*Ava’s POV*I can’t believe it. The man I trust above all others has sent me away. Sure, there had been no point in arguing with him, but that doesn’t mean I want this. I’m so tired of everyone else telling me what to do with my life. I know what’s good for me, and what I feel should override anyone else's opinion. I sit in the back of Sophia’s car, sulking as she drives. She and Ellie are both trying to tell me how to feel, and I’m over it. I would rather be with Seymore, fighting by his side. This is ridiculous and an unnecessary step. “If Corbin was the one who killed Conner, we need to treat him like the threat he is,” Ellie is saying. “That’s true, Ava. Corbin doesn’t care what the order is, he will carry it out without prejudice. The fact he mentioned I should stay away from you specifically worries me,” Sophia adds. My heart had dropped when Seymore said I should stay away from him. That’s the last thing I had been expecting. I thought he would step up his efforts
*Seymore’s POV*Ava hasn’t been gone for more than twenty minutes and I’m already losing my mind. I wish I hadn’t sent her away, it really did go against everything I was feeling. Her safety is my top priority, even if it means I’m going to suffer for it. At least Ava will have her friends to distract her, making the time we spend away from one another move quickly. I suppose I could go see Doc and Marcus. We could play some cards and just hang out. No matter what, I need to find something to keep my mind off of Ava. I pull out my cell and call Marcus.“What’s up, Seymore?” he asks right away.“I just sent Ava away. I guess Sophia talked with Corbin and he warned her to stay away from Ava. I figured she would be safer at Ellie’s than here, but I need to find something to do while she’s gone,” I explain in a drawn-out breath.“I understand, and it makes sense. I’m heading back to your place with the dogs. Doc finally got tired of me hovering over him and told me to go home
Desmond should still be at the office. No need to call ahead this time, if he has a client I will throw them out the door to free up some time. What’s happened isn’t just my fault, and he has to take responsibility for what he’s done.I pull up in front of the office with Marcus right behind me. I jump out of the SUV and head for the steps.“Seymore, will you wait?” Marcus yells, getting out of his own car.“Where are we at with tracking down Corbin?” I ask, not interested in anything else right now.There will be no talking me out of anything. Until Ava is back in my arms, I will rain down punishment on anyone who’s harmed her. “Doc’s working on it. He says he has an idea, but that we should wait for him to call before blowing our cover,” Marcus huffs.“Ava’s gone, Marcus. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more cover,” I snap at him, opening the door to the office and rushing up the steps.I kick in Desmond’s office door, slightly disappointed at finding him alone. T
*Ava’s POV*I came to, my face pressed into whatever it was that I landed on. Everything hurts. It feels like I was hit by a bus and not thrown down a flight of stairs. I listen for any sounds before I try to move or open my eyes. I want to make sure Corbin isn’t sitting next to me on the steps, waiting for me to show signs of life. Once I’m sure he’s still upstairs, I open my eyes and slowly push myself up. From the feel of it, I’m sitting on an old mattress. At least my landing had some cushion. I can’t imagine what damage could have been done if I landed on concrete. There’s no sunlight coming through any windows in the cellar. If this was an old hunting cabin, I would imagine this floor was used for cold storage. I can hear Corbin walking around overhead. He’s still in the building.A phone ringing upstairs draws my attention. I can hear Corbin’s deep voice until he takes the call outside, signaled by the door slamming behind him. I’d imagine the reception out here isn’t
*Seymore’s POV*Once I can no longer hear all the emergency vehicles, I pull back onto the road and head for the house. This isn’t over yet, but at least we are all together again. Marcus calls Doc and Ellie to let them know we have Ava and are going to my place. There’s no telling what Duncan will do once he finds out his head henchman is out of commission. “Lock yourselves in and don’t open the door for anyone,” Marcus instructs each of them before hanging up.“When we get to the house we need to do a sweep and then barricade the doors,” I explain while turning down my street.Talking makes my neck throb. I’m hoping Corbin didn’t do any permanent damage with the death grip he had on me. Looking in the rearview mirror, I can see redness along Marcus’ neck. As we get closer to the drive, the white car from the other day is parked in the street.“Marcus,” I growl, drawing his attention to the car.“Give me a break,” he huffs from the backseat.I pull up close to them a
***Three Months LaterThe last few months have been a blur as Ava and I move forward with building a life together. I love waking up to her every day, afternoon sex is amazing, and holding her in my arms at night is the only way I can fall asleep. “Are you almost ready?” Ava yells from the kitchen.“Almost,” I answer, finishing up getting dressed.Zeus and Goldie run into the bedroom, excited about the day ahead. They will be getting dropped off at Doc’s place while we help Sophia and Ellie move. We also need to get all of Ava’s things out of her condo and into our house. “Come on, you two. Time to go see Grandpa Doc!” I holler as I walk down the hall. Ava started calling him that because he spoils the dogs like they were his own grandchildren. They have more toys and comfy beds at his place than ours. We pile into the SUV and take off, eager to get the day going. “Did you remember to grab the bottle of wine out of the fridge?” I ask Ava as we drive into the city.
