Alex screwed up his face. “What? I didn’t kill him. We were meeting at the old resort when DHS came after him.”
“What?” Ava cried, her voice filled with worry. “Oh, no. We have to get him out of this.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. Someone bonded with Raven while they were temporarily dead.”
She clicked her tongue. “I did not. It’s just…I know who he is, and it kind of makes sense.”
Alex’s eyes widened and his jaw flopped open. “You know who he is? Because he was still doing the creepy mask thing with me.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good thing, though. And yes, when he brought me here, I tore the mask off. So, I now know his identity.”
“Who is it?”
Ava tugged a corner of her lips back as she lifted a shoulder. “Why don’t you come in and sit down?”
“Oh, no. How bad is this?”
“I mean, it’s not terrible. But I feel like you’re going to pass out, so I really want to avoid dragging you into the cabin.”
He pressed a hand against his forehead as he shook his head. “Ava, you’re not making this any better.”
She took his hand and pulled him toward the building. “Think of it this way…Raven is the reason I’m alive so…we should credit him for that alone, right?”
Alex slid his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he kissed the top of her head. “Yes. Ava…when I thought you were gone…”
She wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed. “I’m not gone, Ace. I would never leave you.”
She led him into the dimly lit cabin and eased him into a seat.
“Okay, I’m sitting. Who is it?” Alex asked.
Ava perched on the corner of the coffee table, her lips tugged into a frown. “Raven is…”
“Wait, wait,” Alex said. “I’m not ready. I need a second.”
He sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes before he slowly blew it out and opened them. “Okay, now…is this like a ‘Wow, that’s a surprise’ sort of thing or is this more like the plot twist we never saw coming?”
“Ummm, plot twist we never saw coming but we probably should have because in retrospect it makessomuch sense.”
Alex dug his fingers into the arms of the chair, bracing himself. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“It’s Sebastian,” she said.
Alex’s jaw dropped open, and he rapidly blinked his eyes before he leapt from his seat, pacing the floor as he ran his fingers through his hair. “What? No. No, no, no, no, no. No. It’s not…nope. Try again, Ava.”
“I’m sorry,” she said as she glanced up at him.
“Sorry? You’re sorry? Beefcake Billionaire is Raven?” He rubbed his forehead. “Wow, so he’s been after you on two levels.”
“I told you it made sense.”
“Wait, he kidnappedandhelped you unkidnap me.”
“He said he practically drew me a map as Sebastian, and you know, I never did understand why he didn’t drug me before we went to the facility. Turns out, he really wanted me to find you.”
“Why didn’t he just not kidnap me in the first place.”
“Apparently, Miranda did that without his approval.”
