Chapter 11
Ava
We had made our way through the whole town during the following two days, searching high and low for anything that could help Owen get Grayson. But we found nothing.
Well, not nothing. I did find something. Deep in the archives of the local high school that somehow called to me. Something that had knocked the breath from me. A video. That I had hurriedly copied onto a flash drive.
A video that I kept from Owen. It wasn’t going to be of much use to him anyway. It wouldn’t help him catch Grayson, but it was precious and priceless, nonetheless. To me.
“So… is the breakfast any good at that bed and breakfast?” Owen grinned at me, as we drove out of Dianna’s hometown.
So he’d been serious about taking a break. I nodded excitedly. “Yes, and after breakfast you can join me and Rachel in the water. We’ll teach you to surf.”
He looked at me as if I was crazy. “There is no way I’m getting in any water with that psychotic friend of yours. One of us will end up dead and the other in prison.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, Rach would probably look good in orange.” I snickered at the look on Owen’s face.
“I’ll have you know…” He fell silent as his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. “Becket,” he answered in a clipped tone, all the humour in his voice suddenly gone.
His eyes darted to me for a second, and my breathing stopped. They had something. Something that made Owen sit up straighter, clenching the steering wheel tighter, and accelerating faster. I could feel his excitement and tension thicken the air around us.
“I guess you’re not taking that break after all,” I stated flatly as he ended the call.
He didn’t answer.
“Owen…” I tried to reason, but he cut me off.
“Ava, don’t.” His voice sounded harsh, and we both flinched. He didn’t mean to speak to me like that. But within seconds, he was already sucked back into the black hole that was Grayson Varon.
“Will you please reconsider and—”
“Come with me,” he interrupted again, his voice filled with hope.
My heart panged as I shook my head. No way. I was done chasing after people who didn’t want me.
“Please, Ava. They were spotted in Italy. Please come with me.”
Italy? My stomach fluttered. Grayson was in Italy.
I shook my head and turned towards my window. I shouldn’t care. I should stay away. Far away.
“We can’t do this without you. We need you.”
I scoffed and shook my head again. No way.
“I need you,” Owen said softly.
I turned to look at him.
My friend’s eyes were pleading. “I know I’m a complete asshole for asking. I know that.” His expression turned pained. “But you’re the only one who can give us an edge over Grayson. And you keep me sane, Ava. I need you.”
Gods, why was this happening? Why couldn’t I just rid myself of Grayson? He was at the end of every road I took, every turn I made.
I glared at Owen. “You are an asshole for asking. But I’ll go for you. Not to help catch the Apparitions, but as moral support to you. I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. So this is the last time.” I crossed my arms in finality. “You’ll need to get an emotional support dog or something.”
Owen huffed a laugh and reached for my hand, squeezing it. “Thank you, Ava.”
I informed Rachel and my parents of where I was going while we waited for the FBI’s jet at the little town airport. I could hear the reluctance in their voices, but no one objected.
The jet finally landed, and we rushed up the steps.
“My, my, my. Look what the cat dragged back in. And by cat, I mean Becket.” Liam stood lazily from his seat, grinning at me. “And yes, I am pissed that you just left us to our own devices.”
“Just so we’re all clear, Ava isn’t back on the case. She’s just along for the ride,” Owen quipped. “Did you make sure you weren’t followed? No one watched you board this plane?”
“We’re all good,” Syntax chimed. “Welcome back, boss. The team wasn’t the same without you.”
“Yeah. There was no one to keep Taylor in check,” Emerie added, glaring stone cold daggers at Liam.
Marshall was in the back, studying some papers intently, not even acknowledging our arrival. He was surrounded by other agents I didn’t recognise but were presumably his SWAT team.
The camaraderie between the group had changed since the last time I’d seen them. They were more familiar with one another, more at ease.
“If you’re not here to help us, what exactly are you doing here?” Emerie had turned that cold stare on me.
“Since I’m back and reinstated as captain of this fucking ship, I don’t see how that’s your problem, Emerie.” Owen glowered at her. For someone so calm and reserved, he could get intense real fast.
Emerie scoffed and turned towards the small window.
“She’s just pissed because we’ve gotten nowhere without you.” Marshall tore his eyes from the papers to look at me.
“Shut up, Marshall,” Emerie mumbled to which Marshall’s mouth twitched in amusement.
