Chapter 26
AVA
Ava stared out the window of their home, her arms wrapped around herself, as waves crashed against the shore. The past few days had been a whirlwind, and her mind struggled to keep up with the latest twists in the ongoing saga.
From her near death to the assault at the cabin, her frayed nerves couldn’t take much more.
According to Alex, his discussion with Chris had been successful. She hoped he was correct because she wasn’t certain how much more she could take being cut off from everything she knew.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she twisted to find Sebastian entering the room. Her eyes fell to his abdomen. “How’s the wound?”
“Tender, but much better. With any luck, I’ll be able to return to the public eye tomorrow.”
She heaved a sigh, twisting back to face the rocky sea as gray clouds raced up the coast. “Lucky you.”
“No progress with Chris?” he asked as he joined her.
“Alex said the conversation was a success. They hope he’ll break down at the funeral. I’m not entirely comfortable with them holding a funeral for me, but…”
“Sounds like a good plan,” he said with a shrug.
She twisted to face him. “Speaking of plans, what is ours? After I make my return from the dead, I mean.”
“With the distraction of your former…wait, what was Chris to you, anyway? He claims he was your fiancé.”
Ava slid her eyes closed. “It’s complicated.”
“I kind of have the time right now.”
With a sigh, she eyed him. “He’s not lying. Alex and I…married for reasons other than love. And then just never got divorced.”
His head cocked, and his features twisted with interest.
She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t start. There isn’t an in here. Alex and I really are married now. For love, I mean.”
His eyes narrowed at her.
“Alex and I got married in our twenties so he could inherit and use the money to start StoneCorp. We were very good friends—best friends, but we’d never been romantically involved. And I’d always assumed we’d just divorce. But we never did.” She shrugged, tossing a hand in the air.
“And then I started dating Chris, and Chris asked me to marry him. I said yes. I texted Alex about a divorce thinking it would be no big deal. Alex asked me to start looking into the financial discrepancies as a way for us to get closer again. And then…eventually, he told me he loved me.”
“And you broke up with Chris, leaving him angry and searching for revenge.”
“No, actually, I broke up with Chris before Alex told me he loved me. I’m not sure why I dated Chris, because he’s actually a jerk.”
Sebastian chuckled at the response. “I don’t like the guy, either.”
“Wow, something you and Alex agree on. Wonders never cease.”
“Alex is right. He’s dangerous because this is personal. That’s something Miranda suffers from, too. She got too personally involved in this.”
Ava shifted her weight, her lips tugging into a grimace. “Ugh, I can’t stand her.”
“So I’ve heard. The move you made by smashing up her place was really something.”
“Nobody hurts Alex,” Ava warned with a shake of her head. “Even before we were a couple—hurt Alex and pay the price.”
“Whew,” he said with a shiver. “You’re kind of scary when you’re angry. I’m glad you’re on my side.”
“You had better not be betraying us,” she said.
He held his hands up, indicating defeat. “I’m not. I promise. I really don’t want to see you angry.”
Silence stretched between them before Ava’s brow furrowed.
“Hey, I know we’re hoping Chris just can’t take the pressure and leaves, but…
I know Chris. He’s either going to go to Miranda and ask about this or he’s going to make some blubbering apology somewhere to someone about how this is all his fault.
What’s going to happen to him in either of those cases though?
Is The Board just going to let him slink off into oblivion? ”
Sebastian crossed his arms and shrugged. “Probably not. If he makes anything about this public, they won’t tolerate that.”
Ava’s heart skipped a beat. “Wait, wait, wait, no. Because I’m pretty certain Alex is banking on a very public apology that will pretty much isolate Chris from any ally. But if he does that…”
Their gazes locked. “The Board will take him out.”
Ava’s features scrunched as she shook her head. “You’re going to hate me but…”
“You don’t want that to happen.”
She flicked her icy blue eyes back to him. “No.”
