Chapter 22
AVA
Ava savored the warmth between them, relishing the boldness of Alex’s words.
It had taken so long for him to truly relax into what they had, and even longer for her to believe she could deserve it.
But here they were, side by side, sharing their love with all the fear and uncertainty stripped away.
This was how it was supposed to be–with no walls between them.
She had never felt closer to him, and the realization brought an unexpected sting of tears to her eyes.
He’d finally started to become comfortable with their relationship. As far as she was concerned, their relationship was perfect, but she knew Alex had been nervous about it since he’d said the words to her.
Maybe it had been her inability to accept it right away, or her own fear that had made him nervous, or maybe he’d have been like this no matter what her reaction had been, but she had wanted him to feel as comfortable with her as she did with him.
The kiss he gave her spoke volumes about his intent. It was the boldest he’d ever been, and she reveled in it, enjoying the warm moment between them as their relationship finally felt real.
The chime from Alex’s laptop cut through their moment like a knife, marking Ava flinch.
She twisted her head, her gaze catching the flashing notification.
A part of her didn’t want to look–what if it was just another dead end, another empty lead?
But she knew they couldn’t ignore it, not now.
The stakes were too high, and any piece of information could be their breakthrough.
He pulled back, glancing over her shoulder at the computer.
She twisted to find a list of emails that had been identified as having something to do with the mess The Board had created in Hemlock Falls.
Alex shifted, but she leaned in front of him, blocking his view. “Alex, wait.”
He settled back onto the cushion, his eyebrows knitting. “What is it?”
“I wanted to say something else…about us.”
“O-okay.” He swallowed hard, his eyes clouding with worry.
She smiled at him, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. “It’s nothing bad.”
“Are you sure? Because after everything I just said, and then you said, kind of felt…like this is something not good.”
She couldn’t stop a giggle from escaping her. “It’s not not good. The thing is…when you first told me that you loved me, I wasn’t sure about this because I was terrified of losing you.”
He rubbed her arm gently. “Ava, that’s never going to happen.”
She bit into her lower lip. “I know. I know that now. I know that no matter what, we’re always going to be there for each other. I know that you love me unconditionally, and I want you to know I feel the same way. I hate that you’ve been worried about our relationship.”
“Avs,” he said as he squeezed her hands, “I’ll always worry because you are so far out of my league–”
“Uh-uh,” she said with a shake of her head as she leaned closer to steal a kiss. “I am firmly in your league and only your league.”
“Aww, babe,” he said with a soft grin, “that’s sweet.”
“Just like you. And I can’t wait to take down The Board and spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Me too,” he answered as he leaned closer for another kiss.
She pressed a finger against his lips. “But before we can do that, we need to look at these emails and find some dirt on the PharmaTech execs.”
“Ugh,” Alex groaned. “You’re right. But then again, you’re always right.”
Ava grinned at him as she patted his shoulder. “Aw, babe, and that’s why we’ll always stay together. Because you–”
“Are the perfect husband?” He shot her an amused grin.
“Actually, I was going to say you know I’m always right, but sure, we can go with your version.” She kissed his cheek before she peered at his screen. “What do we have?”
Alex’s eyebrows pinched as he scanned the emails. “Not sure yet. The first two aren’t really incriminating.”
He scrolled through the third before he finally shook his head and clicked to another one. “Nothing yet. Damn it.”
“Easy, Ace. We’ll find it.”
“Will we?” His voice turned incredulous as he shifted to another email. “Because so far, there’s nothing. And I’m pretty sure these people scrubbed anything incriminating.”
“Not before you got it, babe. You grabbed all of this before they knew we were coming.” She rubbed his shoulders. “There must be something.”
He blew out a shaky breath as he moved on to the tenth email. “I don’t–”
Alex’s fingers paused mid-keystroke, his eyes narrowing at the screen. he leaned in, his breath hitching. “Wait, here…here!”
His voice carried a sense of urgency.
Ava’s heart leapt into her throat as she shifted closer her eyes scanning the words on the screen. “Alex…”
He nodded, his eyes blazing with a mixture of triumph and fury. “This is a PharmaTech exec giving a direct order to quote unleash Reaper in the HF location for an initial assessment of efficacy of the spread and mortality rate.”
“HF,” Ava repeated. “That’s Hemlock Falls. It has to be.”
“Yeah, and this is very clear. Like exceptionally clear that they did this on purpose.”
Ava rubbed his back quickly, an excited grin on her face. “Send it to Sierra. Tell her to go public as quick as she can.”
Alex bobbed his head, quickly creating a screenshot of the email and attached it to a message before he followed the trail through the system, finding more emails on the subject. He grabbed them all, sure to include the sender and all recipients.
