Chapter 7
Ava
I flinched walking into the boardroom the next morning as the footage of Gemma being tackled to the ground played out on the screen.
“Oof. That had to hurt.” Syntax cringed.
The whole team was gathered around the table, studying the footage of our failed takedown.
I kept to the back, not wanting to distract them.
Syntax was at the edge of her seat, her body moving with the camera, completely immersed.
Marshall didn’t blink, not missing anything.
He shook his head in disapproval when most of the officers ran from the house after the truck.
Emerie was back to her aloof self, rolling her eyes at Syntax.
“You guys can say what you want about our perps, but they’re kinda badass.” Liam had an excited grin on his face as he watched the helicopter lift out of the barn. “I wonder who taught that girl to fight like that. I’d like some lessons.”
“Whose side are you on?” Emerie gave a menacing look to Liam, her eyes clearly communicating that she questioned his sanity.
Liam laughed and pulled up his shoulders. “Hey, I’m just saying what you’re all thinking.”
“The real badass is Miss Beaumont over here,” Syntax said, pointing to the screen. I stood underneath the helicopter’s spotlight, my hair whipping around me, grinning up at it like a madman.
The footage cut off, and once again, all eyes in the room found me.
“I’m definitely on the right side,” Liam grinned at me in appreciation.
“And why was that ever in question, Taylor?”
Everyone practically jumped from their chairs, standing at attention. I whipped around at the commanding tone of Director Devereux, who closed the boardroom door behind him. His eyes whipped through the room as everyone greeted him, then stopped at me.
“Good morning, Director.” I smiled sheepishly at him. He had a way of making me feel like a kid. I guess everyone in the room felt that way.
“Ava,” he nodded in greeting, “I hope my agents made you feel welcome here.”
“Yes, thank you… sir,” I added quickly, still not able to make my smile look any less stupid.
The truth was, I felt like an outsider, who everyone knew didn’t belong.
I wasn’t part of their little agent club.
I was just another clue for them to dissect.
I constantly felt like I was in one of those nightmares where I was completely naked in front of the whole school, when in a room with them.
And I hoped it wouldn’t be like that the entire time we all worked together.
If it wasn’t for Owen, I guess it would have been way worse.
Director Devereux was still looking at me, so I clamped my hands behind my back, trying my best to look like I had my shit together.
The director turned to the agents. “I hope you are all up to speed on the case. And if you’re not, you do not belong in this room.
Now I don’t need to remind everyone that this is a sensitive case…
and a hard one. If you don’t think you can handle it, then now is the time to leave.
” He stared the agents down, but everyone stood entirely still.
“Good. Nothing of this investigation leaves this room, am I clear?”
Everyone answered in unison, “Yes, sir.”
Except for Liam, “Crystal.” His neck turned red, giving the director a smile just as sheepish as mine.
“I want to be informed on every new lead, every step you take. Is that clear, Becket?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep you updated,” Owen answered. He was the only person who didn’t seem flustered in Director Devereux’s presence. Even Marshall stood stiffer than usual.
“All eyes are on us. Don’t embarrass me.” The director turned and walked out. Everyone loosened a breath.
“How the hell did you do that?” Liam gaped at me.
“Do what?” I asked, feeling flustered with all the eyes on me again. Even Owen was staring at me.
Syntax laughed, walking over to me. “Girl, Director Devereux just called you by your first name. He doesn’t call anyone by their first name.”
The helicopter ride was quiet and incessantly noisy at the same time.
We had picked up the park ranger and his map before heading to our destination.
George, the ranger, had greeted me curiously but was decent enough to keep his questions to himself.
Seeing him opened a floodgate of memories.
The day at Rainbow Falls and the afternoon after the ranger had left looped in my mind, again and again and again.
And I had a sickening feeling it would be worse when I saw the cabin again.
It was only me, Owen, Emerie and Liam heading to the cabin. Syntax and Marshall had stayed behind; Syntax was trying to crack the encryption on Grayson’s laptop and Marshall was incessantly studying the footage from Mexico, trying to learn how the Apparitions think, how they fight.
“We’re coming up on the coordinates now,” the pilot informed us.
I looked out of the window at the forest stretching as far as I could see. It was magnificent. But the sight of it would forever be tainted by the loss, the betrayal.
