Chapter 20
AVA
Apungent antiseptic scent stung Ava’s nose as her mind struggled back to reality. The steady beep of a monitor pierced the silence, grounding her in the present, but her body felt heavy, too exhausted to make sense of where she was.
Something big had just happened, but she could barely process where she was at the moment. Everything was fuzzy, and the overwhelming fatigue prevented her from making the connections she needed to.
The object on which she lay shifted, sending a wave of panic over her. Why?
Why did she have this constant feeling of danger? What had just happened to her?
“It’s okay, Ava,” a familiar voice whispered.
Her heart thumped harder against her ribs as she recognized the voice. The beeping sped up, and she shifted again as she struggled to open her eyes.
“Ava?” Panic laced Alex’s voice this time.
Warm fingers squeezed hers, and a hand strafed across her forehead. “Hang on, Avs. I’m getting Doc.”
Doc? Was she sick?
She pushed her mind to work, to fill in the gaps of what had happened, but she came up short.
“Her heart rate is going crazy,” Alex said.
A few seconds later, another familiar voice filled the air.
“It’s not out of range,” Kyle answered. “I’d say this is a good sign.”
“Good sign?” Alex asked, his voice bordering on incredulous.
“Were you talking to her?” Kyle asked.
“Her features were kind of pinched…like she was in pain, so I just told her it was okay.”
“And she heard you. It’s probably your voice that made her heart rate go up.”
“Well, then why isn’t she opening her eyes?”
“She will,” Kyle reassured him. “Her body is still recovering.”
Recovering? What had she gone through that she was recovering from? The sensation of heat crept into her mind along with a vision of her hands covered in blood. What had happened?
She worked to force her eyes to finally open, batting her eyelashes to clear her fuzzy vision. Two concerned faces peered back at her.
Ava shifted her gaze from Kyle to Alex before she choked out one word from her dry throat. “Ace?”
His features broke into a relieved grin. “Hey, Sparky. I was getting a little worried about you.
Despite his attempt to stay strong, the tears welling in his eyes and the lines of worry etched into his face told her he’d been sitting here, heart-worn, waiting for her to wake up.
She cleared her throat, motioning for water. After Alex offered her the cup, and she took a long sip, she asked, “What happened?”
“Severe heat stroke,” Kyle reported. “You passed out after delivering the phone to the control room.
Kyle’s words triggered flashes of memory: the stifling heat of the small room, Chris’s pained face as he bled after being shot, the wrench she’d used to fight her way past Vanessa, and finally, her last push to deliver the phone to the plant manager.
Her heart dropped as she searched Alex’s face for answers. “What happened with the power build up?”
“It’s taken care of. Grant’s people were able to safely diffuse the buildup with a transfer to their facilities.”
Ava slid her eyes closed, glad the crisis had ended on a positive note. A second later, she snapped them open again. “And Chris?”
“You saved his life,” Kyle reported with a grin. “Well, I saved his life, but you made sure he didn’t die before I could.”
She reached out to squeeze his hand. “You are getting really good at that, Doc.”
“Well,” he said with a sheepish smile, “it’s sort of my job.”
“Did you save my life, too?” Ava asked.
“Not exactly,” he said. “You just needed some fluids and some rest. That heat along with the stress really took it all out of you.”
Ava shifted her gaze to Alex. “What happened with Vanessa?”
“Jail,” Sebastian said from the doorway.
Ava shifted her gaze to the muscled man, her eyebrows raising. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, crossing his bulging biceps as he strode into the room, “and The Board is basically in shambles.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the words, and she pushed herself up to sitting. “What? Seriously?”
Alex eased onto the edge of the bed next to her, his fingers wrapping around her hand. “The news of the power build-up leaked. And with Sierra at the helm to control the story, we were able to show that the program originated at VoltTech.”
“Alex managed to find emails showing that VoltTech’s board was not only aware of the program’s development, but that they wanted it to control the power grid,” Sebastian added.
“No amount of spin from their PR people could dig them out of the hole,” Alex said as Kyle flipped on the television mounted in the corner of the room.
Coverage of the so-called Board Kings being led away in handcuffs played on a constant loop.
“So, they weren’t able to blame this on you?” Ava questioned, her eyes searching Alex’s face for an answer.
“No, it wasn’t my quick little transfer program that initiated this.
Vanessa did that on her own. The source was easily confirmed to have come from VoltTech.
And despite their desperate attempt to say they’d been hacked by yours truly, the smear job failed thanks to Sierra’s very adept handling of the media coupled with the emails from their executives. ”
“Wow,” Ava said as he trained her eyes on the media frenzy showing the collapse of the top leadership at VoltTech. “So, what will happen now?”
“Hopefully, nothing,” Alex answered, stroking her hair gently. “I think we deserve a little break.”
Ava shifted in the bed, her mind still clouded with complications. “What we deserve and what’s going to actually happen are two different things, Ace. I mean…the Kings are gone, but…isn’t there any entire set of underlings waiting to fill in?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Not exactly. Remember there was in-fighting within the organization to begin with. And no one is going to step up right now to take the reins after what just happened to the people in power.”
He shrugged. “Besides, my father is capable of controlling his arm of The Board and making sure there isn’t anyone who replaces this network of people to do more damage.”
“So, for now, we’re safe,” Alex said as he smiled at her. “And you are a hero.”
