“He’s going to have to get used to you at some point if we’re going to work together.” Ava’s door slammed on the other end as he pulled into their driveway.
She waved as she strode to the house. He pulled in next to her car, killing his engine before he slid from inside and crossed to climb into her backseat. “Umm, hey, any chance we could–”
“Nope,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “I called shotgun at the DHS. We’re not switching.”
“Kind of weird that she’s my wife, and I’m in the backseat.”
Kyle twisted to face him. “You can’t call wife every time to get your way. This is a partner situation, not a spouse situation.”
“Wait, what?” Alex screwed up his face.
“We’re doing Raven things. Raven things are partnership things. We’re all equal in the partnership. If this was a date…you clearly have precedence.”
Alex shifted his seat. “Why would you be on a date with us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it would happen. Like a nice dinner out, and also you don’t want me to feel left out so you take me too.”
“No,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “Although nice dinner out is…a stretch. I mean, Ava and I are more into gaming nights.”
“Oh, well, there you go… gaming night, and I’m just…sitting there alone, so you give me a controller and let me play, too.”
Ava slid in behind the wheel, eyeing them. “Everything okay here?”
“Yeah. Kyle was just inviting himself to our next gaming session. Although, he’ll defer to me as the real spouse. But in this situation, we’re all equal.”
Ava narrowed her eyes as she nodded. “Right. That makes perfect sense. Okay. I assume I’m going to our special place?”
“Yep. I called ahead. We’ll take the chopper. I’m not wasting all afternoon driving to meet this guy’s demands.”
Ava headed for the airport and within twenty minutes, they were air bound, soaring toward the city. They landed on StoneCorp’s roof shortly after, choosing to walk to the meeting location.
“So, what happened at DHS?” Alex asked.
“They want me to tell them everything I know, including about Raven, in exchange for full immunity for the two of us.”
“Ahhh, not to be a nudge, here but…what about me?” Kyle asked.
“Oh, I don’t think you’re really in danger of being accused of anything,” Ava said, slicking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Really? I’ve done some crazy illegal stuff,” Kyle said. “Like…you know, breaking into that Board place.”
Ava slid an arm around his shoulders. “They’re not holding that against you, Doc. The only time you came up was…”
“Yeah? When?” His voice took on a nervous tone.
“When they asked about you checking me into a hotel room.”
“Ohhh, right. How did you explain that?”
Ava shrugged. “I may or may not have let them think we were having an affair.”
Kyle’s eyes went wide, his chest puffing. “Really? You did that for me. Wow, Ava. Thanks.”
“Wait, wait, wait, you told them you were having an affair with Doc?”
“Well, I wasn’t about to admit that I had a murder charge pending that we swept under the rug with Raven’s help.”
Kyle adjusted the lapels of his jacket. “They totally bought the affair thing because it’s so plausible.”
