Chapter 8
AVA
Ava’s muscled went taut as Chris pulled up to the guard booth at the gate. She shifted her gaze slightly as a uniformed man, a gun strapped to his hip, stepped from inside, a clipboard in his hand.
“Name?” he barked.
“Chris Maxwell. I’m here to see Devon Roberts.”
He slid his pen down the paper, eyes narrowing before he made a checkmark. “Is there someone else with you in the vehicle?”
“My wife, Ava Maxwell. I hope that’s not a problem.”
The man shook his head, jotting something down. “Park anywhere you’d like, then check in at the guard desk for your visitor badges. You’ll need to keep them on the entire time you’re on-site.”
“Got it,” Chris said with a nod as the man backed away from the car. As the gates opened in front of them, he glanced at Ava. “Friendly guy, huh?”
“Why did you tell him I was your wife?”
Chris pressed the accelerator down, easing the car through the open gates and into the parking lot. “What did you want me to say? I brought some other guy’s wife with me?”
“A friend. A colleague. Ava.” She shrugged. “Any of those would have worked.”
Chris rolled his eyes as he whipped the car into a parking space, threw the shifter into park, and stomped on the emergency brake. “Are you serious?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, what if they ask me for ID? Mine says Ava Collins.”
“Uhh, just say that you didn’t change your last name, or you haven’t gotten your new ID yet. Geez, Ava, calm down.”
She unbuckled her seat belt and climbed from the car, suppressing an annoyed frown. “I just think it was a weird thing to say. Especially since you’ve been tormenting Alex about how I’m going to leave him and marry you.”
“I have not been tormenting him,” Chris said, sliding his suit jacket on and adjusting his collar. “I can’t help it if the guy gets upset when someone tells him the stark reality of a situation.”
“In no reality do I end up with you, Chris, and you know that.”
“You positive about that, babe?” Chris asked as they crossed the parking lot toward the sprawling building.
Ava studied it, her eyes narrowing as she tried to recall the layout of the interior and where the server was with the program they needed.
“I am positive about it, yes. I’m not insane, Chris.
My feelings for Alex didn’t pop up because PharmaTech drugged me.
I know you really want to think that, but it’s not true. ”
Chris slowed to a stop before they reached the front doors, grabbing her hand to tug her back toward him. “The truth is, Ava, I’m sort of hoping that despite what you think, that is true.”
He shook his head. “Everything I did…everything with Miranda…it was all because I still have feelings for you. I still love you.”
Ava yanked her hand away, crossing her arms. “Nice try. You want me to believe that you sold your soul to a criminal organization that set out to destroy me because you love me?”
“To destroy Alex, not you. And really…not even to destroy Alex. They actually wanted him to join them. They only settled on destroying him when he caught on to them and refused to cooperate.”
She lifted her chin, her eyes rolling. “Oh, that’s right, how could I forget? This is somehow Alex’s fault.”
“Maybe we should talk about it later.”
“We don’t need to talk about it at all, Chris. You and I are over. I made my choice. It’s Alex. That has nothing to do with the drugs or the stress or anything else.”
Chris pressed his lips into a thin line. “I just think you’re going to regret this once it all plays out. There’s a reason you were never actually together with Alex Stone.”
Her eyes widened a little. “Yeah, because he never told me how he felt.”
“And you never mentioned any of these big emotions you claim to have for him either. Don’t you think that’s odd? I mean, you claim to love him, that you’ve always loved him. It’s always been him, yet never once did you ever say a word to him.”
She wrinkled her nose, pulling her chin back to her chest. “I’m not explaining myself to you. Let’s just get this over with.”
As she stormed toward the front doors with Chris hurrying to catch up to her, her mind tried desperately to shove away his last statements.
Why had she never said anything to Alex about how deeply her feelings ran? She’d tried to tell herself it was merely a product of uncertainty. That she’d never considered it because she’d always assumed he wasn’t interested in her.
But was that true? Had she really never said anything because of Alex’s feelings or did Chris have a point?
Her muscles tensed as they approached the guard station inside.
“Names?” the guard asked.
“Chris Maxwell, and this is my wife, Ava. We have a meeting with Devon Roberts,” Chris said.
The guard tapped at a keyboard before he nodded. “All right. I just need you to fill out these forms and sign them—we’ll get your badges processed and give Mr. Roberts a call.”
Ava grabbed the pen and paper he slid toward her and filled in the identifying information, fudging on her current address and using Chris’s as she held back a roll of her eyes.
She slid her paper back and pulled her cell phone from her purse, spotting two panicked messages from Alex.
Her heart lurched. She itched to call him, to reassure him, but the weight of her mission—and Chris’s presence—held her back.
How could she comfort Alex when she wasn’t even sure she had everything under control?
The guard interrupted her before she could respond, pulling her focus back to the task at hand.
With a badge still warm from the printer, he slid it into a plastic sleeve and over to her. “This needs to be on you at all times. Also, while you’re here, you are not permitted to take photographs or videos.”
He motioned to her phone which she quickly stuffed back into her purse, offering him a fleeting smile as she slid the badge over her head.
“Thanks,” Chris said with a nod, donning his badge as the elevator opened.
Ava twisted to find a dark-haired man strode toward them, grinning at Chris. “Maxwell.”
“Hey, Devon,” Chris said with an equally broad smile as they shook hands. “Great to see you.”
“What are you doing in this neck of the woods?” Devon asked.
“Honeymoon,” Chris answered as he motioned toward Ava. “I don’t think you’ve ever met Ava, now Mrs. Maxwell.”
