Gunner raised an eyebrow.
“How much did you tell Barbie?”
“That I shouldn’t have?”
Razor nodded.
“Enough that I feel responsible for her death.”
14
Ava was standing in front of the window, watching the whales, when Razor and Gunner came back upstairs. She hadn’t said a single word to Monk, and vice versa. Now, she understood where he’d gotten the name. If what Gunner had alluded to was true, and she would be staying here, she hoped Monk wasn’t the one to stay with her. But who else was there? Razor had already said that the man would be replacing him indefinitely.
“Be in touch,” Gunner said to Razor as he walked out the front door.
She turned around and looked into Razor’s eyes as he strode toward her. Was this it? Would they say goodbye, never to see each other again? God, the idea hurt more than Ava ever would’ve dreamed possible. She bit her tongue as hard as she could, trying to keep herself from crying in front of him again.
“Have a seat,” Razor said to her with a look on his face she’d never seen before.
“I’d rather stand.”
“Sit, Ava,” he barked and then turned to Monk. “Clear out, but don’t go far.”
“Yes, sir,” were the first two words Ava heard him say since yesterday. Having to stay here with him was going to be hell, but at least she could call her sister.
“The situation Gunner alluded to when he stormed in here is serious, Ava. Very serious.”
“What’s happened?”
Razor took a deep breath, and Ava saw the same conflict etched on his face that she’d seen every other time she’d asked a question he didn’t want to answer.
“When I came to the airport and asked you not to leave, I told you that the case against Dash Finnegan is more complex than anyone has led you to believe.”
“I remember,” she whispered, wishing she could stop him from saying another word. Whatever he was about to tell her, she sensed was something she didn’t want to know.
“There are people who would like to stop you from testifying, which is why K19, me specifically, was given the assignment to protect you.”
Ava nodded.
“There is someone very close to your family who Dash works for.”
She had no idea who Razor could possibly be talking about. He must not realize that, outside of her parents, there wasn’t anyone close to her family. It had always been that way. Ava and Aine had never met anyone who worked for her father, and her parents hadn’t ever socialized. Whether her father did after their divorce, Ava would have no way of knowing.
“The K19 team has identified the individual, and are currently searching for him in order to turn him in to the appropriate authorities.”
Ava folded her hands in her lap, digging her fingernails into her flesh. Here it comes, she thought.
“We aren’t the only people looking for him. There is another…team…who wants to find him before we do, and maybe even more than we do. That same group would be very interested in knowing what you know. Do you understand what I mean?”
Ava closed her eyes and nodded again. “What are you trying to tell me? Please, just say it.”
“We believe that group has abducted Aine and, with her, Penelope and Tara.”
The sound that came roaring from her own chest didn’t sound human to Ava. She felt Tabon’s arms aroun
d her as he rocked her back and forth while what her brain could only identify as shrieks of anguish tore their way out of her body.
“I tried to call. She didn’t answer,” she sobbed.