When he opened the door to Ava’s apartment, he knew instantly she wasn’t there. Everything was dark and quiet. He knew if Ava was there, her scent would still linger in the air as it did whenever she was near. He made a quick search of her home anyway but wasn’t surprised to find no one there and nothing disturbed. By the time he left, he had already called Gage, asking him to check in with their sources at the local hospitals and police department. From the sound of the female voice in the background, Gage had company, but he readily agreed to make some calls ASAP and get back to him.
Mac tried Brant a few more times, still getting only his voice mail. At that moment he’d wished he had Emma’s number, but there had never been a need to contact her directly before. He vowed to get the numbers of everyone that Ava knew tomorrow. Brant lived about ten minutes away, which gave him just enough time to call Gray on the outside chance that Ava had decided to do something crazy with Suzy again like night surf. He was both relieved and disappointed that Ava wasn’t there, nor had they spoken with her since earlier at Declan’s. However, Suzy did have Emma’s number and Mac wasted little time in calling her.
He’d breathed a sigh of relief when she answered after a couple of rings. “Emma, it’s Mac. Have you seen or talked to Ava since we left Declan’s earlier?”
“Hey, Mac, yeah, she’s here now.”
Fully expecting another no, he stuttered in surprise, “Wh-what? She is?”
“Yes, she’s talking to Brant in the other room. Do you need to speak to her?”
“Well, since I’ve been afraid she was abducted or dead in a ditch somewhere, I’d say yeah, I’d love to talk to her. No need to put her on the phone, though. I’ll be there in a few minutes, thanks.”
He could tell by the tone of Emma’s “Mmm-kay, see you soon” that she had noticed the anger in his voice. He had been so pissed off that she was so thoughtless in not letting him know where she was that he could hardly acknowledge the relief he felt in knowing that she was okay. Why in the world would she take off to see her brother at this time of night after just seeing him earlier? Emma had sounded fine, so obviously they hadn’t called her with an emergency. He’d never known the Stones to be the kind of close family who dropped in on each other on a whim.
When he stormed into the house and saw Ava looking unharmed next to Brant and Emma, he’d crossed the room to her on shaky legs, pulling her into his arms and taking a moment to absorb the feel of her soft body against his. He’d had the crazy urge to sob like a baby as he felt her heart race against his. She was okay; nothing had happened to her. He wasn’t too late to save her this time. When he pulled back, to tell her how worried he had been, and she made some flippant reply, he’d lost it. She had damn near scared him into an early grave, and it was all some kind of joke to her? Did she not realize how traumatized he was still after all these years? He had told her how badly it had messed him up to find her that way, but surely, if she had really been listening, she would have understood that something like tonight was a trigger that could break him.
He had been completely floored when she held up that envelope in his face. Then he’d been just plain sick when he realized what it was. How in the hell had she gotten her hands on the letter from that bastard? Suddenly, her late-night trip to see her brother had made more sense. Fuck! He had known that it would come back to haunt him from the moment Brant placed it in his hand. He had agonized over whether to show it to Ava for years. She had seemed to have moved on, and he hated to bring it all back to her. However, since they had gotten together the last few weeks, it had been on his mind constantly. He now knew that she had been far from okay and it pained him to wonder if maybe the letter would have helped her in some small way. He’d been meaning to discuss it with Declan, who also knew, and Brant, but now it was too late. She knew, and by the expression on her face, she wasn’t happy with any of them right now.
After fearing the worst earlier, he found it hard for him to let her out of his sight, but he could tell by the determined set of her small shoulders that she was digging in for a fight, and he refused to give it to her in front of Brant and Emma. So they said their good-byes and Mac clapped Brant on the back, reassuring him without words that he had himself in complete control where Ava was concerned.
When they arrived home, Ava waited for him at the door that led into the kitchen from the garage. He made quick work of the lock and followed her into his house. She stopped at the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water, lifting an eyebrow in question to him. He nodded and she passed him one before walking toward the living room and settling on one end of his sofa. He dropped heavily next to her but resisted the urge to pull her into his arms. He needed to see her face when they talked. He took a couple of sips of cold water, waiting for her to speak first. Truthfully, he was so happy that she was here, but beyond scared that she would leave him after this. Could she ever understand his reasoning and forgive him for keeping that damn letter from her?
She shifted in her seat, turning to face him. He felt an overwhelming urge to study his hands and avoid her stare but forced himself to make eye contact anyway. Her face was impassive, telling him nothing. Keeping him guessing, damn it. “Why didn’t you tell me, Mac?”
He could delay his answer by playing dumb as to what she meant, but the time for lies and half-truths between them was over. If they were to have a future together, it needed to start tonight. “When Brant brought that letter to me years ago, the first thing I felt when I read it was anger. I wanted to rip it to pieces and then set them on fire. It brought back all the feelings of rage, sorrow, and helplessness that I’d felt when I found you. Honestly, I don’t even know why I kept it. Just my anal need to always have some kind of paper trail. I tossed it into a file with your name on it and forgot it existed . . . until recently.”
Ava asked with obvious curiosity, “What made you think of it again?”
“Our talk the other night. When you asked me if I’d heard anything about him. Knowing now how scared you’ve been all these years, I wondered if maybe Brant and I had made a mistake in not giving the letter to you. We were both just mad as hell that he’d try to contact you. You’ve got to know, Avie, that the men in your life would do anything to keep you from ever being hurt again.”
Clasping his hand, she whispered, “I know that, Mac. And the rest of the file? Why did you keep all those reports from your men? I was surprised to find them.”