Ava sucked in a heavy breath and turned her gaze away. “How did she get the gun?”
“They don’t know. It was a revolver. They found three bullets in her bedroom, and there was one left in the gun.”
Which meant she had intended to do what she did—one bullet in Harrison, one in herself. If Ava knew her mother, she’d kept the other three hidden away so that if Harrison found the gun, she could steal it back and be able to do what she’d intended to do all along. Only Ava knew that killing Harrison hadn’t been part of Renee’s plan. She’d only intended to end her own suffering.
A sob escaped. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
“Ava … we’ll get through this together. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
She knew he meant that. Magnus didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. Certainly not to her.
Ava managed a nod, more tears falling.
“God, baby, I’m so sorry.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t bother to tell him they weren’t so much tears of sadness or loss. They were from relief.
For the first time since she’d met Harrison Rivers seven long, painful years ago, Ava felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
No more abuse.
No more lying to people about the bruises and scars she carried.
No more having to lie next to the devil every night.
And her mother, despite all the pain and misery they’d suffered together because of her illness, had given that to her. She’d ultimately saved her.
Accepting that, Ava let the tears fall.
Chapter One
Three months later…
Friday, July 8, 2022
“See you in the mornin’, Gia,” Treycalled out as he headed toward the main office in the Camp K-9 building. The trek didn’t feel that long despite the size of the entire campus. The large metal buildings had been pieced together over time, growing as their clientele had.
“It’s your turn to bring breakfast,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“Round Rock Donuts?” he offered, knowing it would make her happy.
“I’ll love you forever, Trey Walker.”
At least someone will, he thought to himself, hating the morose turn his subconscious had taken these past four months. At the same time, he didn’t know how to change it. These days, he was going through the motions, grateful that Ava was back on her feet and things were getting back to normal. Didn’t matter that normal had taken on an entirely different meaning than before.
In an effort to help things along, Trey had been filling in at Camp K-9, helping out while Magnus dedicated his waking hours to taking care of Ava. During that time, Trey had come to enjoy what he was doing. Working with dogs, learning the ins and outs of the kennel, as well as observing the training sessions that took place gave him a sense of peace he wasn’t sure he’d ever known before. It was a far cry from the stress of working against the clock in search of missing people, which he’d done as a member of the Off the Books Task Force for the year prior to Ava’s disappearance. While it had pained him to do so, he’d made the difficult decision to quit the task force, and he felt significantly better for it despite having left his brother and the team in the lurch. While he suffered some guilt, Trey figured if he hadn’t quit when he had, his mental state would’ve been significantly worse than it was now.
And wouldn’t that just be fucking sad?
Trey ignored the inner voice that had been speaking up far too often these days.
While he enjoyed his temporary work, Trey knew he would have to move on sooner or later. He couldn’t continue to ride the coattails of Magnus’s new life simply because he didn’t want to walk away. His relationship with Magnus, which had been new and exciting, had turned into something else entirely. They’d reverted to the way it had started when sex was merely a means to an end, a distraction, if you will. Trey wanted more, and at one point, they’d been on the cusp of a breakthrough.
Right up until Ava’s disappearance.
Since then, Trey and Magnus had both retreated emotionally, giving each other space until the rift had formed on its own. Trey still wanted more, but he damn sure didn’t intend to ask for it, and since Magnus wasn’t broaching the subject, he figured the only option he had was to take a permanent step back. Hence the reason he’d been putting more distance between them in recent weeks. The expiration date was nearing, and as soon as he could get up the nerve to walk away permanently, his time with Magnus would be nothing more than a fond memory.
Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Trey shot a quick text to Magnus, letting him know he was leaving for the day and that he’d be back first thing in the morning. It was a chickenshit thing to do, but saving face wasn’t high on his priority list these days.
