Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Ava sat on Dr. Briggs’s couch, fillingher in on what had happened since her last visit.
Of course, she purposely omitted a few private details, but she did admit that the three of them had been intimate several times since, and Ava was now sleeping in Magnus’s bed every night. Unfortunately, Trey wasn’t staying the night every night, but he’d been there again last night since he had agreed to drive her to this appointment.
“And the nightmares? Are you still having them?”
Ava had to think about that for a second. She frowned as she met Dr. Briggs’s gaze. “Actually, no. Not…” She tried to recall the last one she had. “It’s been a few days.”
“That’s a good sign.”
A nod was all she could muster because she was still confused to realize she hadn’t had a nightmare. She’d gotten so used to them that after a while of trying not to go to sleep to avoid them, she’d given up and resigned herself to having to relive the hell of that night on repeat.
“What’s on your mind, Ava?”
“Why?” she asked. “Why am I not having them?”
“It could be that you’re in a good place right now, and your subconscious is settled. Or it could be that opening up to Magnus, letting him know what happened, has eased some of your stress. You’ve been dealing with this all by yourself for a very long time. Sometimes we need to get it out so we can process it.”
Ava smiled, letting that comfort her.
Unfortunately, her new lease on life didn’t last as long as she’d hoped it would. After her appointment with Dr. Briggs, Trey offered to take her to lunch. Since she couldn’t imagine refusing an opportunity to share a meal with him, she agreed.
Now, as they were seated at this cozy little diner in his hometown of Coyote Ridge, a place Trey was clearly comfortable, Ava had an eerie feeling that she couldn’t shrug off.
“What’s wrong?” Trey inquired, his eyebrows V’d as he studied her.
“Nothing. I mean, I don’t know.”
Trey was about to say something, but his attention was diverted to something or someone behind Ava.
“Hey,” Trey greeted.
Clearly a someone.
A moment later, a pretty brunette with board-straight hair and striking green eyes stepped into Ava’s view. She smiled widely as she put a protective hand on her protruding belly.
“It’s good to see you,” the woman said to Trey.
“Same,” he said, his eyes softening with … affection? “How’ve you been?”
“Really good. All moved into the house.” She patted her belly lightly. “Now, it’s just a matter of time.”
For a second, Trey seemed confused, but then he met Ava’s gaze.
“Oh, sorry,” he mumbled. “Ava, this is Jessica James. JJ, meet Ava.”
“Please, call me JJ. Everyone does.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ava said, although she still had no clue who the woman was to Trey. She’d heard the name JJ mentioned a few times, but she’d always figured it was a man’s name.
“It’s good to see you again, Ava,” JJ noted, her expression warm and friendly. “I work for Sniper 1 Security. More specifically, the Off the Books Task Force. We led the search for you when you were missing.”
“I’m sorry,” Ava said, trying to recall when they’d met. “I don’t remember meeting you.”
“You were in the hospital.” JJ glanced at Trey. “My fiancé and I stopped by to see how you were doin’.”
Well, that explained it. More than likely, Ava was doped up on pain meds. She didn’t remember much about the first couple of weeks she was there. All the tension eased out of her shoulders, and she managed a smile. This time, it was genuine. “From what Trey told me, you were instrumental in locating me.”
