As they found themselves alone, Ava let her head fall onto Alex’s shoulder. “It’s really good to see those blue eyes of yours again, Ace.”
“I feel the same way about your green ones, Sparky. When I woke up and you weren’t here…”
“When I got here, and you were in a coma…I mean, I knew you were in a coma from the time we were in South America, but…seeing you that sick was so much worse than I ever imagined.”
He twisted toward her, pressing his lips against her forehead. “Knowing you were sick and trudging through the jungle almost killed me.”
She threaded her fingers through his. “I did it because I had to save you, Alex. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
He pressed his cheek against her head. “I wish I could have been there with you. That must have been so awful, Avs. And please tell me you got checked out thoroughly after that plane crash.”
“I’m fine, Alex,” she assured him.
He pulled back, craning his neck to glance down at her. “Okay, that didn’t answer my question at all. In fact, that sidestepped my question which tells me you didn’t, in fact, get checked out after the plane crash.”
“I did. I’m fine,” she said. “Not even a sprain. Both Doc and I are fine.”
“While I am somewhat concerned about Doc, he wasn’t at the forefront of my thoughts in this instance.”
“Well, he should be. He did a great job getting this cure mass produced along with some of Sebastian’s contacts.” Ava shifted, pressing against his chest.
“Well, I’m super happy for Doc, but I’m ecstatic that you are okay. When that plane went down…Ava, my heart just…plummeted right with it. I can’t lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either, Alex, and that’s exactly how I felt when you came down with this flu. I just…watched you sleep while we were at the motel and counted every breath.”
“I’m not leaving you, babe. You can’t get rid of me,” he promised.
“Yeah, well, The Board kind of wants to rip us apart,” she answered, offering him a knowing glance.
“But we won’t let them.” He curled his fingers into fists as he pulled her closer. They had to do something to stop The Board.
The pressure mounting from the constant threats couldn’t continue. And he wouldn’t let them take Ava away from him.
He loved her too much to allow anything to rip her from his arms.
His mind searched for options, but the flu felt like it had set them back tremendously. They’d been sidetracked by another Board-created crisis and unable to go after the people they should be going after to dismantle this organization.
He tried to take solace in the fact that he and Ava had weathered another storm together, but his growing unease gnawed at him.
As he started to settle a little, Kyle strode back into the room, four cups juggled in his arms. “Who’s up for jello?”
“Me,” Ava said with a grin as she sat up and reached for a red cup.
“What happened to Shadow?” Kyle asked, passing a blue cup to Alex along with a plastic spoon.
“Phone calls,” she answered as she lifted her cup toward Alex. “To surviving another Board crisis.”
Alex smacked his plastic cup against hers. “And to findingsomething to take these people down now that we’ve successfully defeated the flu.”
“That’s a great plan,” Sebastian said, striding back into the room, his expression grim as he shoved his phone into his pocket. “But unfortunately, we’re not in the clear yet. There’s a little something else that’s come up that needs our immediate attention before we can think about taking down The Board.”
Alex's heart sank, a knot of fear forming in his chest. He had barely survived the flu, and now there was something else? He exchanged a glance with Ava, her eyes narrowing as she read the look on Sebastian's face.
CHAPTER 20
AVA
Ava’s eyelashes fluttered open, her head thudding dully at the temples. With a groan, she squeezed her eyes closed again. Her muscles felt like she’d climbed two mountains in rapid succession.
