“Hey, I’m serious!” Sierra yelled again, her voice ringing with panic.
“I’ll go,” Julia offered as Grant finished pouring the champagne. She hurried from the room. Unidentifiable voices murmured before Julia’s voice rose. “Oh my goodness. Oh no!”
Grant’s features turned concerned as he set down the bottle. “What is going on?”
Alex followed behind him as they left the celebratory drinks behind and headed for the living room.
Both Julia and Sierra stared up at the television, their features aghast. Julia tore her eyes from the report, sliding them to Alex as they turned glassy. “Oh, Alex.”
“What?” he asked. He flicked his gaze sideways, noting a news report scrolling on the screen but he didn’t pay any attention to it before he returned his gaze to the two women.
Julia’s lower lip trembled as she tried to speak, but no words came.
“Oh no,” Kyle said, collapsing onto the couch as he stared at the screen.
Alex shook his head, unable to understand what was happening. He finally glanced to the screen as Sierra thrust the remote forward and turned up the volume.
“Once again, breaking news tonight as a private plane leaving the Hamptons has exploded upon take off. We’re being told that this was a DHS flight carrying several people including tech billionaire owner of StoneCorp’s wife, Ava Collins. There are no survivors from this mid-air explosion. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this–”
Alex didn’t hear anything else. The words hit him like a physical blow. His eyes widened as his heart hammered, his knees wobbling.
A picture of Ava appeared on the screen as the newscaster continued to deliver the grim news, her features taut.
“Ava?” Alex said as he took a stumbling step closer to the screen. “No.”
Words announcing the explosion scrolled across the bottom of the screen, and he read them over and over again.
The plane carrying Ava had exploded. There were no survivors. Ava was gone. Ava... was gone.
CHAPTER 10
AVA
Ava stared at the note for another second, the soft scent of the rose drifting to her nostrils and making her heart pound harder against her ribs.
She twisted, her breathing ragged as two other people passed her, neither of whom she recognized. Were there others testifying against The Board?
They settled into their seats as Ava read the note again, her breath catching in her throat. How did Raven know she was testifying for the DHS?
How had he gotten the note onto the plane?
And, most importantly, was this a ploy to stop her from turning him in to the government, or was the threat real?
“Think, Ava,” she whispered as she reached for her phone, intent on calling Alex to discuss it, when Agent Sanderson stepped aboard.
“Better find your seat, Ms. Collins, we’re leaving in a few minutes.”
Ava plastered a smile onto her face as she lowered herself into the supple leather of the window seat.
Her heart continued to hammer as she glanced out the window. Behind her, Agent Sanderson crouched to whisper something to one of the others who had boarded.
Ava’s brows furrowed. She glanced down at the rose, sucking in a sharp breath as a thorn pierced her flesh.
A droplet of blood formed on her fingertip.
She stared at it as though it held the answers to everything. With a sudden jolt, she rose from her seat and raced through the still open door of the jet.
Her feet hit the polished cement floor as the drop of blood on her finger fell, splattering across the gray surface.
