He nodded again before he left the cabin, leaving her behind in the quiet space. She stared at the picture again of Sebastian and his mother. With a heavy sigh, she second-guessed her decision. Could she trust Sebastian, or was she stepping into another trap?
If she couldn’t trust him, this might be the most catastrophic mistake she’d ever made. After all, she’d trusted Chris and had almost ended up dead because of it.
CHAPTER 13
ALEX
Dark clouds gathered on the horizon as a storm moved up the coast. An icy breeze rushed past Alex, ruffling the umbrella that hovered over his head.
Alex let the screen on his laptop die as he stared at the black puffballs marching their way ever closer. Lightning brightened them for a moment, staying within the clouds before a rumble of thunder joined the crashing of the waves from the stormy sea, creating a cacophony of noise.
He slammed the lid of his laptop closed, the abrupt sound jarring him from his thoughts. He glanced over at Ava, who seemed oblivious to the growing storm.
The wind whipped around them, and he raised his voice, trying to reach her over the chaos. “Avs, we probably should head in. It’s getting a little wild out here.”
He slid his feet into the sandals next to his chaise and rose, grabbing his cell phone and shoving it into his pocket.
“Ava?” he called to her again.
She never budged, and he wondered if she had ear buds in and couldn’t hear him.
She had to have felt the cold wind blast them seconds ago, though.
With a shake of his head, he crossed to her. “Ava, come on.”
How was she this oblivious? Ava usually paid closer attention to the things going on around her.
His stomach twisted into a tight knot. Something was off here. But he couldn’t put his finger on what.
As he reached for his wife, his hands started to shake. He tried to steady them, but nothing would stop the tremble.
“Ava?”
His fingers connected with her shoulder, and he carefully twisted her toward him. But as he did, her skin cracked.
His laptop clattered to the ground with a sickening smack as the split in her arm extended up into her neck, then down to her fingers. In seconds, she cracked to pieces, reduced to a pile of rubble.
Alex stared, wide-eyed, as what remained of Ava as thunder rumbled again. Another burst of wind swept past, carrying the pieces of her off the chaise and down the beach.
“No!” He shouted as he tried to run after them.
He needed to collect them all. He could put her back together. He just needed the pieces. But they were quickly getting away from him.
His feet pounded the sand as he raced headlong, his fingers outstretched to try to catch even one piece of Ava, but he couldn’t reach any of them.
He stumbled, tripping over something in the sand before he went sprawling face down into it.
He glanced up, watching helplessly as the pieces disappeared, too far for him to ever find them.
“No! Ava, no!” he screamed into the whipping wind.
“No, Ava, no,” Alex murmured, thrashing around in his bedsheets until he opened my eyes.
His heart thudded against his ribs, and his mind failed to fire on all cylinders as he glanced around my bedroom. He was safe inside the house, not out in a storm.
And Ava was…
He glanced sideways, finding her side of the bed empty. Ava was…
