Chapter 24
24
I don’t let Ava leave my house that evening and I don’t plan on letting her leave ever again. Not until I know everything. And by everything I mean that the people who kept her like a goddamn prisoner are brought to their knees. And who texted her? I want to believe her story about Pen and heights, but it doesn’t sit right.
She took off like a bat out of hell. I know irrational fears like heights can do that. but it’s still hard to believe. I’m not taking my eyes off her until law enforcement is involved. Until we officially erase any trace of her old identity and this father of hers can never find her. We have excellent security here; I’ve always kept the perimeter manned but I don’t want her holed up in a brand-new prison. I have to get this done fast, and my US marshal contacts will come in handy; they can get me through to a sympathetic judge who will grant an order to keep her birth certificate change sealed.
That, I can do.
But even with a sealed record I don’t like there’s any crack open to this father of hers finding her. Fuck, it pained me to see her like that. She pulled herself together well, admitting she was being used for evil deeds. What on earth could she have been used for?
At GhostEye, we’re seeing drug trade, human trafficking, and other illegal activity become more and more digital. I suppose any criminal organization would benefit from a talent like hers. A metallic taste coats my mouth.
I’ll work on getting Ava’s identity documents but I can’t stop there. I have to find him and make him pay. I’ll steal his freedom as he’s stolen hers. She had very few details, and I didn’t want to press through all the emotion, not now. But I will and I’ll bring her father to justice as well as her so-called uncle.
I’ve begun investigations with fewer details. And I’ll devote a lifetime to it if I have to.
For the love of all that is holy, what the fuck happened tonight? I expected Ava’s reason for running to come to a head but I didn’t think we’d get so close to her giving me head.
I’m down hard for the woman.
Fortunately, she agreed to stay without me even asking twice.
It isn’t easy to tuck her up in my guest room and not sneak in there to finish what we started, but there’s no way in hell I can screw her like this is some ordinary fuck. Not only do I genuinely have feelings for her, and I know she’s a grown woman with plenty of pent-up need coursing through her veins by now, but she deserves to feel what good sex is all about. And that isn’t some quick passion fuck.
Though I’m sure that, too, would have been fire with her.
As I lie awake in bed, I still feel the steamy heat of her cotton panties on my fingers, and if I can’t slip open the door across the hall, I’ll have to slip my hand under the cover. My dick is already rock-hard just imagining the silky feel of her insides squeezing my fingers, imagining the way I would have finger-fucked her until she was dripping wet. Her hair would have fallen over those beautiful shoulders, and I would have peeled down one of her spaghetti straps until the gorgeous teardrop of her swollen breast was in my mouth.
I pump myself harder, thinking about aroused she was. It was an inferno between her legs, I could smell her even, and I know… I could have slid my cock right into her, absolutely buried myself. I stroke my dick, running my hand up and down the length of it, I dream of her curves, her tits bouncing, her pussy lips spread around my dick, and my shaft disappearing inside.
I get even harder at the thought of her beneath me, and suddenly I want to defy the laws of physics; I want to be inside her, to feast on her pussy and to kiss her at the same time.
My lip curls as I hold back a groan, pumping harder than ever until my balls tighten and hot cum spills over the edge of my hand.
It’s a good thing I got that out of the way before tomorrow night.
Or being a gentleman would have been out of the question.
Of all days to have to meet up with Rio in the Silicon Valley office and be away from Echo Valley, this is not the one I would have chosen, and at the same time, I can’t start initiating the court order without telling my brother. I’ll be using our connections. The request, even though it will come from Ava, will still somehow be associated with GhostEye.
All this, and I didn’t want to leave Ava behind. I woke up this morning still unable to shake her haunted gaze when she stared at her cell phone last night. She escaped captivity, she’s safe with us, but something in my bones tells me I’m missing something.
I asked Ava to work in our on-site offices and told Santi to keep an eye on her. Ava allowed me to tell him her story, so I know he’ll be diligent.
