Ava
He was late.
I tapped my fingers on the table, trying not to check the time on my phone. Again.
Alex and I had agreed to meet at the Italian restaurant near campus at seven. It was now seven-thirty, and all my texts and calls had gone unanswered.
Half an hour wasn’t that long, especially when you took rush hour traffic into account, but Alex was never late. And he always, always answered my messages.
I’d called his office, but his assistant told me he’d left an hour ago, so he should be here by now.
Worry unspooled in my stomach and gnawed at my insides.
Had something happened to him? What if he’d gotten into an accident?
It was easy to think of Alex as invincible, but he bled and hurt like anyone else.
Ten more minutes. I’ll give him ten more minutes, and then I’ll…hell, I don’t know. Send out the freakin’ National Guard. If he was hurt, I wouldn’t sit here and do nothing.
“Can I get you anything, dear?” The waitress swooped by again. “Other than water,” she added pointedly.
The tips of my ears turned red. “No, thanks. I’m, um, still waiting for my friend.” That seemed slightly less pathetic than admitting I was waiting for my boyfriend.
Slightly.
She let out an aggrieved sigh and moved on to the older couple next to me.
I felt bad about hogging the table on a Friday night, but I’d barely seen Alex over the past week, and I missed him. We slept in the same bed every night, and our sex was as explosive as ever, but he seemed more distant during the day. Distracted.
“Ava?”
My head jerked up, and my chest deflated when I realized it wasn’t Alex.
“Remember me?” The guy smiled. He was cute in a geek-chic way, with black-rimmed glasses and longish brown hair. “I’m Elliott. We met at Liam’s birthday party last spring.”
“Ah, right.” I suppressed a flinch at the sound of Liam’s name. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the charity ball, but Jules—ever tuned in to the gossip—informed me he’d gotten fired and had moved back to his parents’ house in Virginia. I couldn’t say I felt sorry for him. “Nice to see you again.”
“You, too.” Elliott ran an awkward hand through his hair. “Hey, sorry about what happened with Liam. We haven’t kept in touch since we graduated, but I heard about your breakup and, uh…what happened. He was a real jerk.”
“Thanks.” I couldn’t blame him for being Liam’s friend. Ex-friend? I was the one who’d dated the asshole, and guys usually treated their friends better than they did their girlfriends. It was a sad truth.
“Sorry to bother you during dinner—” His gaze flicked to my water glass. “But I’m looking for a photographer who can do an engagement shoot for me, and none of the ones I checked out fit what Sally, my fiancée, is looking for. But I saw you and remembered you’re a photographer, so I figured it’s a sign.” Elliott flashed a sheepish smile. “Hope this doesn’t sound creepy, but I pulled up your website and showed it to Sally, and she loves your pictures. If you’re free in the next few weeks, we’d love to hire you.”
I spotted a pretty blonde at a neighboring table watching us. She grinned and waved at me. I waved back.
“Congrats,” I said, my smile genuine this time. “I’d love to help. Give me your number, and we can sort out details later.”
While we exchanged contact information, an icy voice sliced through the din of the restaurant.
“You’re in my way.”
Alex stood behind Elliott, pinning him with a glare so dark I was surprised the poor man didn’t disintegrate into ashes.
“Oh, sorry—”
“Why are you getting my girlfriend’s number?”
Elliott shot me a nervous glance, and I clenched my jaw. Seriously? Alex was almost an hour late, and he had the nerve to act like a jealous ass the minute he showed up?
“He’s a client,” I said, struggling to remain calm. “Elliott, I’ll call you later, okay? Congratulations again on your engagement.” I emphasized the last word. Alex’s frown eased a smidge, but he didn’t fully relax until Elliott ran back to his table.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded.
“What was what?” Alex slid into his seat.
“You’re late, and you were rude to Elliott for no reason.”
He snapped his napkin open and placed it in his lap. “I had urgent business to take care of, and my phone died, so I couldn’t call you. As for Elliott, I showed up and saw some random guy flirting with my girlfriend. How did you expect me to react?”
“He. Wasn’t. Flirting. With. Me.” I exhaled a long breath. This wasn’t how I’d pictured the evening going. “Look, I don’t want to fight. This is the first time we’ve had a meal together in over a week, and I want to enjoy it.”
“Me too.” Alex’s face softened. “I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll make it up to you.”
“You better.”
His lips quirked.
We placed our orders, the waitress looking much happier after Alex ordered the most expensive white wine on the menu. I couldn’t drink red or my face would explode. I blame my Asian genes—one sip of alcohol, especially red wine, and I turn the color of a tomato.
