36. Ava
36
Ava
A gentle nudge pressed against my shoulder, guiding me from my sleep. I groaned, curling deeper into the sheets, my muscles aching. The mattress dipped beside me, warmth radiating from the body that refused to let me slip away again.
"Rise and shine, princess." Nate’s voice brushed against the silence.
"No." I buried my face into the pillow. "Not yet." I stretched, my body resisting as I turned onto my back, blinking up at him. "Five more minutes."
He huffed a quiet laugh and sat on the edge of the bed, his hand slipping down to my hip. "You know we don’t have five minutes." His thumb caressed the indent at my pelvis. "Because if we did." He leaned in and pressed gentle kisses along my neck that had me moaning. "I'd take extra care of you this morning."
" Mmm. You're such a tease."
He shifted away with a devilish grin.
I exhaled, rubbing a hand over my face before pushing up on my elbows. "You ever think about running? Forget the plan, disappear somewhere far, just the two of us?"
"I've been thinking about it for two and a half weeks." Nate's grin turned forced as he brushed a strand of hair away from my brow, then dropped into his lap. "But we'll be running for the rest of our lives, so we might as well take a few of them down while we're at it." He stood and spun away from me. "So, I need you to get up. Because I don't want to do it without you."
My chest tightened, the weight of reality settling deeper.
I nodded, swallowing against the lump in my throat. "Alright. Let’s do this."
Standing, I showered in record time, dressed for the airport, and tied my hair into a French braid, my stomach in twisted knots.
"Ready?" Nate waited at the door with the duffel bag in his left hand as I slung my backpack over my shoulder, filled with everything we needed—our tickets to freedom.
"Is there any other answer, but yes?" I straightened, my shoulders strung as tight as a tennis racket.
Nate stepped closer to me and cupped the frame of my face in his hand, drawing my worried eyes to his. "We can do this. Because failure isn't an option."
I swallowed hard and gave a sharp nod.
"Now repeat the plan."
"Go to Riverfield Chronicles, tell Whitney to print it, then head to the airport where we'll meet up."
"And if I'm not there?"
"Get on the plane anyway." My brows furrowed. "But what if—"
"You get on the fucking plane, Ava. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just do it."
"What if you get caught?"
"Then I'm not coming with you. Stick to the plan because I can't be worrying if you did while I'm out there ruining his miserable life."
"Okay." I nodded, turning my face into his touch. "Just… be careful."
Nate grinned and pressed a lingering kiss against my lips. "Don't worry about me."
I wrapped my fingers around his wrists and nodded, using my grip on him to steady myself.
No mistakes.
No backing out.
We had to be all in.
"I will. I'll see you soon."
"You will." His phone pinged and he dug it out of his new blue jeans. "Your taxi is here."
"I'm not ready." The words flew out in a whoosh as though my lungs collapsed, my heart rate skyrocketing.
This is all too fast.
"Nate…"
He closed the distance and pressed his lips to mine in a soul-shattering kiss I'd remember for a lifetime.
My eyes burned as tears spilled down my cheeks. "I love you."
"Ditto, babe." He rested his forehead against mine and wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb. "I'll kiss you again when I see you."
Another tear dripped down my cheek as we broke apart. He backed away and opened the door. "I'll walk you out. Remember, keep your eyes open, and embrace that natural paranoia."
He grinned as I scoffed, walking through the doorway and into the parking lot.
The dull yellow taxi parked at the office, waiting with its long trail of exhaust flowing into the crisp air like a puffy translucent cloud.
How can I leave him behind?
"I'll see you later." Nate opened the taxi door and helped me inside, taking my backpack off my shoulder and placing it at my feet before I sat. "Take her to Deeno's Cafe."
My heart shattered as the door closed, his warmth separated by tempered glass. I waved, giving him a forced smile, my insides ready to explode with nervousness.
The middle-aged driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror as he drove out of the parking lot. "Deeno's? Is that correct?"
"Yes." My fingertips brushed against the small ridge in my front pocket, outlining the flash drive tucked away.
It was the key to everything.
Nervous warmth filled my cheeks and settled on my forehead as I stared outside of the side window.
Are there agents hidden around town?
Did they know we were here?
Familiar buildings and streets flooded my view, ramping up my pulse more and more. I adjusted the backpack at my feet.
What if I have to run?
The new sneakers Nate bought me rubbed against my small toe despite the perfect seven-and-a-half shoe size. Police sirens rang out nearby, causing my chest to tighten.
"Alright, here we are." The driver veered into the parking lot next to the front door.
"Wait here for me. I won't be long."
He raised a brow but nodded as I opened the door, then flung the backpack over my shoulder.
Adrenaline propelled me forward and inside the diner.
