Chapter 3
ALEX
“It’s like a bad case of deva ju,” Alex said, his lips tugging into a grimace as Chris poured coffee from the pot into a mug and took a sip, his gaze flicking out over the ocean.
Kyle crossed his arms, a frown on his features as he stared at the man. “I know exactly what you’re saying.”
Alex’s jaw tightened as he spoke, his voice low and laced with bitterness. “You didn’t live through it, Doc. Watching her slip away from me, seeing her eyes light up every time he walked into the room… It was like being gutted every single day.”
Kyle nodded, his expression serious now. “But she’s with you, Alex. And after everything Chris has done… I don’t think she’s going back to him.”
Alex let out a harsh laugh. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But then he shows up all guilty and repentant, and suddenly, I’m back to being the second choice.”
“Mav, dude, he literally almost killed her. I don’t think she’s going to go for that.”
“Yeah, but now he feels soooo bad.” Alex pressed his hands against his heart. “And you know how women fall for that stuff.”
Kyle hesitated for a moment before he shook his head. “I do not see that happening.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t have my luck.”
“Your luck? My dude, you have a hot, beautiful wife that has been married to you for decades–”
“By accident,” Alex said as he slumped back in the cushions.
“I’d take it, bro. In a heartbeat.”
Alex covered his face with his hands, his head dropping back onto the cushion behind him. “Ugh, why can’t things just settle down?”
“Because you got on the wrong side of a criminal organization determined to destroy the world?” Chris’s voice asked.
Alex slid his eyes closed, keeping them covered with his fingers as he lamented the current state of his life.
A few months ago, he had been happily married to Ava, even though she hadn’t known he loved her.
Since then, however, every step they took had been marred by conflict.
First, the engagement to Crossbeam Chris, then the battle against those determined to destroy him, his company, and his life. “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
“Just saying,” Chris said as he settled into an armchair, balancing his mug on the arm as he groaned.
Alex stared at him with scrunched features. “Something you want, Chris?”
“Nope, just hanging out.”
“Maybe do that somewhere else,” Kyle suggested. “Mav and I are talking here.”
“Mav?” Chris asked, his head tilting.
“Mav, Maverick, Top Gun…” Kyle shook his head as he leaned forward. “Look, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that really you shouldn’t be here. You’re not inner circle.”
“Uhh,” Chris raised his wrist in the air, brandishing the knight tattoo. “I’m about as inner circle as it gets.”
“On the wrong team, Chrispy.” Alex shook his head, letting out a disgusted sigh.
“I know things.”
Hardly,” Alex shot back. “You know what Sebastian knows. And we already have him on the team, sadly. We don’t need two of Ava’s beaus hanging around.”
“Ohhh,” Chris said with a raise of his chin. “So, that’s the problem here. You’re afraid Ava’s going to fall in love with me again.”
“You know what, no,” Kyle said with a slice of his hand through the air. “Nope. Because Ava loves Alex. And I’m her backup husband, not you. So, if she fell in love with anyone, it would be me.”
Chris screwed up his face. “What? That doesn’t even make any sense. What are you talking about? How are you on the team?”
Gizmo scampered in as Kyle glared at Chris. Ava’s little puppy offered a few yips at Chris who wrinkled his nose at the dog.
In response, Gizmo waddled his tiny body over and lifted a leg on Chris’s shoe.
“Oh, what the hell?” Chris exclaimed as he kicked his foot, scaring the dog away.
“Giz?” Ava called as the dog scurried across the room, tail down. “There you are. What happened?”
She scooped the dog into her arms, kissing his head.
“Chris kicked him,” Kyle reported.
“What? I did not. I didn’t kick him. He peed all over my shoe.”
“Then you kicked him,” Kyle repeated.
“What?” Ava asked, her voice sharp. “You kicked Gizmo?”
“I didn’t kick him, Ava.” Chris set his gaze on her. “I moved my foot, and it scared him.”
“Awww,” Ava cooed as she cuddled the dog closer. “Poor Gizmo. Of course it scared you. That big foot coming at you.”
Chris rolled his eyes as Ava climbed over Alex’s legs and plopped onto the couch between the two men.
“If you got a real dog instead of a rat, he wouldn’t have been scared,” Chris shot back.
Ava clicked her tongue. “Stop. Gizmo is a real dog.”
Alex let his arm slide around his wife, pleased at the turn of events. “Yeah, Chris. He’s the real dog Ava always wanted. But you wouldn’t know that because you probably don’t know anything about her Legally Blonde obsession.”
Ava’s features crinkled as she slid her eyes from Alex to Chris and back. “Something happen while I was gone?”
“Chris thinks you’re going to fall madly in love with him again,” Kyle answered.
“I didn’t say that,” Chris said through clenched teeth. “I really don’t like you.”
“Tough, Doc’s a team member. And Gizmo is our mascot. If you don’t like it, I can call Miranda and let her know where you are, then we can let The Board sort it out.” Ava waved her phone in the air.
Chris’s features settled into a taut stare. “You know what, I’m not going to deal with the constant threats, Ava.”
“And I’m not going to put up with you coming in our home and threatening my relationship with Alex.”
“I didn’t. Your doctor buddy is crazy.”
“Hey—" Kyle snapped. “Only certain people get to call me Crazy Kyle, and you aren’t one of them.”
Chris let his head fall back between his shoulders. “I don’t know if we’re going to survive this. Between your first spouse, and your second spouse–”
“Backup spouse,” he corrected.
