“She could be the one,” I told him and Dad ran a hand through his silvery hair and shook his head.
“Fuck, Commando!” he growled and I clenched my jaw. “I hoped this would never happen to you, son.”
“There is something about her.”
“There is something about your mother too. These women bring us to our knees and weaken us!” Dad growled and I glared at him.
“You don’t have to lecture me about your relationship with Mom.”
“I fucking love that woman!” he barked and I held my tongue. I knew he did. I knew he fucking did. But he had made her cry. Over and over again. He might have changed his ways now, but I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Ava, the way he had hurt Mom. That was what I was really fighting.
Dad was thinking, he was silent for a few moments and then looked back at me with his piercing blue eyes.
“She’s been beaten up,” he said out of the blue and I had to grip the edge of the desk with my hands to not lash out at something. He had noticed the bruise on Ava’s arm.
“I know.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“Her ex boyfriend.”
“He needs to be taken care of. If she’s going to be your woman, you have to make sure she remains that way. I don’t want any trouble over a girl, Kelley. Handle it now before you get into anything,” Dad said and I felt like I could breathe again. This was his way of giving me permission to be with her, and that was all I needed to hear.
I got up from my chair to leave.
“Son,” he stopped me before I left the room.
“She’s a good kid and I hope she knows that you’re not,” he said and I looked him in the eye.
“She does,” I said even though I wasn’t sure if she did, or if she cared. I wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be with me. With everything else in my life, I had taken what I wanted, but with Ava, I wasn’t going to force her.
xxx
I left the meeting room, while already pulling my phone out of my pants. I dialed Ava’s number as I stepped outside the bar. It rang a few times, before she answered. Her hello was groggy, but I could hear the sound of the television in the background.
“Ava.”
“Hey…I’d fallen asleep. What time is it?”
“Doesn’t matter. I need to speak to you,” I said, walking over to my bike. When I saw the side view mirror, I was reminded of the way her t-shirt and bra were dangling from it while I plowed into her. It made me instantly hard; just the thought of her body.
“Okay, what did you want to talk about?”
“You need to tell me your ex boyfriend’s name,” I said and there was silence on the other end.
“Commando…”
“Just tell me his name, Ava. Don’t make this difficult for me,” I said, my voice deepening with anger. Dad was right. This asshole needed to be gone from the picture, before I could even think of having anything with her. My first priority was to ensure her safety, so that it wasn’t overwhelming all my thoughts all the time.
“Why? What are you going to do?” she said and I ran a hand through my hair.
“You don’t need to think about that. Just tell me who he is.”
“Yes, I do need to think about it, Commando. This is my ex boyfriend we’re talking about. Not some random guy on the road!” I heard the cackle in her voice, although she was speaking in a hushed voice. She didn’t want her friend to hear us arguing.
“To me, he is a random guy. A bastard who laid his hand on you. And it’s time that I dealt with it,” I growled into the phone, clutching it tightly to my ear.
“Dealt with it how, Commando? I don’t want you to kill him. I don’t want blood on your hands,” she said and a whimper entered her voice. I was silent for several moments and then she let out a gasping cry.