Chapter 22
AVA
As Ava stepped out of her car, she tried to shove aside the tumult of questions from her two-hour drive–a whirlwind of threats from The Board, Raven’s cryptic demands, and Chris’s inexplicable betrayal.
Her mind spun as she tried to understand Chris’s reasons for disclosing information to Miranda, but she couldn’t. Outside of jealousy, she couldn’t understand why he would have gone to someone they suspected as the enemy–a woman who had now threatened to kill her because of Alex’s loyalty to her.
She pressed her lips together as she slipped into the bank, her eyes scanning the room to take in every detail she could before she crossed toward the elevators, her footsteps echoing off the opulent marble. “I’m here. Heading for the elevators,” she murmured.
“Okay, Sparky. I’m heading over to shut down the security system,” Alex answered her.
Her heart pounded hard against her ribs as she poked the elevator button.
Her mind found a quieter moment from her past–Alex and her laughing in her kitchen after she burned their popcorn.
It ended on a sour note for her as a single thought danced across her mind while she waited for it to arrive: would Alex be better off without her?
“Busy,” Alex’s voice crackled in her ear as she patted her thighs, waiting for the lift to arrive. “She’s in New York.”
The elevator opened, and she stepped inside, wondering if Chris had appeared.
“Okay, Sparky, lights out,” Alex said as the car rose.
“See you on the flip side, Ace.”
She swallowed hard, waiting for the security cycle to begin, her hand perched on the timer on her phone. A moment later, the elevator lurched to a stop, jolting her. She started the countdown, showing her exactly how many seconds she had left to escape from the safe deposit box room.
Another obscure voice sounded in her ear as she slid her phone into her pocket and raised her eyes to search for the access panel in the car’s ceiling. “Is that Chris?”
“Yep,” Alex answered. “I’m not talking to you.”
A crackling noise hurt her ear, making her wince as she wedged a foot against the metal rail and hoisted herself upward.
“Ava?” Chris’s voice asked.
She rolled her eyes as she straddled between the two railings and shoved open the access panel leading to the car’s top.
“Chris??
“Ava! What the hell are you doing?”
With a determined grunt, Ava hoisted herself through the narrow access panel, her fingers finding a precarious grip in the dark shaft above the elevator. “I’m busy. Give the earpiece back to Alex.”
She crossed toward the doors at shoulder-level leading to the next floor.
“No! No, I won’t,” he answered. “Look, Ava, we have to talk.”
“We’ll talk later,” she said as she grabbed a screwdriver from her pocket and wedged it into the seam. “I’m a little busy right now. Now, put me back in Alex’s ear.”
She wrangled the doors open a crack with her makeshift tool.
“Avs?” Alex’s voice said.
“I’m fine. But I do not need Chris in my ear right now.” She angled the screwdriver to pop the doors open a little further.
“I wasn’t thrilled with it either. Tell me you’re out of the elevator.”
With a grunt, she wrapped a hand around each door and struggled to push them back. “Almost…out.”
“Good. Now, the safe deposit room is–”
Ava blew out a breath after the effort of opening the doors, then leapt up and scrambled onto the next floor. “Third door on the right, I know.”
“Yep, you got it, Avs.” A second passed as she darted down the hall, lit only by emergency lighting. “Avs, you have–”
“Enough time,” she said as she darted into the darkened room and toggled on her flashlight. “I’m in the room. Box 134.”
“Yep,” he answered.
She scanned the boxes, searching for the correct one. When she found it she dumped the phone on the table, leaving its light glowing toward the ceiling.
She tugged the two keys from her pocket, inserting each into the door.
With both in the keyholes, she twisted. Her heart slammed against her ribs as the keys refused to turn.
Each failed attempt amplified her fear of the ticking clock.
With a jiggle, she tried again, but still wasn’t able to open the door.
Her features pinched as she reported the bad news. “The key’s not working.”
“What?” The panic was obvious in Alex’s voice.
“It won’t budge.” She cursed under her breath, giving the key one final jimmy. It still wouldn’t turn. She let her head fall back against her shoulders as she sucked in a steadying breath, trying to ignore the terror rising in her. If they didn’t pull this off…
She shook her head. She couldn’t fail.
“Ava, get out. You’re going to run out of time.”