Rio has been staying near the offices for the past couple of days, our big investor, Thad, has been spending time in San Francisco, enjoying what he calls meetings and Rio calls distractions. In any case, my brother can’t work, entertain Thad, and get to and from Echo Valley, so he’s been holed up at a hotel, and I ask to meet him at the restaurant instead of the offices where there may be prying ears.
Hell, these hacks and Ava’s thoughts about an inside job have me thinking everything could be bugged. Now that I’ve heard her story, it’s as if danger is lurking in every corner. Shit is flying from every direction now, and much as I hate the city, Rio and I need to connect.
I’m already seated at the restaurant underneath a hotel Rio is more comfortable in than I am. He’s gotten used to the high-end life. I have not, and don’t plan on it.
Rio drops into the chair opposite; he undoes the top button of his dress shirt he keeps safely pinned to conceal his tattoos. Neither he nor Santi thought much about how they’d be perceived in the future, despite our parents making it clear we’d be judged.
My parents were right. The world has become more accepting for sure, but humans are hardwired to make snap judgments. It’s a survival mechanism that’s been there since the dawn of man. Judgment is inescapable. Hate is not. Though right now, thinking about what I have to tell Rio about Ava, both are coursing through my veins.
Rio rolls up his sleeves, another place that remains covered when investors are around, no matter how hot it is outside.
He drinks some water that’s already on the table. “You must have some mighty bad news to come up to the city and meet me at this place.”
“That, and I have to do some shopping.”
Rio cocks his eyebrow, and rightfully so. I do not like shopping and definitely not in actual stores.
A server comes over, and Rio orders without even looking at the menu; in fact, he doesn’t even glance at the server, he’s staring me dead in the eye. “Ribeye, medium, garlic mash and greens, please.”
The server takes Rio’s menu. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same. Thanks.”
When the server leaves, Rio leans his elbows on the table and folds his hands, waiting impatiently.
“Ava and I have been a good team on these Mexico hacks.”
“Did you find something? ”
My jaw clenches. “I told Ava about Ensenada.”
Rio sits back in his seat, blown away. “That’s… a big deal for you. Did you tell her to help her with the job? Or because you’re falling for her?”
I don’t answer, but his expression tells me he knows it’s both. But I’m not here to talk about how she’s all I can think about these days. I’m not here to talk about how I’m quickly becoming obsessed with her charm, her wit, her beauty. I’m here to talk about how to keep her safe.
Rio leans forward again. “Well, you two need to work faster because Thad has been all over me again to have his daughter work with us.” His expression is guarded. “This was the third time I somehow managed to blow over her coming to GhostEye. It would already be shitty enough to have to babysit his daughter, let alone figure out ways to explain why she can’t look under the hood.”
“Mmm.”
“And shit is getting thick, Zo.” He rips off a piece of bread from a fancy wooden cutting board and pops it in his mouth. “Four people reported their cells were hacked. You and dream girl will be spending a lot of time together. Sorry it’s not under better circumstances.”
There was a breach in employee data? Cell phones? I think back to the fair, Ava getting that text and going white as a sheet. The hacks must have reached other GhostEye employees before getting to her. Fuck.
Has she been found by this father of hers?
My gut twists. Did she lie to me about that text? I need to stay on task. Rio and I don’t have much time together, and I need to leave here with something.
“About the cells… and Ava…”
I don’t know how to say it. There’s so much to explain, but it’s all making sense now. Somebody tried to contact Ava last night. That’s why she ran.
I hesitate too long. Rio narrows his eyes, and as we often read each other’s minds, points his finger at me.
“Don’t tell me I called it. She’s trouble, isn’t she.”
“She’s not trouble,” I growl, low and steady. “She’s in trouble.”
“Are you telling me we have two problems now?”
I don’t think of Ava as a problem. I think of her as mine to protect. “Are you going to be a presumptuous asshole?”
He laughs humorlessly and offers a smug smile. “But I’m so good at it.”
“Listen…” I lean closer and speak low. “Before coming to us, Ava was…”
Last night, Ava’s story was almost beyond comprehension. I’ve seen and heard of horrendous assault and mistreatment. Kidnapping. Prisoners. Human trafficking. Ava’s situation was… was it a cartel, like she said? Was it a cult? She herself couldn’t quite explain it.
