*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
*Ava’s POV*Seymore has been looking at me funny all day. He hasn’t brought it up, but I know what he’s thinking. I hadn’t allowed him to pull out. I had an oh-no moment the night before when he came inside me, but once my brain worked through it I decided it wasn’t a bad thing. If I get pregnant, so be it. I went through years of being unable to conceive with Conner, and I don’t want to have children too late in life. If Seymore brings it up, that’s exactly what I’ll tell him.The afternoon was too busy to talk about it. We needed to contact everyone and let them know what the plan was. Ellie was stoked, asking me if I wanted to come over to get ready together. I declined. She will take Sophia and head to the club early so they can get in place and let us know when it’s busy enough to slip in. Doc and Marcus said they would get the earpieces ready. Seymore and I left a little while ago to come home and prepare.“Is that what you’re wearing?” I ask as he steps out of the be
*Seymore’s POV*I dart up the steps with Ava on my heels. I feel like my heart is about to pop out of my chest. This is the most dangerous part of our mission, and I can’t turn around to see if anyone sees us. We reach the top and I pull her around a corner, both of us are out of breath as we press our backs against a wall. “We’re up,” I tell Marcus through the earpiece. “It looks good out here, Corbin’s sitting at the door checking IDs again,” he replies. “Find the black door and let me know when you’re ready for the code.”“It’s okay, Corbin doesn’t know we’re up here,” I relay to Ava, causing her to nod that she understands. We should have plenty of time to find the door we need. According to Sophia, Corbin won't be back up to check the building for at least forty-five minutes. There is a long hall to our right and a short hall to the left. I point to Ava and down the left side. She nods and heads down the hall while I take the right. The noise of the club is distrac