“I have some time. I can’t leave without these blueprints.”
“Avs…don’t chance it. We’ll figure something else out. Get out of there.”
She tugged the printed key from the box, hurrying to the light to study it. “Wait, there’s a little piece of something on this key that looks like it doesn’t belong. I’m going to try to remove it.”
She ground the edge against the table before she held it up to the light again. The stray piece still existed.
With sweat beading on her brow, she tried again. When she held it up to the light, her hand shaking, it appeared to be smoother.
“I’m trying again.”
She rushed back to the wall of boxes and shoved the key inside.
“Ava, you’re pushing it. Get out.”
Ava slid the key into the lock and twisted them both. “I got it,” she said with a sigh of relief as the door swung free. She tugged the box from inside, then raced to the table, sliding it onto the metal surface. With her phone clamped between her teeth, she flipped the lid open.
“Ava, please tell me you have the blueprints and are leaving.”
Her forehead crinkled as she stared down at the contents of the box. Money, passports, a flash drive, and the blueprints requested by Raven.
She glanced at a few passports, hurrying to snap pictures with her cell phone before she grabbed the blueprints and shoved them into her hoodie, zipping it tighter.
She started to slip the lid shut, hesitating before she reached in to grab the flash drive.
“Ava…you are like seconds away from the security coming back online. Please get out of there,” Alex warned.
She slammed the lid shut, shoved the box back into its cubby and slammed the door closed.
She grabbed Miranda’s key first. The printed bank key refused to budge.
With a wince, she yanked it free, and raced for the door, hitting the hall just as the lights started to flicker on. She raced to the end of the hall.
“I’m at the elevator,” she said as the doors opened.
She stepped inside, jabbing the button for the lobby.
The doors closed, and she heaved a sigh of relief.
“Tell me you’re okay,” Alex asked.
“I’m good. And I got the blueprints…and then some.”
“I don’t even want to know what that means, Sparky, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
The elevator dinged as she reached the lobby level, and the doors slid open. She stepped out, rubbing her forehead as she pretended to be rattled by the experience of being trapped in the elevator.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” a guard asked.
“Y-yeah, I think so,” she said, her voice breathy. “Just…I don’t like small spaces like that. At least I wasn’t stuck for long.”
“Come sit down, I’ll call a paramedic.”
“No,” she said with a polite smile. “I just need some fresh air. Thank you.”
“If you change your mind–”
He began as she shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.”
She crossed the lobby and pushed through the revolving door into the sunshine beyond, squinting against it.
“Nice work, Avs. Now, get in your car, and get back here.”
“I’m going,” she answered.
“I still think I should be with you for the drop. I don’t like this at all. We have no idea if we can trust Raven.”
“Fine. I’ll pick you up. Just…be ready. I’m not explaining this to Chris until it’s done.”
“I don’t want you explaining it at all to the betraying builder. He’ll probably race right to Miranda and tell her.”
“I know. I don’t plan on telling him the details, just that we’re working to solve the problem.”
She reached her car and slid behind the wheel. “I’m in the car. See you in a few.”
“Right. I’ll be ready. Do not go without me, okay?”
“I won’t. See you soon, Ace.”
“Ace out,” he answered.
She slid the earpiece from her ear and dumped it in her cupholder as she fired the engine. Within minutes, she had merged into traffic, heading for the city limits.
During the two-hour drive, she tried to keep her mind off of her personal troubles, unwilling to let the questions roiling in her mind since her return to the Hamptons to resurface. She didn’t have answers to any of them, and they made her head ache.
She cranked up the radio, passing the time with music, though some of it reminded her of days gone by and a simpler time.
She switched off the radio as she neared the Hamptons, the warmth of nostalgia sweeping over her and leaving bittersweet memories behind.
Pulling the next task to the forefront of her mind, she navigated the streets to Alex’s home. She found him waiting outside, pacing in the driveway.
He slid into her passenger seat as she eased the SUV to a stop next to him. “Hey,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Me too,” she said as she sped away from the house, heading for the bus station. She reached in her hoodie and pulled the blueprints from within. “Here’s what Raven wanted.”
“Hmm,” Alex said as he studied them.
He whipped his phone from his pocket, holding it over the page and snapping several shots.
