Trey looked over. “No, but I’ll be back.”
Magnus frowned. “Where are you goin’?”
Trey squeezed his hand. “I thought I’d head back to your place, check on Gia, see if she needs help. That way you can stay here and not worry about anything but Ava.”
“Trey, you don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to. I’ll be back, I promise.”
Magnus glanced at the hospital doors. He knew Ava wasn’t just coming in for a checkup. She would be here for a while. According to the EMTs, her injuries weren’t necessarily life-threatening—likely thanks to Gloria’s help—but it would take some time for Ava to recover.
“I’ll come with—”
Trey shut him up by leaning over and kissing him square on the mouth. “You’ll stay here. I’ll be back.” Trey pulled back. “Call me if you need me.”
Magnus figured it wouldn’t do well to tell him he needed him now, so he kept that to himself, forced himself out of the truck. He took a deep breath and headed inside to see what, if anything, he could find out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“THANKGOD YOU FOUND HER ALIVE.”
Reese smiled up at the fourth person in as many minutes to stop by their table to offer their congratulations on a job well done. Like Brantley, who was sitting across from him attempting to enjoy his dinner, Reese wasn’t sure what to say to something like that. He was merely grateful that Ava March was safe and secure for the time being. It only pissed him off that Senator Harrison Rivers was still walking free. At the very least, he should’ve been dragged down in cuffs the way Magnus had been.
When they were left alone again, Reese picked up his fork, dug back into the chef salad he’d ordered while Brantley was two-fisting a double bacon cheeseburger with a smile.
“You think we should swing by the hospital? See how she’s doin’?” Brantley asked, wiping his mouth and reaching for his sweet tea.
“I thought about it, but I think we should give her some time. Charlie said she’s not goin’ anywhere soon.”
According to the update Charlie provided after the doctors had had time to assess Ava’s condition, she wouldn’t be going home for at minimum a week—wherever home might be. They’d already set her fractured wrist, stabilized her fractured collarbone, and she was scheduled for surgery in the morning to repair her broken ankle. Even as he thought about it, Reese’s ankle throbbed at the thought of Ava walking as far as she had on a fractured leg. He imagined it would’ve been excruciating.
On a positive note, her other injuries were minor, and thanks to Gloria’s medical training, Ava was going to be just fine. Physically, at least. It would just take time and rest for her body to heal from the rest of the damage that bastard had inflicted.
“I called RT, asked him to send me a couple of female agents who can remain on Ava’s door until Rivers is arrested,” Brantley said. “They’ll be here tomorrow.”
“If we’re lucky, they’ll arrest his ass soon,” Reese grumbled, hating that the man still walked free. Hating even more that Ava’s mother was still at the senator’s house. They had intended to escort her off the property personally, but RT had intervened, instructing them to stay away from the senator. Evidently, there were some hotheads who weren’t keen on the fact Sniper 1 Security had been involved in this high-profile case.
Thankfully, RT had followed that demand with a promise that they’d already submitted paperwork to the courts to have her moved to a mental health facility for the time being. Seeing as the senator was now under investigation for attempted murder, it was just a matter of time.
“Not soon enough,” Brantley said as he sipped his tea. “I told the team to take tomorrow off.”
“It’s been a rough week,” Reese noted. He still couldn’t believe he’d already been back a week as of tomorrow. It felt like hours since he’d walked into Brantley’s house, prepared to pack up his things if Brantley had enforced it.
As though agreeing, Tesha stretched her long body beneath the table where she’d been since they came in an hour ago. Reese had convinced Brantley to keep her with them since she’d worked so hard this week. Although Brantley assured him she enjoyed her time alone at the house, Reese preferred her company, and he suspected Brantley knew that.
A shadow fell over the table as another person stepped up.
Reese turned his attention to the newcomer, saw Travis standing there, his dark gaze skimming over them.
“I hear you found the girl.”
Brantley leaned back, put his arm out along the back of the booth, and regarded his cousin. “She’s in the hospital, but they say she’ll make a full recovery.”
“Good to hear. If she needs anything … or if Magnus needs anything…”
“There’s a lot of that goin’ around,” Brantley told him. “I’ll pass it along.”
Travis nodded, looked between them once more. “You two figure your shit out yet?”
