Chapter 27
Ava
It had been two weeks since I took that shot. Two weeks of Owen not really touching me. And I was crawling out of my skin with frustration. He was being a perfect gentleman. Too much of a gentleman. Was it because of all the things Grayson had said that day?
Owen would steal a kiss, here and there, when no one was watching, and he would crawl into my bed at night, but each time I thought we were getting somewhere, he would stop, and I would feel too embarrassed to jump his bones like I wanted to.
It was silly, but I was starting to feel rejected. Like the girl who had been friend zoned but still kept on a leash.
Or maybe it had nothing to do with me. Maybe it was because Volkov had vanished from his cell, without a trace, while we were sleeping—obviously Grayson’s work.
Maybe it was the frustration of Grayson claiming yet another victory, right from under our noses.
Losing yet another battle to the devil could have put a damper on Owen’s sex drive, making me feel like a selfish little brat for pushing so hard.
But as for me, it was exactly why I needed Owen to just fuck me already. I needed him to claim me, to obliterate the last vestiges of Grayson from my mind. I didn’t want to be the devil’s anymore. I couldn’t. I was suffocating. I wanted to be Owen’s.
And I knew Owen wanted me that way too. I could feel his body’s reaction to me; each time he held me close. He just had more self-control than any man I had ever met.
So, I had slipped away from work, earlier than usual, to take an everything-shower, and put on my best underwear, determined to seduce the hell out of Owen when he got home.
Instead, I waited and waited, feeling the bounce leave my blow-dried hair until finally I received a message from him, saying he would be working late and not to wait up.
I had screamed my frustration to the heavens, threw on a light hoody to cover my low-cut shirt and stormed out the house, not bothering to slow down for the two agents scurrying out of their car to follow me.
I wasn’t going to sit around and wait on a man to come home like some poor desperate puppy.
I was Ava-godsdamned-Beaumont. A woman who had stabbed a mafia capo twice her size with a fucking pen, and not a breath of fear.
The woman who shot the king of the Underworld and lived. A woman who hunted the devil.
I was a woman who could stare Death in the face and laugh.
So why the hell was I being so touchy about Owen working late?
Of course, he was working late. They were still trying to track Liam down and figure out how the hell Grayson had executed not only one, but two jail breaks in two fucking weeks, not to mention his own Houdini act in the FBI’s basement.
The bastard had to have broken some kind of record.
I sighed as I entered the park grounds, ignoring the two long shadows stretching over the ground from behind me—the two agents who had been assigned my protection detail by the director.
Aside from the three of us, the grounds were pretty empty.
It was late and the air nippy after three days of rain.
Summer was in full bloom, and the park was lush with vibrant greens.
Almost two years have passed since Grayson first laid hands on me.
And ever since that wretched first encounter, my life had been as everchanging as the seasons.
All through that winter, I had loved and laughed until my heart would burst, thinking it would never end.
But it did. And it’s a little over a year ago now that I was left shattered beyond repair when Ostara arrived, to awaken the trees from their slumber.
I couldn’t celebrate the rebirth of nature when I was still stuck in the midst of my own barren and brutal winter.
But that was behind me now. I survived. And even though my rhythm was a tad off, I was ready to start fresh. With Owen. Someone who deserved my love.
I followed the route to my favourite spot in the park, taking deep breaths to try and shake the frustration building up in my limbs.
It took me longer than it should to see the raven standing up ahead in the middle of my path. I stopped, watching it as unease snaked into my belly. Its sudden loud caw as it launched into the air made me jump, electricity tingling in my fingertips.
“Is everything okay, Miss Beaumont?” One of the agents asked from behind me.
I quickly glanced over my shoulder at them, mustering a tight smile. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s fine,” I added, more to convince myself.
I took two more steps forward, but my gut screamed at me to stop.
And for once, I listened. I turned back towards the agents, suppressing my urge to run.
“I think we should head back home,” I told them and stepped past the two confused men.
They followed after me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to look behind me, like there were monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on us.
I finally caved to the feeling and swung around.
I searched the shadows behind us, first seeing nothing, but then my eye caught movement at the edge of a streetlight.
