped him.”
“Ohhh,” Kyle said, lifting his chin, “wow, nice. She dumped him first even without knowing you loved her.”
“Right? That makes me feel pretty good. Anyway, this joker only liked the idea of Ava. As soon as he showed up at the house, he started bossing her around. Don’t wear that onesie,” Alex said in a deep voice. “Don’t wear your hair up like that.”
“What’s this guy’s problem? Ava’s hot no matter what,” Kyle said, flinging a hand in the air.
“Right? Well, he only liked a certain version of Ava. Apparently, Ava had never been any other version with him. She’s a kind of a chameleon,” Alex said with a shrug. “Anyway, he was super mad that she wasn’t his version of hot Ava. He also accused her of being too attached to me.”
“Heaven forbid she be too attached to her husband of nearly two decades.” Kyle scoffed, shaking his head. “Okay, so I say we go in with accusing him of killing her because he couldn’t have her.”
Alex wrinkled his nose. “Ehhh, that may not go because when I was being held hostage at The Board stronghold, he kind of said Sebastian was after her and that we’d both lost Ava.”
“So…he was resigned to losing Ava at that point. Well, shoot.”
“Yes, but…wait…” Alex snapped his fingers.
“You may be on to something. We could go in asking if he wanted Ava dead or if he just very stupidly caused her death. That’s two things he wouldn’t like.
Being accused of killing Ava or being completely stupid.
Chris is arrogant. He likes to think he knows way more than everyone else. ”
“Attack his pride, I like it,” Kyle said as buildings filled in around them. “When are we doing this?”
Alex’s phone chimed, and he tugged it from his pocket, finding a message from Ava. Hey, I need you and Doc to bring a car up for me. You know, when you’re not busy guilting Chris for killing me.
“Ava needs a car. We’ll have to take one up to her when we get a chance.”
“Now?” Kyle asked as he pulled the van into the parking lot of the Beach Comber.
“No, let’s do the Chris thing first and get it over with. Actually, no, let’s take the car up first. Wait…” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. “Am I overthinking everything?”
Alex typed a message back to her as they tried to sort it out. Any excuse to visit you, Avs. Also, if you’d like a ride along on that mission, hack my system and grab the pearl tracker.
She returned his text. Sporting a new accessory, huh?
He responded to her immediately. My tribute to you, Sparky.
“I told Ava she can watch us on the Pearl cam, so no matter what we do, we need to stop by the house first.”
“Okay,” Kyle said as they slid out of the van and crossed to Alex’s SUV. “We’ll head there, go see Chris, then take the car up to Ava.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Then we can discuss what happened with her.”
Kyle pointed a finger at him as he slid into the passenger seat. “Bingo.”
Alex drove the short distance home, pulling into his driveway a few minutes later. He killed the engine, and they slid from the car, creeping into the darkened house. “Shhh,” Alex warned. “We can’t let them know we’ve been carousing around.”
“Right,” Kyle whispered as Alex eased the door open with a wince.
They tiptoed into the foyer. “Wait here,” Alex hissed. “I’ll go up and get the pearl cam.”
The lights went on, and Alex’s stomach plummeted as he squinted, whipping around to find Julia and Grant on the stairs.
Julia crossed her arms. “Where have you two been?”
“Uhh, walking the beach,” Alex said with a nod. “I’m…really upset. And I’m trying to deal with it. And Doc is…being a good friend.”
“Thanks,” Kyle said with a bob of his head.
Grant heaved a sigh, shaking his head. “I’m sorry to say this, but I think Kyle may not be being a good friend so much as an enabler. Look, Alex, I don’t know you that well, and this has all been a shock. But Julia is right. You have to face this. Arrangements need to be made.”
“Uhhhh, I don’t know–”
“That’s exactly what I was telling him, Dad,” Kyle said as he clapped Alex on the shoulder. “We need a funeral. A way to pay tribute to Ava. For the people who loved her to say goodbye. And it’s going to be hard, but we need to do it.”
Alex raised his eyebrows, sliding his gaze sideways to Kyle with a questioning glance.
“I know, Mav,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “I know you don’t want to face this, but you have to. And we have to. I have to. Chris has to. We all have to.”