“She was held captive from the age of eleven onwards.”
It’s a shock even Rio and his steely features can’t contain. “What?”
“Her mother dropped her at some location, somewhere in Oregon, and left her there. She was never allowed to leave. She described having to witness murders.”
The same rage I felt at hearing about her past rises into Rio’s gaze. “Did they hurt her?”
“A strong case of Stockholm syndrome and having panic attacks at the sound of gunshots. But apart from that, she said she was treated well. Her first chance to get off site was in college, and she used it to win that contest and come to us. ”
“She went away for the first time at twenty-five?” There’s rare compassion in Rio’s voice.
I offer a somber nod. All the childhood that was stolen from her. All the youthful joy of chasing ice-cream vans and lemonade stands and… she never learned to swim. So much makes sense now. Her father stole the most precious thing in the world from her, and she’ll never have it back. I seethe just thinking of it.
Anguish carves a deep line between my brother’s thick eyebrows. Rio and I are fruit from the same vine.
The server comes by to top up our glasses with water. “Can I get you some drinks?”
Rio can’t even speak. He just shakes his head.
But I think better of it. “Bring us two Don Julios straight, please.” We both need a drink.
Rio is still speechless.
“I’m thinking those hacks you just told me about… whoever was keeping her has to want her back. Who keeps a child in captivity that long unless they’re a complete psychopath?” I shudder at the thought, and my fists clench thinking of what I’d do if I ever came face to face with this man. “Last night at the fair, she got a text while we were together and tore off, distressed. It’s possible whoever was poking around with other employees was looking for her.”
My gut wrenches for a second time. I hate to think she lied to me. Why would she when she told me everything else?
Even before Rio shared this news, I woke up, instincts still flaring, so I checked her call history. It was deactivated at administrator level only a few days after I gave her the phone. She’s the best hacker I have ever seen, and it’s sad to know in part it’s because she never had anything else in her life. Because she was forced to spend her time cracking .
It didn’t sit right with me that she’s permanently deleting things. But then, who could blame her for wanting to live without a trace right now? And maybe even that was the smartest thing to do, given her past. Also, it is possible she was telling the truth.
Rio exhales like he’s just come up from a long stint underwater. “This is heavy. You can’t let her go about her business unguarded.”
“Santi is watching out today, and I don’t think she’ll leave the ranch anyway. She was shaken up last night.”
“Did you tell her not to leave? You should put a guard on her door.” He’s riled up. “You need to get her cell…”
Rio’s instruction comes from the same place my need to protect her does.
“It’s not that simple. She didn’t tell me she was hacked.”
“The fuck it isn’t that simple. Get her phone, or we need to track her somehow. She needs to be safe. We need to figure out who fucking did that to her.” He tilts his head. “Tell me you’re not thinking the same thing. You know that’s what needs to be done, and the phone belongs to us anyway.”
The last thing I want to do is manipulate Ava’s choices, not now that I know how few she’s ever been allowed to make in her life.
“She spent fourteen years in captivity, Rio. I don’t want her welcome to the real world to be me invading her privacy and manipulating her.”
“Problem is, you’re letting your feelings get in the way of what needs to be done.” He shakes his head. The shots arrive, and he lifts his. “Love makes you lose your mind.” He downs his shot. “That’s your quote, not mine.”
He’s right. I am losing my mind. But me wanting Ava to tell me for herself what was in that text isn’t just for her sake. It’s for mine, too. Does she even trust me? Will she tell me the whole truth? Am I the only one feeling more here?
I down the shot because I need it. Rio enlightening me of the cell hacks is a disaster with or without Ava being one of them.
Maybe she didn’t lie. My intuition tells me that’s the least likely answer, but my heart yearns to believe it. Rio is right, my feelings are well and truly getting in the way of protocol.
After years of not getting close to a woman because it got in the way of my life’s work and purpose, I end up craving a woman who shoves me into the world’s highest trust fall.