A reporter, and a vindictive son of a bitch.
Now I just had to prove it. One way or another.
CHAPTER
65
WHEN THE KIDS GOT HOME FROM SCHOOL, WE SAT THEM ALL DOWN FOR THE hardest talk I’ve ever had as a parent. We had to explain to Ava that she needed to pack her things, and we had to explain to all of them why.
I didn’t go into details about the hot water I was in. I just told them that there had been some legal complications, and that we had to get those worked out before Ava could come back to live with us again.
Stephanie held off for as long as she could, but they had to check Ava into the group home by six. When she showed up at five, Ava’s suitcase was next to the door, and our house was quiet as a morgue. We’d all settled into the living room, w
aiting for the inevitable.
Even Stephanie was upset. She had tears in her eyes when I answered the door. We’d already spoken about the drug charge, and asked her to please interview Ava about it the first chance she got. Stephanie had promised she would. Meanwhile, there was a forty-eight-hour waiting period before we could visit Ava in her new place. That meant we wouldn’t know anything else for at least two days.
“Ava, honey, you ready to go?” Stephanie asked, trying to stay upbeat.
Ava just shrugged and shuffled over to the door. I could already see the hardness coming back into her eyes. It was like she’d been expecting this all along. The only constant in this girl’s life up to now had been impermanence itself. Why would she expect this situation to be any different?
“Hold your horses there,” Nana said. She unclasped the silver locket from around her neck as she followed Ava to the door. Inside, I knew the locket had a tiny picture of the whole family on one side, and a goofy little baby picture of me on the other.
“Here.” Nana put the chain around Ava’s neck. “This is a loan, so don’t you dare trade it or sell it. I’m going to want it back the minute you’re settled here again.”
Ava raised and lowered one shoulder, staring at the ground. “Thanks for being nice to me,” she said, without any discernible emotion. “I’m sorry I wasn’t always so good.”
At that, Nana’s expression went dark. She reached up and took Ava by the shoulders with her own small, bony hands.
“Girl, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” she said, her voice starting to shake. “You are loved in this home, Miss Ava Williams. Do you hear me? Nothing you do is ever going to change that. Nothing!”
She wrapped Ava up in a big hug, and we all gathered around. I could feel Ava there in the middle of us, as stiff as a board. It was like she was trying to feel as little as possible. The girl who had cried in my arms a week ago was now packed up and put away, just like the rest of her things. To me, that felt like a tragedy.
“I’m sorry, everyone, but we really do have to get moving,” Stephanie said. “It’s getting late.”
“Bye, Ava,” Jannie said. “We’re going to miss you so much!”
“Bye, Ava!” Ali said, crying in my arms, as we followed her down the front stairs.
By the time we got to the curb, where another woman from Child and Family Services was double-parked, Ava wasn’t even looking at us anymore. She climbed into the backseat and took her suitcase from Bree.
“We love you, Ava,” Bree said. “And we’ll see you in two days.”
Ava stared straight ahead, up Fifth Street, with dry eyes. “Bye,” was all she said.
A moment later, they were gone.
CHAPTER
66
RON GUIDICE WATCHED HIS REARVIEW MIRROR AS THE LADY FROM SOCIAL services walked Ava down the front steps. He hadn’t been able to overhear much from inside the Cross home. His listening mike on the first floor was in the kitchen. But still, this little scene spoke for itself.
There was a time when he might have felt sorry for the Crosses on a day like this. Now, it felt more like a checkmark. If he needed any reminder about why, every glance in the mirror showed him the bandages across his broken nose. He had a black eye, too, and his jaw was as stiff as concrete.
An undeniable line in the sand had been crossed. Alex was on the run now, and he knew Guidice was coming for him. But Guidice still had the upper hand. Anytime he felt compromised, all he had to do was pull the trigger—literally, and figuratively. That’s what the Kahr 9mm was doing under the seat. From here on out, he’d keep it with him at all times.
Meanwhile, his thumbs jumped around the touchpad on his phone, finishing up a quick piece for The Real Deal. As Ava climbed into the tan minivan in front of Alex’s house, he jotted down his last few thoughts for the day.