Whitney sat in the corner booth where I'd had my first date with Nate, a cup of coffee clamped in her hands. "Ava, why are we meeting here?"
I sunk into the booth across from her. "I don't have much time, but I need you to listen."
"You're on the run, aren't you?"
Nodding, I dug into my pocket and slid the golden ticket to everything across the table, keeping my fingers locked onto it. "This contains everything that I know, including the article I want you to publish."
She shook her head and pressed her finger to the end of the flash drive, but I pulled it away.
"I already told you—"
"Yes, I know you did, but now's the time to do the right thing. Because it doesn't matter if you publish it, it's getting out there." I glanced around, taking in the people going about their day, eating their breakfast, shucking off their jackets and sitting.
Everything's so normal.
Whitney placed her hand over mine. "I am not your enemy, Ava. I tried to warn you, but you cannot publish this." She looked around and leaned in, her locks falling into her face. "They'll kill you," she whispered. "You realize that, don't you?"
I nodded. "What do you mean you tried to warn me?"
"Why do you think I told you to stop the story, Ava? They came to me, threatened me and my family if I didn't get you to stop the story. What was I supposed to do?"
Shaking my head, I sucked in a deep breath. "You could have told me the truth."
"It would have only made you push harder. Admit it. You don't take no for an answer, especially when someone's life is at stake."
I smiled, my sinuses burning as tears formed. "No, I wouldn't have."
"So I became the bad guy. Told you to stop, but of course, you did the complete opposite."
"I'm so sorry I called you those things."
She shook her head. "I know what it looked like, but I needed to set the record straight, especially before you do this."
"It doesn't change anything, Whitney. I'm still publishing it. I have fifteen public forums and three legacy media emails sent. I wanted you to have it so you could do the right thing." I stood from the bench and left the flash drive on the table. "But I understand now why you would choose not to." I adjusted the bag on my shoulder. "Goodbye, Whitney. And seriously, thank you for everything."
I turned and walked toward the kitchen, blocking Darrel's way. "I wanted to let you know that it was never you."
" Umm. " His brows furrowed, his arms littered with breakfast plates. "Okay."
"The reason why we didn't work out." I glanced at the front door, the taxi waiting beside the stairs. "It wasn't because of you. I didn't want anyone to leave me again like my mother left me. I didn't want to become her either."
"Why are you telling me this now, Ava?"
"Because..." I swallowed hard. "I don't want you to question your worth." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Bye, Darrel."
Spinning around, I rushed for the front door. My damp hand pressed against the windowed door as I pushed it open, leaving behind a perfect imprint of my nerves.
My feet hit the stairs with a bounce, then I jumped into the taxi and slammed the door shut. "Airport, please."
"You got it." The man pulled back onto the road and headed north toward the airport in the next city over.
My eyes flickered to the side window, catching sight of blue lights every so often as my driver flew past other streets.
Where was he?
Is he okay?
"Please be okay," I said under my breath.
I did my part.
An hour later, the airport filled my worried view, a line of cars stretching ahead of us as people departed their drop- off vehicles. Families hugged one another, smiling, crying, and waving goodbye.
The taxi pulled to the curb as I dug into the front pocket of the backpack and pulled out more than enough dollar bills to cover the trip, then handed it to him. "Thanks for being patient with me."
I opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, then walked inside, forcing myself to slow down and assimilate with the excited passengers. Sweat damped my hairline as my eyes darted around, trying to find the sign for my airline. Everything and everyone moved in a blur around me.
He'll be here.
The TSA agent standing at his podium-style desk held his hand out. I put my boarding pass and passport in his hand, my knees damn near buckling as he stared it over, giving me a once over, then handing it back with a verification stamp.
Rushing through the security, I made it to my gate in record time, my stomach about to heave.
Where is he?
Why couldn't we have bought burner phones?
I held my stomach.
Oh God.
I'm going to be sick.
"Final boarding call for Flight 7999 to Jakarta."
I paused as the last few people walked over to the gate attendant, scanning their boarding passes, then disappearing down the walkway. My eyes roamed the crowd of people shuffling or rushing to their gates.
He's not here.
Just a few more minutes.
Standing on the tips of my toes, I glanced over the heads of each individual coming my way when the attendant tapped my shoulder. "Miss, we are closing the doors. You need to board."
"One more minute, please?"
"I'm sorry. If you don't get on right now, I'll have to close the doors without you."
My eyes stung as my nightmares came to life.
I have to leave without him.
"But..."
"Miss, please. We're on a tight schedule."
I turned toward the gate, let her scan my ticket, and then glanced over my shoulder one last time.
We were supposed to fly together.
Why isn't he here?
With my boarding pass in hand and glimmering eyes, I walked down the long ramp toward the plane, putting Riverfield behind me...and a hole in my heart.