“Ava!” It was Braylon.
She threw her weight against the door and stumbled into the bright sunlight.
“Ava!”
“Don’t try to stop me!”
“I already have.”
She spun around and stared at her boyfriend. “What?”
“Earlier, I saw your phone had an alert. A message from Mason. I put two and two together. You’re planning to meet him, aren’t you?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You don’t know what’s at stake! I have to go!”
Braylon shook his head. “Don’t make matters worse than they already are. Let’s get to detention before you end up with more.”
She stepped away from him. “I don’t have a choice.”
“He’s not at the coffee shop.”
Blood drained from her face. “Hanna!”
“He’s not there, either. Come on.”
“What’s going on?” Ava demanded.
“I’ll tell you on the way.” He glanced at the time. “If we hurry, you won’t be late.”
“Where is he if he’s not at the coffee shop?”
“Come on.”
“Tell me!” Acid churned in her gut. “I have to protect my sister!”
He took a deep breath. “Jail.”
She gave him a double-take. “What?”
“Come on.” He laced his fingers through hers and led her down the hallway.
“What do you mean, he’s in jail? How do you know?”
“Because I told your dad, Ava.”
She skidded to a stop and stared at him in disbelief. “You what?”
“What else was I supposed to do? You were supposed to stop texting him, but you didn’t. He’s dangerous.”
Her mind raced too fast to form words. All she knew was that her dad was going to be furious. Maybe she’d be the one going to military school instead of Parker.
Braylon nodded. “Come on. You need to get to detention before—”
“Before I’m late. I know.” She stormed ahead of him. How could Braylon turn on her like that? He hadn’t even asked her about the text. Just assumed he knew what was going on. Then he went to her dad? Unbelievable!
“Ava!”
“Go away.”
“You don’t have to face him. He’s not going to hurt your sister. I did the right thing, and you know it.”
She stopped and turned around.
He crashed into her.
“You did not do the right thing! Do you hear me? You went behind my back!”
“Like you didn’t go behind my back?”
“I wasn’t hiding anything that had anything to do with you!” She clenched her fists.
“Putting yourself in harm’s way doesn’t affect me? Are you serious?”
“Yes!”
He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. His mouth formed a straight line and his nostrils flared. “Guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Braylon looked at the time. “You have one minute to get there, and it’s across the building.”
“I kind of don’t care.”
“Why are you so determined to make everything worse for yourself?”
Heart pounding, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you know what’s the worst part about all of this?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “What?”
“I thought I could trust you.” She spun around and marched toward the detention room.
By the time she got there, she was four minutes late.
The teacher glanced up at her. “Name?”
“Ava Fleshman.”
He scanned a paper on a clipboard. “You’re not on the list. Sure you have detention today?”
She gave him a double-take, trying to figure out what happened. Mr. Archer had definitely given her detention.
“I guess not.” Ava spun around and trudged away.
Braylon stood behind her, his arms crossed. “Now we can talk.”
“Not a chance.” She raced away so she could get to the elementary school and make sure her sister was safe.
Guilt
Alex flung the covers off and sat up. He’d been tossing and turning, unable to get any decent sleep. He kept dreaming about the accident. The deceased driver.
It could’ve so easily been him years earlier. He’d raced that road countless times. Granted, he’d never once tried to maneuver that curve at high speeds. But that didn’t change the fact that he’d still stupidly put his life on the line. Not only his life, but others. More often than not, he’d had someone with him.
Why was he lucky enough to survive? Because he was just a little less stupid than the two drivers the night before? Was that the only thing standing between leaving Ariana fatherless and not?
He lay back down and closed his eyes. It was pointless. His mind wouldn’t stop racing.
Maybe reading would help. He grabbed his phone and checked social media.
Everyone was talking about the mommy blogger’s newest post. His thumb hovered over the link. If he started reading that, he would get himself worked up. He would be certain to lose more sleep. But he needed to know what she posted now.
Had she finally spoken the truth about Connor? Admitted there was no custody battle?
It was doubtful. His money was on her posting business as usual. Probably something about the kids, with no mention of her missing son again.
Alex pressed the link and scrolled through the post. It took a minute to load because of all the pictures. They were of the kids at an arcade, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.
Each of the children’s appearance had been altered dramatically. The oldest had darker hair. The middle one had much shorter hair—so short it almost looked like a boy’s cut. And the toddler’s curls had been trimmed.
Did she really think that would be enough to keep her from being found? Now that she’d posted those photos, everyone knew what the kids’ new look was. She still didn’t post any with her in them. Not even a belly shot this time.
The thought of her reproducing again sent a shiver through him.
