Chapter Twenty-Five Ava Angelhart
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ava Angelhart
Ava had been silent for most of the flight to Colorado Springs, and even quieter during the long forty-five-minute drive southwest
through the mountains, plateaus and grassland that led to Florence. Quincy drove, and Rita sat quietly in the back seat.
She wasn’t herself. She hadn’t been herself in days.
She hadn’t been herself in years.
The past forty-eight hours had been a whirlwind. She had been reacting, not thinking. Letting fear drive her decisions. That
terrified her more than anything. She had lost control.
Her mind spun in circles. She worried constantly about her children, about what might happen now that they were searching
for the truth. Even Tess, who had stood by her side from the very beginning, now looked at her with suspicion. Jack, as always,
was a rock, but she felt him pull away, separate himself from her even when he kissed her goodbye at the airport.
Margo had been the most vocal from the beginning.
Ava had sacrificed her relationship with her daughter on the altar of fear.
Yet . . . Margo, under her anger and disapproval, had been the most supportive this week.
It was like now that she knew she had been right all along, she could put the three years of deception aside to find the truth.
Above all, Ava worried about Cooper.
He shouldn’t be in prison.
He shouldn’t be here. At Supermax.
This was punishment for monsters. Not for a man like Cooper, a healer who had sacrificed everything to keep his family safe.
But that was what fear did. It warped the truth until you didn’t know which direction was up.
She exhaled slowly as Quincy pulled the car into the lot, the intimidating shape of the federal prison rising behind high
fences and coils of razor wire. By the time she stepped out of the car and felt the crisp November air hit her face, something
inside had settled.
Resolve.
The time for reacting was over. She wasn’t going to be led by fear anymore. She would see her husband. She would get answers.
And then she was going to burn this entire conspiracy to the ground.
She walked into the prison with a spine of steel because pride was all she had. Pride and her deep love for her husband.
Security at Florence ADX was on another level. Cameras everywhere. Cold stares from guards. Multiple secure doors they had
to be cleared through. They were scanned twice, IDs scrutinized under the harsh glare of overhead fluorescents. They stated
their purpose three separate times.
Finally, they were escorted to a sterile, windowless waiting room. The kind of place where hope came to suffocate. They were
the only three in the room.
“Ava,” Rita said, taking her hands. “How are you holding up?”
“Better,” she said, and meant it.
A minute later, a guard stepped through the steel door. “Lawyer only,” he said, not bothering to make eye contact.
Ava stepped forward, her jaw tight. “I’m his wife. When can I see him?”
The guard just stared at her, his face like granite. “Lawyer. Only.” He looked at his clipboard. “Marguerita Garcia.”
“Rita,” she immediately corrected.
“Your ID says Marguerita, correct?”
Rita mumbled, “I should have legally changed my name when I was eighteen.”
Ava smiled, just a bit. Rita hated her given name because of the endless teasing when they were kids. Even now, when they
had a family dinner at Tom’s restaurant, he would serve Rita with a flourish. A special margarita for the lovely Marguerita.
“Go,” Ava told her. “You know what to do.”
Rita nodded, followed the guard.
Quincy’s hand touched Ava’s arm gently, grounding her. “It’s going to be okay, Ava,” he said softly.
“You’re right. It will be.” She sat and prayed. It gave her strength.
Do not fear.
They’d had to surrender their phones, their bags, even Quincy’s service weapon, locked up like contraband in a room they weren’t
allowed to reenter until they were on their way out.
Now it was just the two of them in the dingy room with nothing to do but think.
Ava rubbed her arms, suddenly chilled. “I don’t think I ever thanked you,” she said, voice low. “For coming with us.”
“No need for thanks,” Quincy said. “Besides, you’ve had a lot on your plate.
She glanced at him. “Did you hear anything about the court order?” Of course he hadn’t; he would have told her.
He shook his head. “Transfers happen all the time.”
“Not at two in the morning, they don’t.”
Quincy didn’t argue. He just nodded.
She stared at the blank wall across from her. “You think I should have gone to the police three and a half years ago.”
“I think,” he said carefully, “that I don’t have kids. So I don’t know what I would have done. But if I thought they were
in danger? I probably would’ve done the same thing you did.”
