“Oh, good. Glad to know the armed takeover of yourparty wasn’t just a setup.” Ava huffed out a breath as she shook her head.
“Come on, Ava, can you cut me a break at all?”
She tapped her puckered lips as she pretended to consider it. “Hmmm, nope, don’t think so. You could have played this a thousand different ways, but the one you chose was really awful. And this latest little scenario…not cool.”
“I’m sorry, but that one you can’t hang around my neck.”
“No? That’s weird because it feels like it’s your fault. I could just go home, but you’re basically not letting me.”
“Ava Collins needs to be dead while we clean up a few lower echelons so we can dismantle The Board from the top down.”
“Like who? Miranda?” she asked.
“Miranda Vale is dangerous, but she’s not the one responsible for the bomb on that plane. She’s not the one who made it possible for The Board to kill you.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Who?”
His jaw flexed as he huffed out a sigh. “You can thank Chris Maxwell for that.”
Her stomach twisted into a tight knot at the words, and she tilted her head. “No. No, that can’ be.”
“Can’t it?” he shot back. “It was Chris who went to Miranda. Miranda who went over my head after the incident at The Fortress. You’re lucky I got wind of it, or you wouldn’t be here.”
Her heart hammered faster against her ribs as she bit into her lower lip. “Chris told them?”
“Yes. And can we talk about this, by the way. What the hell were you doing with DHS?”
“Trying to save myself and my husband in any way I could. Come on, Sebastian. The Board is after us, ‘Raven’ wasn’t much help–”
“Wasn’t much help? I literally went to the mat for you torescue Alex. I not only acted suspiciously as Sebastian, but I shot Miranda.”
“And enjoyed it,” she retorted. “I don’t blame you. She’s the world’s biggest pain. But that’s beside the point. Alex had just been kidnapped. He could have been killed. DHS offered us immunity.”
“In exchange for what?”
“All the details we had, including on you.”
Sebastian’s face went ashen as he stared at her. “What did you tell them?”
She sucked in a deep breath. “Nothing about you…yet. I played everything off not knowing anything, let them believe I was having an affair with Doc–”
“He’s another one we need to discuss.”
“Oh? You jealous over Doc now?”
“He’s a wild card we can’t afford,” Sebastian answered.
“Doc’s a good kid with some unconventional ideas. We need his help. And we need Alex’s. Which is why this plan won’t work.”
“You need to stay dead until we get Chris to leave The Board.”
Ava’s features twisted with annoyance. “Come on…is he that important?”
“He’s dangerous. It’s personal for him. We need Chris Maxwell dealt with, and then we’ll tackle the big players.”
“Alex needs to know I’m alive.”
Sebastian shook his head. “No way. He’ll blow it.”