“Any idea what that is?”
“No,” he answered. “But I’ve got pictures. We can look at it later.”
“Right,” she said as she swung a left.
“Hey, what did you mean when you said you got this and then some?” Alex asked.
She slid her phone from her pocket and handed it over. “Check out the camera reel.”
Alex swiped into it and studied the display. “Are these all different passports for Miranda?”
“Yep. I wonder if one of them is her real name.”
“Maybe,” Alex said. “I’ll run these through my tracker as soon as we’re home. Maybe we’ll find something. Good job, Avs.”
“That’s not all.” She reached into her pocket again as he dumped her phone in the cupholder. She swung into the bus station’s parking lot and whipped into a space near the street before passing over the flash drive. “I found this. I don’t know what’s on it. Maybe nothing, but I took it.”
Alex held it up as he stared at it. “If it was in her safe deposit box, it’s probably not nothing. Good job, Sparky.”
“We’ll see if this can lead us anywhere, but first, let’s drop these plans for Raven.”
Alex nodded, and they slid out of the car, making their way to the terminal. Ava’s gaze darted around again, studying every person in the place as they made their way to the lockers.
“Do you think Raven’s here?” she whispered, sliding into the aisle between two rows of storage units.
“Seriously?” Alex’s eyes went wide, and he glanced over his shoulder.
“I don’t know. It makes sense that he or she would be watching this place. But…they didn’t know when we were executing our plan, so maybe not.”
“No, but…we should watch this locker…see who comes for this.”
“Definitely.” She located the correct locker, opened it and placed the blueprints inside. With the door slammed closed, she twisted the key and removed it. “Okay, let’s tell Raven we’ve completed our mission.”
With a sigh, she grabbed her phone and sent off a text message. Mission complete. Now what?
She chewed her lower lip, waiting for a response. Alex shifted to stand behind her, his hands wrapping around her arms as he peered over her shoulder.
Finally, a message appeared. The blueprints are in the locker?
Ava answered immediately. Yes.
A response came seconds later. Good work. I’ll need to verify. Leave the key from the locker with the ticket agent at the third window. Tell her it’s a package bound for Eastgate.
Ava craned her neck to glance at Alex.
He sucked in a breath and shrugged. “I don’t think we have a choice.”
She bobbed her head, and they left the lockers behind as they made their way to the ticketing queue.
Ava patted Alex on the chest. “Watch those lockers while I drop this off.”
“Okay,” he answered, shifting his gaze to the bank of orange storage units while she snaked her way through the line and approached the third window.
“Destination?” the woman asked.
“I have a package bound for Eastgate,” Ava answered as she slid the key into the well under the glass.
“Got it.” The woman fished the key from inside, grabbed an envelope and slid it inside, stamping the white paper with a red mark reading EASTGATE. “Thank you.”
Ava nodded, lingering for a second as the woman tossed the envelope into a basket at her side. She swallowed hard, leaving the window behind as she crossed back to Alex. “Anything?”
“I haven’t seen anyone. Should we wait here?”
She shrugged as she texted Raven to let them know she’d dropped off the key. “The key’s sitting in a bin. I don’t know when Raven will be here. We can hang around, I guess.”
Her phone chimed, and she checked it. Go home and await further instructions.
“We’re being told to go home.”
“Which means we shouldn’t,” Alex answered, his gaze darting around the bus station.
“My thoughts exactly. But we should split up–”
“No way,” Alex said with a shake of his head. He slid his arm around her waist and tugged her close. “We are not splitting up. I’m not letting you out of my sight, Avs. Not after Miranda threatened you.”
“Alex…it’s likely we have a long road ahead of us. I know you want to protect me, but–”
“And I am going to. At least this close to the threat, okay? I’m still rattled by the entire thing, and I’m not willing to be that cavalier with your life.”
She stared up at him, emotions welling inside of her again. As they hesitated, the bright lights overhead flicked ominously. Ava’s heart skipped a beat as the entire terminal plunged into darkness.
The sudden blackout swallowed the bustling noise of the station, replacing it with anxious murmurs and the faint glow of emergency exit signs and the dim light that came in from the few windows.
As darkness enveloped them, her mind raced. Was this Raven’s doing? The blackout was no coincidence–but was it a signal or a trap?