“There,” the ranger pointed out the window. A small clearing in the treetops, almost unnoticeable, appeared. Next to it, you could see the roof of the cabin. But only if you knew what to look for.
“Holy shit, George. You were right. We would have never found it on our own,” Liam mused in awe.
George nodded knowingly. “Like I said. Needle in a cornfield.”
“Weapons ready,” Owen ordered as the helicopter circled the clearing. “We don’t know what’s waiting.”
But we did. Marshall didn’t even bother to come. His time was better spent on studying the failed takedown of the Apparitions with his team.
Just like all the other places we would find nothing. The only thing left was memories and pieces of my soul, haunting the cabin, stuck in a loop of shattering moments, the beautiful ones, again and again.
The damp forest air hit me as the helicopter doors opened, bringing in a nauseating wave of nostalgia, crippling me.
Owen turned back towards me when I didn’t move from my seat. “You okay?” he asked loudly over the whirring of the blades.
“I can’t do this,” I cried as panic prevented me from breathing. I gasped for air, my chest rapidly moving up and down. What had possessed me to come here? I was going to throw up.
Owen clasped his hands around my shoulders, pressing hard. “Yes, you can. Now breathe, Ava.”
“Breathe, baby.”
I clamped my eyes shut at the memory and his voice, invading me.
“You’re strong, Ava. You can do this.”
Owen’s voice was drowned out by Grayson’s, so vivid, I looked up, sure I’ll see him standing behind Owen. “And you’re a fierce fighter, little badger. I have the scars to prove it.”
I clutched at my burning chest, my gasps turning into raw sobs.
“Ava! Look at me.” Owen shook my shoulders.
“Stop! Look at me! I won’t touch you; I promise. I’m just trying to keep you alive.”
“Ava!” Owen tried to pull me back from the brink of madness. “Don’t make me slap you. I swear to God, I will.”
I huffed a breathless laugh. Then another and another. I doubled over in laughter as the memory of Grayson pinning me underneath him, then slapping me, took over my senses. “For the love of God, shut the fuck up!”
I laughed at the memory. At how I had been so completely feral that Grayson had to resort to slapping me. Twice.
I laughed at how I had thought it was the worst day of my life.
I laughed at the absurdity of it all. What the fuck had my life become?
“Ava…”
I looked up at Owen, who was staring worriedly at me.
I laughed at his expression too, before I wiped at my eyes. “I’m fine,” I tried to reassure him through my dying laughter. “I’m fine now. It’s fine.” I pushed off the seat. “Let’s go.”
I walked past George, Emerie and Liam who were all looking at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was.
We reached the cabin, and I stopped just before the edge of the clearing. I might be crazy, but I would’ve been a complete lunatic to set foot inside that cabin. Just the sight of it left me breathless again.
It was too soon. I couldn’t face the ghosts in there. Not yet.
Owen stopped by my side, staring up at it. “It’ll get better, you know?”
I could hear the worry in his voice, so I nodded my agreement. It was the sociable thing to do. But it just wasn’t true. Nothing would make me whole again.
Owen beckoned his team forward, cautiously making their way up the porch steps.
They silently disappeared into the cabin.
Not even the screen door squeaked or slammed as it always had.
I leaned my head against a tree, blocking out the familiar sounds around me.
It felt too much like coming home. But coming home to find a fire had destroyed it.
“I had watched the two of you run up to the cabin through that window.” The ranger’s voice made me jump.
He stood a little behind me, pointing at the kitchen window.
“When he threw you over his shoulder, you were laughing and... the two of you looked so in love it made me miss my wife.” He chuckled humourlessly.
“I had no idea you were the girl that had been abducted.” He peered down at me from the corner of his eyes.
“I should have known something was up by the way he refused to let go of you. I mistook it for young love.” He was quiet for a while. “I’m sorry for not recognising you.”
“That’s okay, George. I didn’t want you to recognise me. I was in love.” I gave him a small smile to hide my embarrassment at how stupid I had been, then cleared my throat. “Do you know where Rainbow Falls is?”
George nodded, his eyes a bit surprised. “I’ve never seen it, but I know it’s around here somewhere. The rangers all talk about it. But we’ve kept it from the public. You know about it?”