Sebastian heaved a sigh. “Then we’d better move fast. Isn’t your funeral service this afternoon?”
“Yep,” she answered with a nod. “We cannot let him get up in front of a roomful of people and announce that he was responsible for the bomb that killed me.”
“Are you sure you want to save him from this?” Sebastian asked. “You tried to once already, and he didn’t listen.”
“Chris is stubborn. But I don’t think he expected me to die. I don’t know what he thinks The Board does, but he didn’t expect them to go after me like this. I’m not sure why when he clearly knew Alex had been kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped but not harmed or killed,” Sebastian said.
“Either way, I can’t let him get taken out because he’s an idiot. We need to stop him.” She shook her head. “I need to stop him. You can’t do anything.”
“Ouch,” Sebastian said. “That hurt.”
“Well, you can’t. Look at you.” She motioned at his stomach before she shook her head. “I’ll take the car and talk to him.”
Sebastian lunged toward her as she stepped from the window, wincing as he grabbed her elbow. “Whoa, whoa. You can’t just go talk to him, Ava. This is dangerous.”
“And you can’t go anywhere.”
“I can,” he answered. “I’ll be fine. You’re not going alone.”
“I can take care of myself,” she shot back.
“Not happening. The Board may already have someone in place to take care of this. Ava, you’re not going alone.”
“Can you find anything out? Use your connections? Chris is directly under your purview, right?”
Sebastian sucked in a breath. “I’ll try. Don’t leave until I’ve talked to someone to see what’s going on.”
“Don’t leave? I need time to drive. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to miss my own funeral.”
“Fine, but answer your phone,” he said.
She nodded and hurried to the front door, grabbing the keys to the car from the dish on the entryway table. As she hovered in the doorway, she turned back, shaking her head and strode back to Sebastian. “Let’s go. I may need a second sight of eyes.”
He glanced up from his phone with a nod. “I’ll call Miranda in the car.”
“Don’t think this means I like you,” she said as they ducked out the door and climbed into the car.
“Heavens no,” he answered as he settled into the passenger seat and pressed his phone to his ear as she fired the engine.
She aimed the car for the Hamptons. “I’m going to Chris’s hotel.”
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak when a voice sounded on the other end of the line. “Miranda. It’s Sebastian. What the hell is going on?”
“Speakerphone,” Ava whispered as he waved her off.
She grabbed at his arm and tugged it until he relented and put the call on speakerphone.
“…what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about? I go out of town for a few days only to find all hell is breaking loose.” Sebastian’s sharp tone made the remark sound even more biting.
“Everything is under control. Better than under control. Ava’s gone, in case you haven’t noticed, and now Alex Stone will be ripe for the picking.”
“If you think he’s going to join our ranks after we took out his wife, you’re stupider than I expected, Miranda.”
“I think he’s got nothing left to live for, so once we have him back in our grasp, he’ll do anything we’d like.”
Sebastian shot Ava a glance as he heaved a sigh. “I think you’re seriously underestimating Alex Stone. But that’s a different matter entirely. Tell me what is going on with Chris Maxwell.”
“Chris? He’s proving to be more loyal and useful than we could have imagined. I told you the tip on Ava’s talking with the DHS came straight from him. He’s the reason we could take her out.”
Ava tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her nostrils flaring.
The fact that Chris had tattled on her after she’d tried to protect him from The Board’s wrath infuriated her.
He’d almost gotten her killed—why should she care what happened to him now?
But beneath her anger, a gnawing guilt twisted in her gut.
If Chris died because of her, would she ever forgive herself?
She didn’t owe him anything, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to do something, no matter how much she resented him for betraying her.
Why was she bothering to drive two hours to make sure nothing happened to him when he’d nearly gotten her killed?
If Sebastian hadn’t intercepted their plans, she’d be blown to bits by now.
“Yeah, well, your loyal foot soldier may not be so loyal after all.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’s been talking to Alex Stone. Now, why would he be doing that if he’s loyal to us?”