She flicked her gaze to him, shifting her hand to interlace their fingers. “And so are you. We’d never have taken them down without your expertise, Ace. I just can’t believe it’s finally over.”
Alex turned to sit next to her, wrapping his arm tightly around her. “Me either. It feels surreal.”
“Yeah. It seems like this fight started so long ago, and finally, we’re at the end of the road.”
He offered her another smile, this one wavering slightly. “Yep. End of the road. After we got PharmaTech, they just went down like dominos with VoltTech.”
“And the even better news is,” Kyle said with a grin, “all the drugs…completely gone from your system. You’re you, Ava. Nothing to worry about.”
She offered Kyle a soft smile. She was back to normal, but something was wrong with Alex.
Ava squashed her eyebrows together as she studied his face. She’d known him long enough to know that he was holding something back from her. Was it about their battle with The Board or was this something else?
“Uh, hey, Shadow? Could you be a doll and grab me a milkshake that wasn’t made within the walls of this hospital?”
He frowned at her. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” she answered with a nod. “I really think I deserve it, and it’s the least you can do after we helped you out.”
Kyle clapped him on the shoulder. “Bro, I think this is their polite way of asking for a minute alone. On that note, I’ll just be out checking on Chris…but I totally would like to be invited back in whenever you are finished with your tete-a-tete.”
“You will be the first to know,” Ava answered.
“I’ll just expect to get back in because I have your milkshake,” Sebastian said with a shake of his head as Kyle guided him to the door.
Alex licked his lips as the door eased closed with a soft thud, leaving them alone. “You know, I totally could have gotten the milkshake. I have people for that, remember?”
“I know you do,” she said as she tucked a lock of his shaggy hair behind his ear. “But…I kind of wanted to talk to you alone.”
He shifted on the mattress next to her, avoiding her gaze. “I feel like now is not the right time for that. I mean…you just woke up, and you’re probably tired and whatever. We totally can put it off until you’re feeling better.”
“Ace–”
“No, really, Ava. It’s not necessary for us to talk right now. I barely have anything to say anyway. And you need some rest, and–”
“Alex…” She took his hand in hers, her voice gentle. “Something’s wrong. I know you. I know there’s something on your mind.”
“Nope, nothing. My mind is a total blank. Nothing in there.” He shook his head.
“You are a terrible liar.”
“False. I lied for years about how I felt about you and got away with it. That makes me a really good liar.”
She offered him an amused glance, shaking her head. “What’s going on? Is it The Board? Is it not as clean cut as Shadow says?”
Alex shook his head, his gaze fixed on their intertwined hands. “No, it’s…finished. Just like Shadow said. Can’t believe it, but no more big bad Board to fight with. They really did go down easily after we cracked PharmaTech.”
“But you’re not thrilled about that.”
“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be? Totally thrilled. Over the moon.” As he spoke, Alex bobbed his head way too many times.
Ava bit her lower lip. As much as he tried to act like nothing was bothering him, it was obvious that something disturbed him deeply.
She shook her head. “Alex, this is me you’re talking to. Not Shadow, not Doc. Me. I know you. Something is wrong.”
“What could be wrong?” He laughed, but it sounded hollow and fake.
“You tell me,” she prompted.
His amusement faded quickly, and he frowned, his eyes fixing on the wedding band on his finger. “End of the road,” he repeated, his voice rueful.
“With The Board, yes. But not with us.”
Alex flicked his gaze up to her, his eyebrows knitting.
She offered him a tight-lipped smile. “I know that’s what you were thinking. Now that this isn’t bonding us, I’m going to disappear. But I’m not. I was here for it when The Board came after us, and I’m here for it now that we’ve got nothing but gaming time on our hands.”
Alex’s features pinched for a moment before he grinned at her. “Yeah? Because I was maybe a little concerned that you wouldn’t want to hang out anymore now that things were about to be super boring.”
She leaned closer to him, her lips inches from his. “I think I’m going to like super boring life as long as you’re in it.”
“You sure? Because I’m not entirely certain that Shadow is over the whole ‘I love Ava’ thing. And Doc…he’s kind of still crushing on you, I think.”
“Too bad for Shadow and Doc that I’m already married to the world’s most perfect man.” She pressed her lips against his to punctuate the statement.
Any tension in his body melted as he pulled her closer. “World’s most perfect man, huh? I kind of like that. But…what about Chris?”
“What about Chris?” she asked, her voice a little sharper. How many ways could she tell him they were done? “Chris and I are over. I picked you, Alex. I love you.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “I can’t tell you how awesome it is to hear you say that and also not be facing death at every turn.”
She chuckled, wrapping her arms around him. “I know. I’m kind of excited for all the boring stuff. Oh, and Shadow’s totally going to need to get over himself, but Doc…yeah, we kind of need to find him a girl.”
“Maybe we can make that our next mission,” Alex suggested, his voice playful.
“It may be more challenging than fighting The Board. I mean, she really needs to be a special gal. Not just anyone is going to work for Doc. He’s a unique guy.”
“I feel like we have the skills to get this done, Sparky. And I kind of like how protective you are of him as long as you only have eyes for me.” He wagged a finger at her, the corners of his lips tugging into a coy smile.
“Doc’s great, but he’s not you,” she whispered, stealing another kiss. She pulled back, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she added, “We’ll just have to find him someone who can handle all that…Doc-y-ness.”
She pulled back, her features filling with fake concern. “But…we do have one problem, Ace. And it’s a big one…maybe a deal-breaker.”