*Seymore's POV*I’ve heard sex addiction described as an excuse someone uses to get away with having risky sex. But those people probably haven’t been addicted to anything in their lives. Sex addiction is like any other addiction, it eats away at you until you get a fix, and then eats away at you some more.As my feet slam against the cold slate floor, the abrupt sensation causes me to awaken fully from the nightmare. Sweat pours down from my brow, and my heart threatens to burst out of my chest. The panic is still present, but I don’t know why. What had the dream been about? My eyes adjust to the dim nightlight glow from the bathroom just off my bedroom.That’s right, I’m home. Back from a long trip to New York where I went to help one very special and important friend Kade. Somehow, I had hoped that the jet lag would help keep this reoccurring nightmare at bay. So much for that. My heart starts to recover as I take a deep breath.“Zeus, come here, boy.”The command isn’t en
After crawling out of bed I head to the bathroom. My feet slap against the slate floor as I walk with my eyes half closed. I don’t know if I got too much sleep, or not enough, but my head is killing me. A hot shower should fix it. I moan as I catch my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My hair is a mess and I have actual bags under my eyes.It appears the older I get, the less tolerant my body becomes to travel. I run my fingers through my hair and turn the shower on full blast. My pajama bottoms drop to the floor and I kick them aside before stepping under the waterfall shower head. The warm water does its job as the stiff muscles in my back begin to loosen. I grab my luffa and a bar of soap before going to work on the cleaning process. As I wash, it becomes obvious I need to tend to some manscaping. I find that most women appreciate a man who is willing to take the time to make himself presentable. Lord knows enough women put the extra effort forward, so why shouldn’t I?My ki
***Three Months LaterThe last few months have been a blur as Ava and I move forward with building a life together. I love waking up to her every day, afternoon sex is amazing, and holding her in my arms at night is the only way I can fall asleep. “Are you almost ready?” Ava yells from the kitchen.“Almost,” I answer, finishing up getting dressed.Zeus and Goldie run into the bedroom, excited about the day ahead. They will be getting dropped off at Doc’s place while we help Sophia and Ellie move. We also need to get all of Ava’s things out of her condo and into our house. “Come on, you two. Time to go see Grandpa Doc!” I holler as I walk down the hall. Ava started calling him that because he spoils the dogs like they were his own grandchildren. They have more toys and comfy beds at his place than ours. We pile into the SUV and take off, eager to get the day going. “Did you remember to grab the bottle of wine out of the fridge?” I ask Ava as we drive into the city.