It was the most expressions I’ve seen him make. And I couldn’t help but notice the invisible string between the two. There was definitely something going on between Emerie and Marshall. It was as clear as day. Well, at least to me.
“What Emerie was trying to say is that we hope you reconsider. We could really use your help on this.” Syntax patted the seat next to her, waving me over.
I sank into that seat, wringing my hands on the table before us. I should have just said no to Owen. I should’ve known I would get sucked right back into the drama.
“Ava’s participation is not up for discussion. And that’s final.” Owen’s voice was stern. He sounded a lot like the director. He made a great leader.
I gave him a small smile in gratitude. At least he had my back on this.
“Now, fill me in,” Owen said as he took the seat on the opposite side of the table.
Syntax sat up straighter, typing at her computer until a video of Grayson and Hunter appeared, taken by a security camera. The rest of the team gathered round, Liam plopping into the seat next to Owen.
She turned the laptop so everyone could see. “Facial recognition picked them up at a café in Florence, Italy. We’ve only been able to capture Grayson and Hunter. No sign of Gemma yet.”
My stomach fluttered at the sight of Grayson and Hunter, walking out the doors of a little café into the street.
Hunter looked like a typical tourist in khaki shorts and flip-flops, but Grayson looked like a movie star.
His jeans were dark blue, hugging his muscled legs perfectly, with a white button-down shirt, moulding to the contours of his body as he walked—more like smug sauntering that made everyone in a ten-meter vicinity’s heads turn.
The bastard knew he was gorgeous. I had to remind myself to keep breathing.
“Florence makes sense. You just need to figure out what they’re after. ”
“Yeah, but that could be anything. I mean it’s Florence.” Liam threw his hands up in exasperation.
“That’s why I’ve been monitoring all the hotspots and found this five minutes ago.” Syntax pressed a key on the laptop with a self-satisfied smile, and a video of Grayson and Hunter walking through a museum, looking at paintings, popped up on the screen.
“That’s the Uffizi Gallery.” Owen spoke for the first time.
“The one and only.” Syntax grinned. “I contemplated letting Interpol know so they could jump our perps in the museum, but they don’t know them like we do. They’d probably screw it up.”
“Good call,” I answered and Owen nodded in agreement.
Emerie leaned in closer, her eyes dashing between the two men on the screen. “They look like normal tourists, but…”
“They’re staking it out,” Marshall finished Emerie’s sentence.
Emerie nodded, excitement lighting her eyes. “See?” She pointed to Grayson. “He looks like he’s just strolling along, but his steps are precise. I bet you each step is half a meter long. He’s measuring the space between that painting and the exit.”
“What painting is that?” Liam looked between Emerie and Owen.
“Venus of Urbino by Titian,” Owen answered, eyes glued to the screen. “They ever mentioned it, Ava?” Owen asked, giving me an apologetic glance for pulling me into this again.
“Not that I can remember, no.”
“When will they hit the museum then?” Marshall wondered. “Will we make it in time?”
“If they’re staking it out now, it won’t be for at least another two months.
Grayson likes to stake out places long before the heist. Police don’t usually review more than two months of camera footage.
But if they do, it’s not done very thoroughly going that far back.
And that is if that footage hasn’t been deleted from the drives already.
You won’t find them in any camera footage close to the heist.”
“So your master thief boyfriend just casually told you all his trade secrets over brunch then?” Liam squinted at me.
I sighed. “We were in Paris sightseeing… and we figured out how to steal the Mona Lisa. Just for fun. It wouldn’t even be difficult since no one expects someone to have the audacity,” I added. “That’s how I know about the security footage thing. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
Owen sighed. “Syntax, please put the Mona Lisa on your watchlist too.”
“You’re wasting your time. He won’t take it. Some things are sacred. Even to him,” I repeated Grayson’s words from a previous life.
No one listened anyway, Syntax furiously typing on her keyboard.
“Will they be back? Or did we just lose our window of opportunity?” Owen asked me again.
I chewed on my lower lip, contemplating it. “They might go back to the museum. Grayson is thorough.” That little voice inside me agreed. This was not the last I would see of Grayson.
“Syntax, I’m going to need plans for that building, and the surrounding ones.” Marshall straightened, ready for action.
“Already on it,” she quipped, typing away.