“He did,” Kyle confirmed, “but let me let it sink in again because I didn’t believe him when he first said because I thought he was crazy.”
“Yeah, Raven is Sebastian. New code name is Shadow. But we have a tiny problem.”
“There are no problems, Ava. You’re alive.” Kyle clapped Alex on the shoulder with a glassy-eyed grin.
“There is a slight one. Sebastian’s in some sort of trouble. And we need to find him. Fast.”
Alex’s stomach twisted into a knot. The euphoria of Ava’s return was somewhat dampened by this wrinkle. But Ava was right. They needed to find Sebastian quickly…before someone else did.
CHAPTER 18
AVA
Ava set the burner phone down on the table next to her after ending the call with Alex and Kyle. With any luck, they’d soon find some trace of Sebastian. Without his ties to The Board, they would be hard pressed to make any progress against them.
They’d already tried it and ended up chasing their tails.
After The Board’s latest move, they needed to bring this to a quick close. She wasn’t about to end up almost-dead again.
Ava grabbed the laptop again, navigating to a news website, browsing through articles on the recent DHS activity with the new suspect.
“Where are you, Shadow?” she murmured as she watched raw helicopter footage of the Beach Comber resort where the “suspect” had been spotted.
She froze the video in a few spots, searching for anywhere he could be hiding, but she didn’t find anything.
With a heavy sigh, she slammed the lid shut and grabbed the phone again, sending Alex a text.Anything yet?
The screen dimmed as she waited for the response, her fingers drumming against the side of the device until it chimed.Babe, we’re not even home yet.
She huffed out a sigh.Doc drives slower than you, I swear.
A second later, the phone rang again. The sound of Alex’s laughter filled the quiet cabin. “Doc says he so does not drive as slow as me.”
“That’s a lie, Ava. You take it back,” Kyle said.
She chuckled. “It feels like it’s been forever. But I’m stuck here in some kind of weird time warp. I swear that clock hasn’t moved.”
“We’re approaching the old homestead now,” Alex reported. “Hey, take a spin past the old resort. See if Shadow’s car is there.”
“Shadow?” Kyle repeated. “Oh no.”
Ava’s stomach dropped at his words. “What? What is it?”
“He got a nickname? Only the cool people get a nickname, and now I feel like I’ve been demoted.”
“Aww, Doc, you’re still our best friend. Shadow’s definitely second to you,” Ava told him.
“She’s right, Doc,” Alex confirmed. “If Ava needs a replacement husband, I’d pick you over him any day.”
“Aw, thanks, Mav. I appreciate that.”
“Will you two stop hating on Shadow and find him, please?” Ava asked.
“Sorry, we’re just really excited,” Kyle answered. “Or I am. I assume Mav is over the moon that you’re alive. I mean, seriously, Ava, we dodged a major bullet. You were gone…in a really irreparable way.”
“But I’m not,” she answered. “So, with that known, we need to find Shadow and kick some Board butt.”
“Approaching the Beach Comber now,” Alex reported before he cursed under his breath.