*Seymore’s POV*Once I can no longer hear all the emergency vehicles, I pull back onto the road and head for the house. This isn’t over yet, but at least we are all together again. Marcus calls Doc and Ellie to let them know we have Ava and are going to my place. There’s no telling what Duncan will do once he finds out his head henchman is out of commission. “Lock yourselves in and don’t open the door for anyone,” Marcus instructs each of them before hanging up.“When we get to the house we need to do a sweep and then barricade the doors,” I explain while turning down my street.Talking makes my neck throb. I’m hoping Corbin didn’t do any permanent damage with the death grip he had on me. Looking in the rearview mirror, I can see redness along Marcus’ neck. As we get closer to the drive, the white car from the other day is parked in the street.“Marcus,” I growl, drawing his attention to the car.“Give me a break,” he huffs from the backseat.I pull up close to them a
*Ava’s POV*I came to, my face pressed into whatever it was that I landed on. Everything hurts. It feels like I was hit by a bus and not thrown down a flight of stairs. I listen for any sounds before I try to move or open my eyes. I want to make sure Corbin isn’t sitting next to me on the steps, waiting for me to show signs of life. Once I’m sure he’s still upstairs, I open my eyes and slowly push myself up. From the feel of it, I’m sitting on an old mattress. At least my landing had some cushion. I can’t imagine what damage could have been done if I landed on concrete. There’s no sunlight coming through any windows in the cellar. If this was an old hunting cabin, I would imagine this floor was used for cold storage. I can hear Corbin walking around overhead. He’s still in the building.A phone ringing upstairs draws my attention. I can hear Corbin’s deep voice until he takes the call outside, signaled by the door slamming behind him. I’d imagine the reception out here isn’t
Desmond should still be at the office. No need to call ahead this time, if he has a client I will throw them out the door to free up some time. What’s happened isn’t just my fault, and he has to take responsibility for what he’s done.I pull up in front of the office with Marcus right behind me. I jump out of the SUV and head for the steps.“Seymore, will you wait?” Marcus yells, getting out of his own car.“Where are we at with tracking down Corbin?” I ask, not interested in anything else right now.There will be no talking me out of anything. Until Ava is back in my arms, I will rain down punishment on anyone who’s harmed her. “Doc’s working on it. He says he has an idea, but that we should wait for him to call before blowing our cover,” Marcus huffs.“Ava’s gone, Marcus. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more cover,” I snap at him, opening the door to the office and rushing up the steps.I kick in Desmond’s office door, slightly disappointed at finding him alone. T
*Seymore’s POV*Ava hasn’t been gone for more than twenty minutes and I’m already losing my mind. I wish I hadn’t sent her away, it really did go against everything I was feeling. Her safety is my top priority, even if it means I’m going to suffer for it. At least Ava will have her friends to distract her, making the time we spend away from one another move quickly. I suppose I could go see Doc and Marcus. We could play some cards and just hang out. No matter what, I need to find something to keep my mind off of Ava. I pull out my cell and call Marcus.“What’s up, Seymore?” he asks right away.“I just sent Ava away. I guess Sophia talked with Corbin and he warned her to stay away from Ava. I figured she would be safer at Ellie’s than here, but I need to find something to do while she’s gone,” I explain in a drawn-out breath.“I understand, and it makes sense. I’m heading back to your place with the dogs. Doc finally got tired of me hovering over him and told me to go home
*Ava’s POV*I can’t believe it. The man I trust above all others has sent me away. Sure, there had been no point in arguing with him, but that doesn’t mean I want this. I’m so tired of everyone else telling me what to do with my life. I know what’s good for me, and what I feel should override anyone else's opinion. I sit in the back of Sophia’s car, sulking as she drives. She and Ellie are both trying to tell me how to feel, and I’m over it. I would rather be with Seymore, fighting by his side. This is ridiculous and an unnecessary step. “If Corbin was the one who killed Conner, we need to treat him like the threat he is,” Ellie is saying. “That’s true, Ava. Corbin doesn’t care what the order is, he will carry it out without prejudice. The fact he mentioned I should stay away from you specifically worries me,” Sophia adds. My heart had dropped when Seymore said I should stay away from him. That’s the last thing I had been expecting. I thought he would step up his efforts
The phone rings a few times before Kade answers. The states are six hours behind us, so midnight here is only six o’clock over there.“Seymore, nice to hear from you again. Raven and I were just talking about you,” Kade says after the initial hellos. “How have you been?”“Do you have time? I’ve got a lot going on,” I reply, heading out to Doc’s garden to speak to him in private. It takes me a good hour to fill him in on everything going on. Kade asks his questions as we talk, congratulating me on my relationship with Ava, and then lecturing me for not calling him sooner when it came to the Duncan problem. “You know I could have helped, he’s someone I do business with,” Kade had scorned.I love that he wants to help, but I’m used to taking care of my problems on my own. Suddenly having a large support group of friends is taking some adjusting on my part. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner, I was trying to deal with it on my end without bothering you,” I retort. “But I co
*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
*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