“Ouch,” Sebastian said. “That hurt.”
“Well, you can’t. Look at you.” She motioned at his stomach before she shook her head. “I’ll take the car and talk to him.”
Sebastian lunged toward her as she stepped from the window, wincing as he grabbed her elbow. “Whoa, whoa. You can’t just go talk to him, Ava. This is dangerous.”
“And you can’t go anywhere.”
“I can,” he answered. “I’ll be fine. You’re not going alone.”
“I can take care of myself,” she shot back.
“Not happening. The Board may already have someone in place to take care of this. Ava, you’re not going alone.”
“Can you find anything out? Use your connections? Chris is directly under your purview, right?”
Sebastian sucked in a breath. “I’ll try. Don’t leave until I’ve talked to someone to see what’s going on.”
“Don’t leave? I need time to drive. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to miss my own funeral.”
“Fine, but answer your phone,” he said.
She nodded and hurried to the front door, grabbing the keys to the car from the dish on the entryway table. As she hovered in the doorway, she turned back, shaking her head and strode back to Sebastian. “Let’s go. I may need a second sight of eyes.”
He glanced up from his phone with a nod. “I’ll call Miranda in the car.”
“Don’t think this means I like you,” she said as they ducked out the door and climbed into the car.
“Heavens no,” he answered as he settled into the passenger seat and pressed his phone to his ear as she fired the engine.
She aimed the car for the Hamptons. “I’m going to Chris’s hotel.”
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak when a voice sounded on the other end of the line. “Miranda. It’s Sebastian. What the hell is going on?”
“Speakerphone,” Ava whispered as he waved her off.
She grabbed at his arm and tugged it until he relented and put the call on speakerphone.
“…what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about? I go out of town for a few days only to find all hell is breaking loose.” Sebastian’s sharp tone made the remark sound even more biting.
“Everything is under control. Better than under control. Ava’s gone, in case you haven’t noticed, and now Alex Stone will be ripe for the picking.”
“If you think he’s going to join our ranks after we took out his wife, you’re stupider than I expected, Miranda.”
“I think he’s got nothing left to live for, so once we have him back in our grasp, he’ll do anything we’d like.”
Sebastian shot Ava a glance as he heaved a sigh. “I think you’re seriously underestimating Alex Stone. But that’s a different matter entirely. Tell me what is going on with Chris Maxwell.”
“Chris? He’s proving to be more loyal and useful than we could have imagined. I told you the tip on Ava’s talking with the DHS came straight from him. He’s the reason we could take her out.”
Ava tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her nostrils flaring. The fact that Chris had tattled on her after she’d tried to protect him from The Board’s wrath infuriated her. He’d almost gotten her killed—why should she care what happened to him now? But beneath her anger, a gnawing guilt twisted in her gut. If Chris died because of her, would she ever forgive herself? She didn’t owe him anything, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to do something, no matter how much she resented him for betraying her.
Why was she bothering to drive two hours to make sure nothing happened to him when he’d nearly gotten her killed?
If Sebastian hadn’t intercepted their plans, she’d be blown to bits by now.
“Yeah, well, your loyal foot soldier may not be so loyal after all.”