He wanted to punch the screen. Where was Connor? When would the truth finally come out? Somebody had to know something. Or could at least figure it out based on her posts. The truth had to be in there, maybe buried, definitely hidden, but in there. Alex was familiar enough with human psychology to know people never fully hid the truth.
There were ways to figure out what was going on, especially with all the technology available. It used to be easy enough to get away with murder—nobody saw them do it? Great. There was no evidence. But now cold cases were being solved every day thanks to the constantly-improving technologies taking trace evidence and pointing to the killers.
It was a great time to be an officer. Even so, there were frustrating cases like this. The mommy blogger was all over the web, but still nobody had a clue where she actually was. What happened to the little boy?
Maybe it was time for yet another email. Alex could take a different approach. Appeal to her common sense. Tell her that if she would simply provide some proof that the boy was actually with his father, people would leave her alone. They’d be satisfied.
Obviously, Alex didn’t believe that was possible, but on the slim chance that she was telling the truth, she could stop wasting everyone’s time. If not, hopefully that kind of a letter—one that sounded like he wanted to help, like he might believe her—would encourage her to come out with the truth.
Clearly, one email wouldn’t push her to confess to everything, but with any luck, it would be a start. Get her moving in that direction.
Either that, or it would send her further from the truth. Make her more defensive. She’d already changed the kids’ appearances. Told stories with no credibility whatsoever. Blocked more people.
&nbs
p; Alex had plenty of email addresses. He’d collected them over the years in various stages of life. He was pretty sure he could still get into his first one. One he’d made when he was learning to type and only emailed his grandparents.
The mommy blogger could keep blocking him, but he would just write from different addresses. Easy. He’d wear her down. Ask questions to draw out answers she didn’t intend to reveal.
He went over to his email and used voice dictation to quickly get the message written. It took some editing to get it right because some things always got messed up. He was tempted to leave the mention of her being a mommy hogger, but he fixed it.
Once he was sure it was as close to perfect as he could get it, he pressed send.
Then his exhaustion hit. He’d spent most of his allotted sleep time tossing and turning. Now with—he checked the time—two hours left, his eyelids were growing heavy. He would either be next to useless on the job or he would have to sleep later and skip family time. Neither option was one he wanted, but he had spent some time with Zoey and the twins before going to bed.
He changed the time on his alarm and closed his eyes, sleep overtaking him. With any luck, he’d have a reply to his email when he woke.
Stress
Nick tapped his steering wheel as he looked at the house. Ava and Parker were supposed to be inside, but given all the trouble they’d been throwing his way, it was anyone’s guess where they actually were. Maybe he needed to have them go to his parents’ house after school like Hanna.
“Are we going in?” Hanna asked from the backseat.
He took a deep breath. “Yeah. Sorry, kiddo. Just thinking.”
“About the wedding?”
If only life were that simple. “Are you excited for it?”
“I can’t wait! Genevieve said I can pick out the fanciest dress I want.”
Nick smiled and patted her hand. “And I’m sure you’ll look like a princess.”
“Dad, I’m too old for princesses.”
“You are?”
“I’m nine.”
“Genevieve still likes princesses. She said she dressed as one for Halloween a few years ago.”
Hanna tilted her head and gave him a quizzical expression. “Really?”
“That’s what she told me.”
“Hmm. Maybe I wouldn’t mind looking like a princess.”
Nick smiled. At least one of his kids still enjoyed the simple things in life. “Good. Because I’m sure you’ll look like one.”
“Just don’t tell Ella that I’m trying to be a princess.”
He nodded knowingly. “Is Ella why you didn’t want to be a princess?”
Hanna shrugged.
Nick squeezed her hand. “Don’t let your friends dictate what you like or don’t like. You’re you, and there’s nothing wrong with anything you like.”
She frowned. “I don’t want to be a baby.”
“You aren’t. You know, I played with toys when my friends all said it was uncool.”
“You did?”
“Sure did. My favorites were my wrestling action figures. I loved setting up wrestling matches and determining who got to win.”
“Wrestling action figures?”
“They were really popular.”
“Weird.”
Nick chuckled. “I might still have them somewhere. Grandma tried to throw them out a few times, but I always managed to save them.”
“I want to see them!”
Glad for the reprieve from the stress, short lived as it probably would be, he agreed to look for them, then they headed inside. The house was empty, not that it surprised Nick. Ava was probably worried about getting in trouble for texting Mason after agreeing not to and Parker was more than likely down the street with his friends. One of the moms made snacks for all the boys daily and let them play football after doing an hour of homework.
Nick found the storage box filled with action figures and brought it out for Hanna.
Her eyes widened. “They’re like Barbies!”
“They’re nothing like dolls.”
“Boys can play with dolls, Dad. It’s fine.”