“Maybe…prepping him to come aboard,” Miranda suggested.
“You know what I think? I think he’s feeling a little guilty. Which means he’s useless to us if he starts feeding information to the enemy.”
Ava slid her eyes sideways to eye Sebastian as he effortlessly played his role as Board rook.
“I still think he’s valuable, but…you are the second person to disagree with me.”
“Who else?” he demanded.
“Malone,” she answered.
“He hasn’t liked him from the start,” Sebastian said.
“No, and he’s been pushing to cut ties with him, especially after the explosion. I still disagree, Mr. Bancroft. If you back me up on this, I promise to manage him personally. I think he’s still an asset for us.”
“I’ll think about it. If Malone hasn’t already taken steps to ensure we cut our ties. I’ll call you later.” Sebastian poked at the end call button. “That was not good news.”
Ava glanced sideways at him. “Malone isn’t a good guy?”
“He’s a loose cannon, and my guess is he’s already scrambled an assassin to take Chris out.”
“I’m going straight to his hotel. With any luck, we’ll grab him before he leaves for the funeral.”
She pushed the accelerator closer to the floor, urging more speed from the engine. Each passing mile became a battle to reach Chris before something happened to him. Her mind raced as she worked through scenario after scenario to ensure Chris was okay.
As his hotel came into sight, her heart hammered harder against her ribs. She slid into a parking space and killed the engine before she kicked the door open.
With Sebastian in tow and her hood pulled tight over her head, they followed someone to a side door.
Ava hurried through the halls, her head down as she headed for Chris’s room. After a quick knock and no answer, her heart sank. Were they too late?
A maid wondered past with a cart and Ava poked an angry finger at Sebastian. “I told you not to close the door.”
He screwed up his face at her, and she widened her eyes in a silent signal as she cocked her head toward the maid. He offered her a knowing glance before he played along. “You didn’t say that.”
“I did. I clearly said don’t close the door. And leave it to you to walk out without a key.”
“Oh, like you didn’t,” he retorted. “You walked out here without a key, too.”
“Because I…ugh, never mind, never mind.” With a heavy sigh, she twisted toward the maid and offered her a polite smile. “I’m so sorry, but could you let me back into our room. My loving husband forgot his key…again. And I left my phone inside, my wallet, everything.”
The woman smiled at her and nodded. “Sure.”
She pressed her master key against the card reader and swung the door open.
“Thank you,” Ava said, pressing a hand against her heart before she shot Sebastian a glare. “Tip her.”
Sebastian pulled a few bills from his money clip and thrust them toward the maid. “Thanks a lot.”
“No problem. Try to have a better day.”
As the door clicked shut behind them, Ava’s heart pounded in her ears.
The room felt eerily quiet, and a cold sweat broke out on her neck.
She scanned the room, each second feeling like an eternity.
The unmade bed, the half-open closet door—every detail screamed at her that they were too late.
She hurried to the bathroom, her hand trembling as she pushed the door open.
It was empty. The sense of dread she’d been trying to suppress rose to a fever pitch.
“We missed him,” she whispered, the words tasting like defeat.
A curse escaped under her breath.
“Well, we need to find him,” Sebastian said as he lifted a few sheets of paper from the desk and waved them at Ava.
She grabbed them, her eyes growing wide as she read. “I’m sorry to say that I stand in front of you today to confess my role in the death of Ava Collins? Oh great. He’s going to tell everyone at the funeral.”
“Yep. And Edgar Malone isn’t going to stand for that. We need to get there as soon as possible.”
Ava slid her eyes closed, trying to push down the rising panic.
How long did they have? An hour? Less? Every second they wasted brought Chris closer to his doom, and she could practically feel time slipping through her fingers.
If they didn’t reach him before the funeral, he would be a dead man—if not by his own confession, then by The Board’s hand. She needed to move, now.