She laughed, but it was brittle. “You’re being kind. I’ve been second-guessing myself ever since Cooper told me about the
threat. Ever since I saw those photos. I thought we were doing the right thing. Cooper was so certain we had to lie, stay
quiet, protect our children at all costs. And I followed his lead because, dear God, I was terrified.”
She looked down at her hands. “I’ve spent years sitting across from victims’ families, trying to offer them justice. I’ve
watched mothers fall apart after losing a child. I’ve had to stay strong while they sobbed in my office. I told myself I could
handle it. That I was making a difference.”
Her voice cracked. “But the truth is, every time I heard their stories, a part of me broke. And when Cooper said they’d come
for our kids next, I didn’t care about ethics or the law or doing the right thing. I just wanted them safe.”
“Remember, I love one of your children,” Quincy said. “I didn’t know any of you back then. Maybe if I had, I would have counseled
a different choice. But now? I’m not going to criticize your decision when I wasn’t in your shoes.”
Ava took his words to heart, appreciating the kindness he was extending to her when she wasn’t certain she deserved it. “I
keep wondering if we made the wrong choice,” she whispered. “If keeping them all in the dark didn’t protect them, but made
it easier for the people behind this to control us and every decision we’ve made since.”
“You’re not God, Ava,” Quincy said gently. “You don’t get to know the outcome before you make the decision. You did what you thought was best with the information you had at the time. Hell, that’s all any of us can do.”
She blinked fast, her vision blurring. “That doesn’t mean it was enough.”
The door opened.
They both stood. Rita walked in. Her face told Ava everything even before she spoke. It was bad news.
Ava asked, “Can I see him?”
Rita shook her head.
“Tomorrow?”
Rita hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“Why not? I need to lay eyes on him, Rita, to make sure he’s okay.”
“He’s in solitary today,” Rita said flatly. “No one sees him tonight. Not even me.”
“You’re his lawyer! Didn’t you talk to him? Anything?”
She was panicking, and that wasn’t going to do any of them any good.
Rita shook her head, eyes briefly flicking to Quincy before settling on Ava. “They wouldn’t bring him out. Orders of the warden.
The warden wasn’t available, so I talked to the assistant warden. He seems understanding, but he can’t countermand the order.”
Ava’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. The weight of the room pressed in on her. “But . . . he didn’t do anything.
Why is he in solitary?”
Rita’s voice dropped. “Ava, the assistant warden assures me that Cooper is safe and secure, and he’s going to see what he can do.
He needs to talk to the warden, look at the order, understand the situation.
Cooper arrived early in the morning and he agreed it was unusual.
I’m going to petition for my rights as his lawyer to have a consult with him.
Maybe I can get in later today, but most likely it’ll be morning.
And I asked specifically that you, as his wife, be allowed to visit with him. ”
“How can you know he’s safe?”
Rita hesitated, and Ava’s stomach dropped.
“You can’t know,” Ava said.
“I felt strongly that the assistant warden was forthcoming,” Rita said. “He knows we’re in town and aren’t leaving until we
talk to Cooper. He assured me he is safe in solitary, and that they don’t want anyone hurt on their watch. I’ll continue to
push, and I will talk to him tomorrow even if I have to file an emergency request with the court. We will find out what’s
going on. Okay?”
Ava looked away, her eyes filling. She shouldn’t take this out on her sister; none of this was Rita’s fault.
She turned to Quincy. “We should have brought all this to light years ago. I should have fought harder. I let him go to prison
for a lie we both told, and now he’s locked away and I can’t even see him.”
Quincy said, “I’ll make some calls, find answers. I promise, Ava, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that Cooper is
safe. Solitary may be the best place for him here.”
She looked up at him, eyes wet, nodded. He might be right.
Ava wouldn’t get any closer to seeing Cooper if she pitched a fit in here, and they might ban her completely from the facility.
“Okay,” she said. “We go to the hotel and call everyone who can get us answers. But if we don’t have the answer I want in
the morning? I’ll call in every favor with every prosecutor, judge, and governor I know. Cooper doesn’t belong in here, and
I swear to God, I’m going to bring him home.”