Ava’s voice was calm, but there was a steely edge to it as she spoke.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Chris. You’re a guest here, and that’s it.
Alex is my husband, and nothing you say or do is going to change that.
Gizmo is our dog, and he’s part of this family.
Doc’s opinion matters because he’s earned it.
You, on the other hand, almost got me killed.
You are on probation. Don’t push your luck. ”
Alex’s eyes went wide as Ava wagged a finger at the man, her features set.
Alex settled into the cushion, pulling Ava closer to him with a tightlipped smile as he shot a glance Chris’s way, catching Kyle doing something similar out of the corner of his eye.
Chris heaved a sigh, shaking his head. “Fine. I’m a guest here. The dog can pee on me anytime.”
“We’ll work on making sure he doesn’t pee on you,” Ava promised. “Now, can we please move on without all you men being at each other’s throats?”
“I’d like nothing better,” Alex said. “I’d really like to move forward with something that helps bust The Board so Chrispy Creme can go back to doing whatever it is he did before we met.”
Ava tugged her phone from her pocket. “Well, on that note, Sebastian has an opportunity for us.”
“I’m all ears,” Chris said with a fake smile plastered across his features.
“Good, because you’re up. You wanted to make things right. Here’s your chance, bud,” Ava said. “He wants you to meet Miranda. See what information you can get from her. Apparently, she’s still soft on you.”
Chris raised his eyebrows, swallowing hard. “You want me to meet with a Board member after they tried to kill me.”
Ava arched an eyebrow. “You wanted to risk your life for the cause. Here’s your perfect opportunity.”
“I kind of was hoping for a more discreet risking of my life.” Chris wrinkled his nose.
Alex clicked his tongue. “Tell Shadow we’ll need to handle this another way. Crossbeam Chris is out. He just wanted a free vacation.”
“Why do you constantly put words in my mouth? Is it just to make yourself feel better and look better in front of Ava? Sebastian was right about you.” Chris shook his head, a disgusted frown on his face.
Ava clicked her tongue.
Alex’s fingers curled in fists as he picked up on the last words murmured by the angry architect. “What the hell? What did Sebastian say about me?”
“Babe, let it go,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
The words stung him. Had Sebastian shared his take on Alex with Ava, too? What weren’t they saying?
“No, I’m not letting it go. I want to know what Chris felt the need to mouth off about.”
“Come on, we need to work together here, not be tearing each other apart,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
“Oh, so I should just let him insult me in my own home and get away with it?”
Chris huffed out a sharp laugh. “There it is again. Poor Alex. Everyone’s always after him. What are you going to do when Ava decides she’s tired of putting up with your pathetic, whiny waste of space self, huh?”
Alex leapt to his feet, his nostrils flaring.
“That’s enough,” Ava said as she shook her head at Chris and grabbed Alex’s hand. “Babe, sit down.”
“No, Ava. I’m not going to sit down. How do we know that the Architecto here isn’t infiltrating us for The Board? The way he’s behaving it certainly seems like he’s got his loyalties thrown firmly behind the other team.”
“I do not. I’m just pointing out that you constantly have to put other people down to make up for whatever you lack, which you must think is quite a bit.”
“I said that is enough,” Ava answered, her voice a warning. “Out of both of you. We are working together to put as fast of an end to The Board as possible. Alex doesn’t have to like you after what you did. And your attitude right now isn’t helping.”
“All right, fine. You want me to prove I’m a team player. I’ll prove it. Set it up. I’ll meet with Miranda. If I get killed, Alex can rejoice.”
Ava shot him an annoyed glance as Alex settled on the couch next to her, perching on the edge, his leg bouncing.
Alex forced himself to breathe slowly, to unclench his fists, but the anger simmered just below the surface, threatening to boil over.
Every word out of Chris’s mouth was like a knife twisting in his gut.
He needed to stay calm, needed to be the bigger man—but how could he, when Chris kept pushing every button, taunting him with that smug look on his face?
Ava shook her head. “No one is rejoicing. And I’ll be there to make sure you don’t get killed.”
“Uh, no,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
“Uh, yeah,” Ava shot back. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the pearl cam, and you can listen in.”
“I’ll go, too,” Kyle said.
Chris wrinkled his nose. “Didn’t you nearly get killed in the whole Rescue Alex operation? Miranda said you couldn’t hit a target directly in front of you.”
“That’s not…there was something wrong with the gun,” Kyle answered.
“It’s a good idea,” Ava said. “Ace, you coordinate communication and oversee the operation, Kyle and I provide back-up, Chris mixes it up with Miranda. We have our plan. I’ll text Shadow.”
Alex heaved a sigh as Ava tapped on her phone, not at all convinced of the plan or Chris’s part in it. What if this was a trap?
Alex’s heart pounded as he considered the risks they were about to take.
One wrong move, one slip-up, and they could all be dead.
He trusted Ava more than anyone, but the thought of her walking into a meeting with Miranda, with Chris of all people, made his blood run cold.
He needed to keep his head, to think two steps ahead of The Board—but what if they were already ten steps ahead of him?
A knot of unease tightened in his chest. He didn’t like this plan, didn’t trust Chris to handle Miranda, and most of all, he hated the thought of Ava being anywhere near danger.
But what choice did they have? The Board wouldn’t rest until they were all taken down, and this might be their only shot.
Still, the nagging voice in the back of his mind wouldn’t quiet—what if this was a trap?
What if they were walking straight into a setup, with no way out?