*Seymore’s POV*The last few days were touch and go with my mental health as I bounced between Ava’s and the Hospital. Doc is improving every day, and it doesn’t appear that he will be suffering any long-term effects from his beating. Ava had been depressed for two days, refusing to get out of bed.Today has been better, as I woke her up with a smile and a kiss. I haven’t left her side, leaving the dogs in Marcus’ capable hands. He’s been going to the hospital every day as well, but Ava refused to see him. She hadn’t wanted him to see her in her state. We talk when we see one another, and we both agree that Conner and Corbin must be dealt with. Ava doesn’t deserve to live in fear, and Corbin needs to pay for what he did. I had feared Doc would die and I would lose someone I consider family. Now that I know he’s going to be okay, I just want revenge. At first, I was confused by Sophia’s call. I didn’t receive any notification that Conner was near the condo. But then I remember
I make it back to the condo, my heart racing at what I just saw. Corbin had gotten to Conner before I had the chance. I’m experiencing a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I’m happy at not having to deal with Conner anymore. On the other hand, I’m scared shitless. Corbin is more dangerous than I thought him to be.I pull out my phone and call Marcus. He answers, sounding chipper and a little drunk. I fill him in on what just happened, keeping my voice to a low whisper so I don’t wake up Ava. The conversation sobers him up quickly.“You and Ava need to come over tomorrow so we can talk. I know you didn’t want her involved, but she is,” Marcus replies after a long pause of silence.I sigh. It’s true, I hadn’t wanted her involved. Having her know what is going on was necessary, but I wanted to keep her away from the Ambrose family. Considering Sophia had helped her, and Corbin knows her, keeping information from Ava is not going to keep her safe anymore.“I agree. We will come over
*Ava’s POV*The guys fall silent as I jokingly suggest killing Corbin. I thought I had been sarcastic when I said it, but I guess not. “I was just joking,” I mumble, hoping to ease the tension in the room. It’s been a stressful week. Seymore’s been great, in every way possible, but I just want to move on and put all this behind us. Corbin and Conner have been constantly present, and all I want to do is enjoy my new relationship with a man who truly knows how to treat me.Marcus chuckles as I clarify, killing the thick atmosphere. “You went really dark on us for a second,” he says with a smile. I’m happy Seymore has decided to let me in on the conversation regarding the Ambrose family, but I’m a little preoccupied with trying to figure out how I’m going to deal with Conner. Breaking into my place for the second time had been the last straw. I also need to talk with Sophia and find out why she had been so against staying when Seymore was on his way. I only half listen
*Seymore’s POV*She said it again, the dreaded ‘we have to talk’. I need to get more clothes, so I turn toward home. It’s killing me to find out what Sophia said to her. Was I right? Did the woman I can’t even remember end my relationship in thirty minutes flat?“I need to go home to get more things,” I say, just wanting to eliminate the silence in the Rover. “That’s fine. Your place or mine, it doesn’t matter,” Ava replies, not giving any hint at what’s about to go down.I suppose she wouldn’t agree to my place if she planned on ending things between us, so I can at least hold on to that strand of hope. During the drive, I try to remember anything new about that fateful night that drove me to hit therapy hard. I just can’t. I still have no face to put with the woman.I pull into the driveway and look at the empty house. No dog to greet me and no Marcus to give me attitude. Just a large empty home without any occupants. I shiver, not ever wanting to go back to that life.
I whip into Doc’s driveway and jump out of the SUV. Marcus meets me at the door before I even reach it.“What’s going on? Is Ava okay?” he starts to question as I hurry past him.“Ava’s fine, we fought, and I dropped her off at Ellie’s,” I answer angrily as I pull out my phone and pull up the news video about Conner.I hand my cell over to Doc, who is now standing next to Marcus. They both freeze in place, eyes glued to the screen of my device. The reporter sounds unbothered as she reads the teleprompter, adding how it’s so sad that people can’t feel safe in their own homes anymore.Doc looks up at me slowly, followed by Marcus. “So, you were right about the leg belonging to him,” Marcus says, still very confused as to what this has to do with Ava.“Ava thinks I did it. That’s why we fought. Everything I did to try and make Conner’s life miserable came back to bite me in the end,” I reply, dropping into one of Doc’s chairs. “How did she find out about everything?” Marcu
*Ava’s POV*Seymore has been so great about everything, and that makes me feel worse about accusing him of killing Conner. I went back to Ellie’s and talked with her and Sophia. They had pointed out so many inconsistencies in my accusation of Seymore that I felt stupid by the time we were done talking. “He really cares about you,” Sophia had pointed out. “I’ve never had a guy jump through so many hoops for me.”“The fact Corbin was involved has me immediately pointing a finger at him,” Ellie had added. “He’s the one with the background in murder, not Seymore.”“But Seymore flat out said he wanted to kill him,” I had argued. “So? I wanted to kill him, it doesn’t mean I did,” Ellie had retorted. I still feel bad about it, what had I been thinking? The fact Seymore just accepted my apology with a warm smile and comforting touch drove a blade into my heart. I’m so used to things that aren't my fault being blamed on me, that I’m having a difficult time accepting forgiveness w
*Seymore’s POV*As Ava falls asleep next to me I think about what just happened. Was it the talk of marriage and children that made me act so impulsively, or a darker part of me acting on its own? Either way, something told me to stay tucked into her pulsing womanhood to spill my seed. I’ve never been so careless. Every time I’ve been with someone, I’ve pulled out. I wonder if she noticed. Either way, it felt amazing. Strangely enough, I would love for her to have my baby. Children with her would be a dream come true. I’d given up on ever having children, deciding that life just wasn’t for me. Being with Ava has changed all that. After pulling her in close, I manage to close my eyes and drift off.***The Next MorningWe wake up to Ava’s phone ringing. She answers it and hurries out of the room, trying not to wake me up. While we were asleep, I must have slipped off of her.I hear her talking in the other room, but can’t make out what she’s saying. I climb out of the bed a
Last night was frustrating. Ava filled me in on the two men that came looking for her. Luckily, she was on a break when they came by and her co-workers had not bothered to hunt her down for them. After she got back, the manager pulled the two men up on security footage and asked her if she knew them.“I have no idea who they are,” she had said.“They gave us the creeps, so we just hurried and got them out of the building,” the manager had said. “They asked for you by name, though.”Sophia asked to see the parking lot footage, but she couldn’t get a plate number on the car. Ava told me she doesn’t want to go back to the shelter until we get this tied up.“I don’t like the idea that they know where I work. The last thing I want is to put the people I work with in danger,” Ava said. I understand, but it kills me. She feels like she can’t even do the thing she loves because of Duncan Ambrose. We had gone home from dinner and spent most of the evening sitting on the couch reading