“I never said it wasn’t. I just said these ones aren’t dolls. They—”
“Pink pants?” She reached for one. “Cool!”
“It was a popular color for guys back then.” Nick sat, pulled out a few more action figures, then told her about his favorites and some of their best moves. They play-wrestled for a little while before Nick had to text the older kids to come home for dinner.
“Can I help?” Hanna jumped up. “I feel like making tacos.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. Can we have them?”
“Let me see if we have shells.”
“I’ll check!” Hanna skipped out of the room.
Nick sighed. If only kids could stay that age forever. He checked his phone. Parker had replied, saying he’d be a few minutes. Nothing from Ava. He sent her another text.
“We have shells!” Hanna called. “The organic purple ones. Can I start the meat?”
He started to tell her to wait, but she was a pro at using the stove. Even she was growing up. “Go for it!”
“Yay! Thanks, Dad!”
He called Ava, since she wasn’t replying to the texts. They weren’t even marked as read, but she should’ve seen them in her notifications.
Voicemail.
Nick grumbled under his breath, then sent one last text telling her she would lose her cell phone if she ignored him.
That got a response.
Ava: I’ll b on my way. Arguing w/ Braylon.
Nick: Give him a break. He cares about you.
Ava: Cu in a few.
Before he could respond, Genevieve called. He accepted the call rather than trying to have the last word with his daughter.
“Hi, beautiful.”
“Hey, handsome.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Just calling to see how everything’s going with Ava and Parker.”
“Could be worse.” They’d both seen a lot worse on the job.
“That’s not what I asked. Are you okay? You sound tired.”
“It’s that obvious?” He rubbed his temple.
“To be fair, I do know you better than most.”
“I’m glad for that.” Nick filled her in on the latest without going into too many details.
“You arrested Mason?”
“Personally. That kid really is a punk.”
“I believe it. Is there enough to hold him? Stalking laws still aren’t the best.”
Nick sighed. “No, they’re not. But between some stuff on his record back East and what was found on his phone, we have enough to keep him. Assuming somebody isn’t crazy enough to post his bail.”
“You think his grandparents would?”
“Or the girlfriend who traveled across the country with him. If they have enough cash between them.” The aroma of taco seasoning drifted down the hall into the room. “I’d better check on Hanna. She’s making dinner. Do you and Tinsley want to come over?”
“I’d love to, but Tinsley’s in with her therapist right now.”
“You’re still welcome to come over.”
“We’d love to, but I’ll have to see if she’s up to it. Sometimes these sessions really drain her. Depends on what they end up talking about. The majority of her life is a sore subject.”
“I’m sure it is.” Nick felt bad for the girl who’d grown up with cop killers for parents and used her for bait to abduct and torture officers and cadets.
They said their goodbyes, then he checked on Hanna, who had the kitchen filled with taco ingredients. Meat sizzled in a pan, cut vegetables sat on plates, and she was shredding cheese.
“It’s almost ready.” She beamed.
“I can’t believe you did all of that on your own.”
&nb
sp; “Maybe I’ll be a chef at a fancy restaurant one day.”
“Then I’ll eat there every night.”
The front door burst open and Parker dumped his football gear on the floor. “My team won again!”
“Ever think about trying out for the school team?”
He shook his head. “I just like playing for fun with my friends. Not with the stuck-up jocks at school.”
“You might enjoy it.”
“Maybe.” Parker kicked off his shoes.
“Wash up. It’s almost ready.”
He headed down the hall without a word.
Nick was about to text Ava again, when she walked through the door. She looked at him, then looked away quickly.
“Did you work things out with Braylon?”
She glared at him.
“Did you notice you got out of detention?”
Her face paled. “You know about that?”
“I’m the one who got you out of it.”
“What?”
“Let’s just say I had a chat with the teacher. He shouldn’t give you any more problems when you need to see the nurse.”
“How did you—?”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on moving on.”
She glanced over at her sister. “The only reason I agreed to meeting him was because he threatened her.”
“I know.” Nick nodded.
“Do you know everything?”
“I like to think so.” The corners of his mouth twitched.
She didn’t look nearly as amused. “Did he tell you everything?”
“Phone records. Nothing is as private as it feels when it comes to technology. Go wash up. Your sister made tacos.”
“They’re ready!” Hanna announced.
Parker came back out, now wearing joggers and a hoodie. He glared at Ava, who returned the favor.
Nick held back a groan. “You two better start getting along before I have to call a family meeting.”
The kids exchanged an annoyed glance. They knew what that meant—a really long talk about feelings, and that everyone would have to own up to their actions.
“We’re fine,” Ava said.
Tainted Love Page 12