Ava’s jaw clenched, the false smile she’d plastered on feeling like a mask she couldn’t wait to rip off. Chris’s casual lie made her stomach churn. But she had to stay focused—getting angry wouldn’t help. Not now.
“We’ve never had the pleasure of meeting, no. Uh, she wasn’t at the conference we were at together a while back.”
“Right, I think she was busy with…something,” Chris said with a chuckle, “but thankfully not too busy to have said I do.”
“That’s the important part. Well, come on up, and I’ll show you around,” Devon said, motioning to the elevators.
“Great. I can’t wait to see the place. This facility is impressive. The armed guards, the check-in process. Wow.”
The elevator doors whooshed open, and they stepped inside.
“Well, we’re carrying precious cargo,” Devon said with a grin. “The nation’s power supply rests mostly on our shoulders.”
“So, you’re protecting that here,” Ava answered. “Because if someone had control of this facility, they’d be able to–”
She narrowed her eyes as she cocked her head in a silent question.
“Shut down a nation,” Devon answered, raising his chin. “Or at least such a significant portion that it would cause chaos.”
“Wow,” Ava said with an arch of her eyebrow. “That’s a lot of power…in more ways than one.”
As the doors slid open again, Devon burst into laughter. “That’s a good one, Ava. I can see why Chris married you.”
“Her sense of humor was definitely part of it,” Chris answered. “So, who’s got their finger on that button?”
“Do you mean who can shut down the entire grid on the east coast?” Devon asked.
Chris bobbed his head as they walked down the hall.
“Sorry to say, we don’t have a button like the nukes. It would actually take a great deal to shut everything down. And there is no single person in this facility who could make that call.”
“Oh, well that’s good to know,” Chris said. “We don’t have to worry about our power being taken out by a rogue employee, huh?”
“Not quite,” Devon said as they stepped into a large office. “Have a seat. Can I grab you a coffee, water, anything?”
“I’d love some water,” Ava said. “Chris rushed me out the door, and I forgot mine.”
“Aww, well, I didn’t want to be late, hon,” Chris said with a grin—one she saw right through.
“Hey,” Devon said, clapping Chris on the shoulder, “give her some credit. This is your honeymoon, and she’s here networking with you.”
“She’s getting a really nice dinner out of it,” Chris replied. “And I’ll take a coffee.”
“Coming right up.” Devon strode out, leaving them alone.
Ava shot up from the leather club chair and hurried to the man’s desk, fingers flying across the keyboard as she slid into his seat.
“Ava,” Chris muttered as he followed her, “what do you think you’re doing?”
“Investigating.”
“Go sit down,” he said as she attempted to hack into the man’s computer.
“No. I’m not here to network with you Chris. We’re here for answers.” Her nostrils flared, and she shook her head as she failed to get into the system.
“Yeah, well, you have maybe three minutes tops. And I do not want to get caught with you at his desk.”
“I’ll tell him I was hoping to update my Insta,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
“Ava, now,” Chris hissed, his eyes darting to the door.
Her heart thundered in her chest, but she couldn’t stop—not yet.
Another few seconds might give her what they needed.
Time was running out. She had to stop, or risk being caught.
With a frustrated sigh, she shoved the keyboard back in place, cursing under her breath as she abandoned her hack.
Sun streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk, glinting off of something leaning against the monitor. She snatched it, her lips curling at the corners. “His ID badge.”
Chris grabbed her arm, dragging her back toward the chairs. He plopped into his, but she never sat.
“Tell him I went to the ladies room.”
“Ava!” Chris hissed as she shoved Devon’s ID badge into her purse and hurried from the room.
She glanced down the hall, spotting Devon chatting with another woman. She headed in the opposite direction, hoping to find her way back to the elevator so she could head to the basement floor where the server room was located.
As she rounded the corner, she quickened her pace, jetting past offices until she found the central hall with the elevators.
She darted toward the elevators, jabbing the button repeatedly.
Every second felt like a lifetime. When the doors slid open, she slipped inside and punched the button for the basement.
A message flashed on the monitor: ID badge required.
Her breath hitched. With a glance over her shoulder, she fumbled into her purse, pulling out Devon’s badge. This had to work.
The message disappeared, and the elevator started its descent. Ava blew out a breath. Hopefully, this badge would get her into the server room.
If it did, she may need to call Alex. Would he answer? She hoped so. They were so close to getting what they needed to take down The Board.
As the doors open, she removed her visitor’s badge and donned Devon’s, spinning it around so no one could see the picture of him.
Her heart hammered against her ribs as she grabbed her phone, calling Sebastian.
“Tell me something good,” he answered.
“I’m in the basement. I think I can get into the server room with this badge, but I need a little distraction. Can you provide that?”
“I’m on it. Tell me where.”
“I’m at the door outside of the elevators. If you draw a few of them away, I can try get through.”
“You need me to open it, too?”
“I’ve got a VP badge, so I’m hoping that’ll do it. Give me something to work with.”
“Get ready.”
Ava sucked in a sharp breath, approaching the door with the badge in hand. She tapped it against the door’s scanner. A green light appeared. Ava let out a breath, pulling the door open.
She slipped inside as the guard glanced up at her. His eyes widened as an alarm blared through the loudspeaker.
Ava held her breath as he leapt from his post, radio in hand and raced toward the alarm. “Lock down, lock down.”
Behind her, the door she’d just entered through closed, locking.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the locked door.
Trapped. Panic clawed at her insides. No way out.
The weight of Devon’s ID badge suddenly felt heavier around her neck.
If anyone saw her, it was over. She pressed her back against the wall, her pulse racing as the reality set in.
Handcuffs, an interrogation, and Alex’s plan in shambles—was this how it all ended?