In the End Its Not You
Avery Hayes knew digging into the Sterling family's taxes wouldn't be a walk in the park, so she just casually asked the analyst how it was going. Once they'd finished their business, she gave him a nod and a small smile, then stood up to leave.
The analyst looked up, his eyes tracing the clean line of her profile.
Sunlight poured through the wide, spotless windows of the coffee shop, wrapping her in a soft, hazy glow.
His eyes darkened, his long lashes dipping as his gaze dropped to the slice of cake in front of him.
He poked at it with his fork, his voice low and a little lazy.
"Need a full-service package? If you want to plant more evidence, I've got professionals who can guarantee it's done right."
Avery turned back with a cool smile. "No thanks. I can't afford your full-service package."
He just shrugged. "Alright then. Call me if you need anything."
She flashed a brighter smile this time and walked out of the shop. Just before getting into her car, she glanced back. Through the glass, the analyst was eating his cake, completely lost in his own world, his expression so placid it was like he was performing some kind of ritual.
She shook her head, a small laugh escaping her lips. The guy was a completely different person now, inside and out. Nothing like the man she used to know.
Avery slid into the car, buckled up, and sent her location to Shane, telling him to drive over and meet Wyatt and the others. Diana Marks had texted earlier, saying she was waiting for them at South Gate Plaza near the university.
Shane glanced at the address on his phone, cranked the wheel, and pulled onto the road.
Back in the coffee shop, the analyst finished the last, boring bite of cake. The artificial sweetness of the frosting coated his throat and turned his stomach. He set his fork down and watched the car disappear down the street.
"She handles things a lot like you do," he muttered to himself. "Decisive, efficient, and never forgets a slight. But she's still not you."
With a sneer, he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, stood up to pay, and then vanished into the crowded street, hands shoved in his pockets.
Avery met up with Diana at the plaza, and the four of them grabbed a quick lunch before heading to North Star Film and Television Studio.
New York City is huge, and the university and the studio were on opposite ends of town.
Traffic was a mess, and by the time they finally pulled up to the studio gates, it was nearly five o'clock.
The production of *Bones of Mountains and Rivers* had put the actors up in a motel right next to the lot. Avery got a single room, with Shane and Wyatt in a double directly below hers. After dropping them off, Diana chatted with the producer, Caleb Sterling, for a few minutes before leaving.
Shane hauled Avery's suitcase into her room. "Avery, what should I do with this?"
"Caleb will send someone for it later," she said, already unpacking.
"Listen, Shane, I need you to head to California tomorrow. The renovations on my house are finally done, and I need someone to coordinate with the moving company. You can help get the furniture sorted out. The other place is for you and Wyatt, so see what you guys need and buy it all at once."
The renovation company had messaged her in the car.
After a month of work, the house was finally finished.
They just needed a couple of days to clear out the construction debris, and then it would be all hers.
They'd offered to help buy furniture, but Avery had turned them down.
This was going to be her home; she wanted to pick things out herself.
Besides, she was about to start filming. Unless something major came up, she'd be stuck on set until the movie wrapped. Wyatt was all the backup she'd need here.
Shane nodded. With Avery tied up on set, it was the perfect time for him to head back to California and deal with the threat still lingering there.
Speak of the devil. Just as Avery finished unpacking, Caleb Sterling called to say his guy was there to pick up the package. She told him to have the man contact Shane directly.
She'd barely hung up with Caleb when the film's assistant director knocked on her door with a script.
He told her to be in the makeup room at eight a.m. for a costume fitting and promotional photos.
After that, she'd need to get straight to studying her lines; her scenes were set to start filming the day after tomorrow.
Avery may not have had a ton of acting experience, but all that time she'd spent as an extra hadn't gone to waste.
She knew how a film set worked. Since she was joining the production late to play a major supporting role, the other actors wouldn't have time for a table read.
She figured the crew would send someone over tomorrow to walk her through the key scenes.
After the AD left, Avery immediately dove into the script.
The pages she'd gotten for her audition were just a fraction of the story; this was the complete script for her character.
With filming starting in two days, she was on a tight schedule.
First things first, she had to get her lines memorized.
Seeing how focused she was, Wyatt and Shane exchanged a look and quietly slipped out of the room.
Wyatt closed the door behind them, his voice low and sharp.
"After you make the drop, head back to Stellar Media. Bring Mr. Pierce over tomorrow, then go straight to California."
He paused. "And stop chasing leads on the car accident. We have our suspect. Forget the small stuff and just keep an eye on him."
"Got it," Shane said.
Wyatt seemed to remember something else and pulled out his phone, sending a file to Shane.
"I had an old army buddy pull a file on Xavier Cross. The guy's just like Avery said. A real piece of work."
He scrolled through the file. "Several major 'accidents' in California over the last few years all have his fingerprints on them, even if he's not officially connected. It even looks like he was involved in that explosion at Black Harbor Pier three years ago."
Shane opened the document. The first thing he saw was the Black Harbor Pier incident.
A shipment of ammonium nitrate had just arrived at the docks when it spontaneously combusted, blowing before it could even be loaded onto a ship.
The explosion cost the state over a billion dollars.
The pier still wasn't fully operational.
He stared at the file, then tapped his finger hard on the photo of Xavier Cross. "That sounds a lot like the explosion at the Westlake City fertilizer plant," he said in a low voice.
Wyatt nodded grimly. "Ronan Bowen is in Westlake City, Xavier Cross is in California. On the surface, they're completely unconnected. But based on what we're seeing, there has to be a link."
He looked Shane dead in the eye. "You don't need to investigate him and Ronan. Just watch him. Make sure he doesn't get near Avery again. We're out of the service now, Shane. We can't get involved in that stuff anymore. Just be a good citizen. Pass the clues on and let the cops handle it."
Wyatt clapped him on the shoulder, then walked downstairs with a steady, determined stride.
Shane stood at the top of the stairs, staring at his left palm. A long, thin scar cut across the fleshy part below his thumb, faded to a pale white line like a lightning bolt branded into his skin. He let out a slow breath, then followed Wyatt down.
Inside her room, Avery was already lost in the world of the script, completely oblivious to the quiet, heavy conversation that had just taken place outside her door.
For now, the only things that mattered were acting, making money, and, in her spare time, slowly dismantling the Sterling family, piece by piece.