They would leave no doubt that every executive at PharmaTech was aware of what was happening, of how they were about to send a deadly virus designed to kill seventy percent of the population it came into contact with to a small Vermont town.
Ava rubbed his arm as he sent the message on its way to Sierra. She replied almost immediately. Finally.
“How long do you think it’ll take for the media to get a hold of this?” Ava asked.
Alex set his laptop on the coffee table. “Long enough for us to do a quick round of gaming?”
“You’re on. I’d really like to kick your butt again.”
Alex grabbed his controller, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he toggled on the game. “Oh, it’s like that, huh?”
“Yep, it’s like that,” she said with a grin as the timer counted down and their cars sped off.
With a giggle, she elbowed him.
“Hey, Sparky, no cheating,” he said, his laughter bubbling up from his chest.
“This isn’t cheating. This is doing what it takes to win.”
“Oh, yeah? Playing dirty, huh?” He grinned, his eyes fixed on the screen.
She raised her eyebrows as she cut him off around the curve. “Ouch, watch those tires, Ace. You’re going to have a blowout.”
“Ohhh, is that a threat?”
“Maybe just have some nails in my car that I’m planning to toss out.”
“Ouch! You’re mean, Avs.”
She crossed the finish line and raised her hands overhead. “I win!”
Alex’s car came in a distant second, and his on-screen avatar frowned. “Good job, babe. You win again.”
His phone chimed, and he grabbed it, checking his message. “Sierra says it’s out and should be hitting the news any second.”
Alex switched the television from their game back to the news feed. Reports continued on the outbreak in the small town of Hemlock Falls.
As the newscaster read the same report they’d heard a dozen times, her eyes went wide. She pressed a finger to her ear, glancing down before she centered her eyes on the camera again.
“We are getting breaking news in now. Emails from PharmaTech executives showing not only explicit knowledge of the outbreak, but the order to unleash the virus on the small population as a test. This is incredible news considering that it directly contradicts the statement released by the company earlier in which they placed blame on a disgruntled employee.”
The newscaster shook her head, her perfectly coifed hair barely moving. “This is quite the leak, everyone. Again, if you are just joining us, we have just received definitive proof that PharmaTech executives were not only aware of the outbreak but had ordered it. And now–”
She pressed a hand to her ear again. “We’re now getting word that police are raiding the PharmaTech headquarters as we speak. We go live to the team on scene. Bryan, what are you seeing?”
The screen shifted from the news desk to the PharmaTech sign and building.
“This is absolutely incredible, Aimee, we’re seeing a massive police force on scene at this point.
The media has been pushed back while this raid is conducted, and now…
oh, get on this, get on this!” The man yelled, poking a finger toward the building.
The camera shifted and zoomed in on men in expensive suits being led from the building, their hands cuffed behind their back.
“Aimee, it appears that these are the executives that are being led away to the police cruisers. It looks like they are under arrest for what will likely be one of the biggest cases in this country’s history. We haven’t seen anything like this before where a company has turned on its own people.”
“It is absolutely incredible, Bryan. These people were charged with saving lives and instead, they have destroyed them. You saw it here first, folks. Again, PharmaTech executives have now been arrested in conjunction with the deadly genetically modified flu outbreak that hit the small town of Hemlock Falls. Absolutely incredible. We will be right back with more after a short break.”
Ava sucked in a deep breath as she laid her head against Alex’s shoulder. “Wow. She did it.”
“We did it, babe. Our whole team. You, me, Doc, Sierra—"
“Me,” Sebastian said as he strode into the room, his phone in hand.
“Right,” Alex said with a slight frown. “You.”
Sebastian collapsed into an armchair. “We did good work. But there’s a long road still ahead.”
“And we’re ready,” Ava said with a nod. “We took down PharmaTech, and my guess is once law enforcement digs into their files, they’re going to find way more projects designed to hurt people like Neuroprisol-X.”
“No doubt, but that only breaks one part of The Board. We still have a lot more to go,” Sebastian said.
“Well, thanks a lot for that, Mood Killer. Ava and I were just enjoying a quiet moment together that you have now ruined.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t get used to those quiet moments, because there aren’t going to be many of them coming up until we finish this.”
Ava threaded her fingers through Alex’s. “It doesn’t matter. We’re ready. We’re going to face this together.”
“That’s cute. But they’re going to do everything they can to rip you apart. I’m just warning you.”
Ava tightened her fingers on Alex’s hand, but her stomach twisted into a tight knot. They’d already been through so much. Could they make it through this without being ripped away from one another?
She glanced at her husband. He offered her a reassuring smile. “Together, Avs.”
“Together, Ace,” she answered. “We’ll weather this together.”
Her eyes fell on the painting of the two ships weathering the storm together. It was a metaphor for their lives. But they’d come through it…together.