12. Ava
Ava
“D id you have a good time on your date, honey?”
Rhonda’s shit-eating grin is contagious, and I try not to think about the club last night. The date before that, a week ago, had been almost idyllic.
“Yeah,” I say, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “I had a good time.”
“Told you that you needed a real good fuck.” She swats me on the butt with a menu. “You’re too young to be celibate.”
Even though I’m not feeling lightness today, it’s good to laugh. I love Rhonda’s sense of humor.
“Happy to see me, princess?”
That voice shoots icy chills straight down my spine, driving out any warmth I felt just a moment before.
Brooks drapes himself over the hostess stand.
No one can drain the joy from a room like Brooks.
Fear claws at my throat, but slowly it’s overtaken by rage.
How dare this asshole continue to harass me.
To harass Connor. Does he know we’re together? Are we together anymore?
“Brooks, you need to leave.”
“Or what?” he taunts, flicking a pen from the stand onto the floor. “You’ll have your mobster boyfriend beat me up?” He straightens up. “I thought you were going to be an anti-corruption lawyer, princess. Won’t do to be fucking one of Boston’s biggest mob bosses.”
He leers at me.
Of course Brooks would know. And I don’t know what to make of Connor, the man, and Connor Doyle, the son of a family that might be mostly clean – but is still willing to skirt the law.
But having it all thrown in my face like this, when it’s raw, by this piece of shit? I don’t know whether to weep or to launch myself at him to claw his eyes out.
“I said you should leave, Brooks.”
“You don’t seem surprised,” Brooks advances, knocking menus to the dirty linoleum. “What’s the matter, princess? Willing to do anything for money?”
He reaches to touch me, and I knock his hand away.
“Connor Doyle’s up to some seriously bad shit and rumor has it he’ll be indicted before long.”
Just those words make me want to retch. I don’t know if they’re true – what I saw wasn’t good, but it wasn’t exactly systematic organized crime.
But having this thrown at me like dirty laundry, contemplating the possibility that it could be true and that my worst fears about Connor, for Connor, might come to fruition causes bile to raise to the back of my throat.
“Don’t,” I hiss, my teeth pressing together. “Get out.”
Rhonda flies into the back to get help. I stare defiantly up at Brooks. I don’t have time process my feelings about Connor. Brooks’s leer turns into a look of pure anger.
“Don’t tell me what to do, you fucking slut,” he rages, grabbing me by the throat. “I’m going to kill you. You seem to have forgotten you’re mine until I’m done with you.”
His grip is too goddamn strong. Wrapping my hands around his wrist, I dig my nails in, trying to get him to let go. “You think you can just dump me? You’re nothing, Ava. You have no family, no money, and no fucking sense.”
My vision grays at the corners. I punch at his arm, disgusted by the weak sounds coming out of my throat.
“Pathetic,” he sneers. “Convenient that I can blame this on the Doyles, though.”
Then his eyes widen in surprise as an arm wraps around his neck. He releases me and I hit the floor. To him, I’m just another object to treat carelessly. Numb, I pull my inhaler out of my apron pocket. I should be stunned by the spectacle in front of me. Connor.
He’d texted me that he might stop by today so we could talk.
“You son of a bitch,” Connor snaps, tightening his grip on Brooks. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s wrong to hit women?” The rage in his eyes terrifies me. He leans in closer, his voice stone cold against the anger radiating off him.
“Big fucking man beating on a tiny woman. How does it feel?” he shouts.
Brooks’s eyes are rolling back in his head, his lips turning blue. Puffing on my inhaler, I fight to keep from closing my eyes. Don’t want to see this, don’t want more images of Connor hurting people. Not even Brooks, who deserves it more than most.
“Connor,” I whisper. “Stop.”
Brooks sags to the floor, but Connor isn’t relenting. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her. She’s mine.”
The possessiveness in his voice unsettles me, especially given what I have seen from him in the last couple of days. Still, I don’t want him to get in trouble because he’s protecting me.
“Connor!” I say, more forcefully this time. Rhonda comes through the swinging doors to the back with Gus.
Something in Connor breaks, and he drops Brooks, pushing him aside with a look of disgust. He rushes over to me, kneeling down and pulling me against his solid body. He’s warm, and I let myself lean against him, knowing the safety I feel in his arms can’t last.
“Ava.” His voice is heavy.
“Are you all right? I’m so sorry.” He strokes my hair gently. It’s easy – and impossible - to forget that he just choked a man out seconds before.
“Connor.” Tears burn my eyes. “You have to go.” Police sirens wail in the distance, and I imagine Rhonda called them here.
“I’m not leaving you,” he says, his fingers gliding over my neck. “You need to get this checked out.”
“Connor,” I plead. “I can’t do this. I don’t know if I can handle… this.”
My hand gestures toward Brooks, lying on the floor, gasping for air.
His body stiffens. I look up at his face. No sign of those dimples I love so much. He relaxes his hold on me.
“Ava,” he says. “It’s not so black and white.”
The hard lines relax for just a second, revealing a hint of vulnerability. “Ava, I want to be with you.”
God.
“Go!” I shout, pushing away from him. I can’t bear to see the police take him, and I can’t handle what’s happening right now. “Connor, leave.”
The sirens get louder, screaming with an urgency that tells me they’re really close.
“I don’t run from things, Ava,” he says, his voice low and serious. He looks over at Rhonda and gently helps me into a booth. “But I also never stay where I’m not wanted.”
I sag against the cheap vinyl.
“I meant what I said. Look after her?”
Rhonda nods and slides into the booth next to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. Connor turns around, stepping over Brooks like he isn’t even there. He’s gone by the time the police arrive.
My heart seems to shatter as I watch him go.