“Ohhhh, right. You’re right, Doc. And when you’re right, you’re right. We need to do this. Julia, tomorrow, we’ll plan the funeral for Ava. But for now, I just want to try to get some sleep.”
Julia shuffled down a few steps, her features pinching as she glanced at him. “Alex, I’m worried about you. You’re all over the place. Did Kyle give you something for the grief?”
“Uhh, yep. He gave me an antidepressant, and boy, is it working. I don’t feel any depression, but I also don’t feel any emotion. So…when it wears off, I’ll be really sad.” Alex cleared his throat.
“Don’t worry, Mav. We’ll keep you on them through the funeral. Once you’ve had a chance to say goodbye, then we’ll ween you.”
“Good idea, Doc. You’re a smart guy. Now, I think we’d better head to bed.”
Grant and Julia exchanged a glance before Julia sucked in a breath. “Well, okay. I guess we’ll work on all of this tomorrow. Kyle, I trust whatever you’re giving him is appropriate.”
“Thanks, Julia. I appreciate your confidence in me. Good night, everyone.”
Alex hurried up the stairs with Kyle following him and disappeared into the upstairs hall. He scurried to his room, flying inside and motioning for Kyle to follow him before he slammed the door behind them and locked it.
He blew out a long breath. “Wow, that was close.”
“Good going with the antidepressant save. You’re totally acting like you’re on drugs, so it worked.”
“No problem. My natural personality is strange enough that people think that anyway.” Alex grinned at him before the smile faded. “Hey, what was with the funeral thing, though? I don’t want to plan a funeral.”
“But we should. Picture this…we visit Chris and plant the seeds of guilt in his mind. They grow and bloom until he attends the funeral. There you sit, missing Ava. A giant memorial picture of Ava stares back at him. He decides to confess to everything, the police nab him, Ava walks in triumphantly, shocking everyone.”
“Wow,” Alex said with a raise of his eyebrows. “I like that plan. Ava will, too. You’re good at this.”
Kyle grinned at him. “Thank you. Dad thinks I’m terrible at this stuff, but I like the drama, you know?”
“Me too,” Alex said with a bob of his head as he crossed the room to retrieve the pearl brooch. “Hey, I changed my mind. I think I want to go back up to the cabin first, then go guilt Chris.”
Kyle poked a finger at him. “We can tell Ava the plan. We need to keep Chris front and center at the funeral. You play up the grieving widower thing. Maybe break down during the eulogy. We’ll get Ava’s take on it.”
“Yeah,” Alex said with a nod. “If we can get out of here. I feel like Julia and Grant are wardens. How did Sierra get away with so much at home?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t get away with much with Julia around. Also, Julia hates my plans, too, so…I don’t get away with much either.”
“Well, I like your plans. Now, come up with one to get us out of this house again.”
“We’re just going to have to go for it. Sneak out and hope they’re in bed.”
Alex unlocked his door and peered into the hall. “Coast is clear.”
He crossed back to his laptop and pulled up the security cameras. “Foyer’s clear. Let’s go.”
They hurried through the house as noiselessly as possible before they escaped through the front door and hurried back to the cars, Kyle climbing into his, and Alex doing the same.
Kyle followed him to the cabin. As Alex’s wheels bounced over the gravel drive, a shiver snaked down his spine.
The cabin loomed in the distance, dark and silent, sending the hairs on Alex’s neck standing up.
“You’ll see her in a few minutes. Stop being weird,” he murmured to himself.
They reached the cabin, finding it dark. Alex climbed out of his car, crossing to it as Kyle eased his vehicle to a stop.
As he climbed the porch, Alex’s heart pounded harder against his ribs. The front door hung open. He stepped inside, his pulse racing. “Avs?”
He received no answer. “Ava?”
He hurried to the dining room, finding evidence of the hurried surgery, but no one else.
The kitchen was empty, too.
As he raced back into the living room, Kyle entered. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t find them.”
“What?” Kyle asked as Alex took the stairs two by two.
“Ava!” he searched the upstairs bedrooms, finding no trace of anyone. As he stepped into the hall after checking the last space, his eyes wide, he glanced at Kyle, shaking his head. “They’re gone.”