It was a large man, a few meters from us.
He stopped when he saw me looking at him.
Three more men appeared beside him, and my stomach dropped.
They didn’t try to hide. They just stood and watched us, like stalking lions, waiting to see what our next move would be.
“Beaumont,” one of the agents whispered to me. Their stance was rigid, having also noticed the men. “Get ready to run.”
Adrenaline shot through my veins, but I kept steady, Grayson’s voice echoing through my mind. “Rule number four. Don’t let the fear and adrenaline overpower you. If you keep control of your body, you keep your wits.”
So I breathed. In and out, readying my mind and body for what’s to come.
I felt the tug of the weeping willows, beckoning me to hide behind their canopies.
I took a tentative step back, then another, but it broke the dam wall.
As soon as the men noticed my movement, they charged, ripping out guns from under their jackets.
“Run!” the agent shouted, and I dashed off the path, into the cover of the willow trees. Shots from both sides rang through the air and I looked back to see the agents behind me, taking cover behind some willows.
I screamed as a bullet hit a tree right next to me, missing me by an inch. I skidded to a stop and ducked behind another tree, pressing my back to the trunk. My hands were trembling as I reached for my phone, almost unable to press the damn speed dial button.
Owen answered in two rings, but it felt like a lifetime. “I was just thinking about…” he quieted. “Where are you?” His voice was calm, but the urgency was unmistakable. He had heard the gunshots.
I yelped as another bullet hit the side of the tree, bark flying into my hair.
“In the park. By the willows. There’s four of them,” I rattled off, peering out from behind the tree, trying to see what was going on.
I caught the shadows of two of the men, who had sneaked past the agents from the side, looking straight at me.
They were coming for me.
“Don’t put the phone down, Ava. I’m coming!”
“Hurry,” was all I could choke out, before breaking out into a sprint.
I dashed through the trees, forcing my feet to move faster.
I was flying through them, but I was vigilant of every step I took, every breath in and out.
It was almost comical how Grayson’s depraved urge to chase had primed me for this moment.
I slipped down the bank of a stream where it disappeared into a tunnel, landed on my feet, and dashed over the shallow water.
I paid no mind to the ice leeching into my shoes, only concentrating on not slipping over the slick rocks in the water.
I couldn’t afford a twisted ankle. It would mean my death or whatever hell these men had planned for me.
Hands shot out from within the dark tunnel. Before I could react, I was snatched into the darkness and caged against a body. My phone fell from my hand and disappeared underneath the water. I kicked and screamed, but it was muffled by a palm, painfully clasped around my mouth.
“Ava, it’s me,” he whispered into my ear.
Liam!
I sagged against him, relief making me go limp. He released me slowly.
My relief was short-lived as reality crashed into me. I took two quick steps away from him and pressed myself against the curved wall of the tunnel. What was he doing here? Was he with those men?
His eyes bored into mine. “How many?”
I blinked and stared at him for two long seconds, my lungs burning, and my mind spiralling.
He snapped his fingers at me. “Ava!” The intensity of his whisper snapped me out of my stupor.
“Umm… Two coming… With guns.”
He quickly closed the space between us. I flinched back as he whipped a knife open, but when he reached me, he turned it and held it out for me.
I clasped my trembling fingers around the hilt, and he scowled down at them.
He gripped my head in his hands and lowered his face to mine.
“Get it together, Ava! Rule number four, remember?”
I nodded and quickly pulled my consciousness back into my body as Liam stared at me. I felt the panic radiating in my chest, and the nausea pulsing in my gut. My eyes were wide with terror, so I closed them, took a deep breath in and exhaled the fear out, wrangling my body into submission.
When I opened my eyes again, Liam released me. “Ready to fight, Princess?”
“Don’t call me that!” I spat but rolled my shoulders back and adjusted my grip on the knife.
Liam grinned at me, the usual spark back in his eyes. He turned his head, listening to the approaching footfalls.
“Fuck these assholes,” I muttered, as I retreated deeper into the shadows. I was done running like a helpless fawn. I was done with men threatening my life. If I was going down, they were going down with me.