I waited until the server brought out our entrees before I revealed my big news. “I heard back from the photography fellowship today.”
Alex’s fork paused halfway to his mouth.
“I got in.” I bit my lower lip, my chest wild with the drumbeat of excitement and nerves. “New York. I got in.”
“I knew you would.” Simple and matter of fact, like he’d never doubted me, but Alex’s eyes shone with pride. “Congratulations, Sunshine.”
He leaned across the table and pressed a kiss to my lips. I was so giddy I couldn’t stop grinning, and my earlier irritation melted away. So what if he’d been a little late? I got in!
I’d nearly dropped my phone when I received the email this morning. I’d had to reread it several times before the words sunk in.
I, Ava Chen, was going to be a World Youth Photography fellow. I would spend a year in New York, studying with the world’s best photographers. My only regret was not being able to study under Diane Lange, who taught the London cohort, because while I’d made progress with my aquaphobia, I wasn’t ready to fly over an ocean yet.
But that was okay. I’d meet her one day. In the meantime, I’d work on honing my craft and holy crap, I was going to be a WYP fellow! One of the most prestigious honors in the industry.
My heart soared before reality dragged me down.
“I’ll be in New York,” I said after Alex and I broke apart. “You’ll be in D.C.”
“No, I won’t.” His eyes gleamed at my questioning look. “Archer Group has an office in Manhattan.”
My hopeful heart flapped its wings again. “But you’ve built your base here. Your house, your friends…”
“It’s not my house; it’s Josh’s. I’m safekeeping it for him. And most of the people I know here are acquaintances, not friends.” Alex lifted his shoulder in an elegant shrug. “It’s a simple equation, Sunshine. If you’re in New York, I’m in New York.”
The last vestiges of my hesitation floated away. I grinned, so happy I could dance right here in the middle of a crowded restaurant. “You know how—”
Something buzzed. Alex stiffened, and my eyes dropped to his coat pocket, which buzzed again.
My grin faded. “You said your phone died.”
Just like that, the tension returned, simmering in the air until it became a full-on boil.
The night was an emotional rollercoaster, and I couldn’t keep up.
“I charged it in the car.” Alex sipped his wine, his shoulders tense.
“But you didn’t reply to any of my messages or calls.” I tucked my hands beneath my thighs, suddenly cold even though the heat was on. “Why were you really late, Alex?”
“I told you, I had urgent business to take care of.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”
“The truth!” I lowered my voice when the diners at the next table shot me an alarmed look. “That’s all I want. Please. My fath—Michael lied to me my entire life, and I don’t want you to start.”
A shadow passed over Alex’s face before it disappeared. “I won’t lie unless the truth hurts you.”
My teeth clenched. “Alex—”
“Plausible deniability exists for a reason, Sunshine.” He cut into his pasta with more force than necessary.
“What did you do?” I whispered.
Alex tightened his grip on his fork. “I’m not always a good person. I don’t always do the right thing. You know that, even if you seem determined to see the good in me. I won’t—” He released a pent-up breath, looking frustrated. “Just drop it, Ava. For your own sake.”
“Sure. I’ll drop it.” I tossed my napkin on the table, my own frustration boiling over. “I’m also leaving. I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Sunshine—” He reached for me, but I shrugged him off and ran out before he could stop me.
My chest felt tight as I speed-walked home. What should’ve been one of the best nights of my life had turned into one of the worst.
I paidand left the restaurant immediately after Ava. She hadn’t gotten far, and I followed discreetly to make sure she got home safe before I drove back to D.C.
I hated seeing her upset, especially on a night when we should’ve been celebrating instead of fighting. I wanted to run after her and apologize for being an ass, but the clock was ticking, and I needed to finish what I’d started.
Only then could I put the past behind me, once and for all.
I stared at my computer screen, watching the minutes tick by. 11:55 p.m. I’d given the man a midnight deadline.
11:56 p.m.
I hadn’t told Ava the truth…about many things. I didn’t have urgent business to take care of before dinner, at least none relevant to Archer Group. Instead, I’d been talking to my family’s killers’ killer.
The police had ruled my parents’ and sister’s murders as a home invasion gone wrong, but I knew better. The men had said it was a job and mentioned a “he,” someone who knew I was supposed to be at camp that summer, though that was something anyone with internet access and a bare modicum of computer skills could figure out—the camp posted a list of its attendees online every year.
I’d kept the knowledge of their true motives to myself though. I’d been young, but old enough to know the criminal justice system wouldn’t deliver the type of justice I craved: total annihilation.
So I’d waited.
11:57 p.m.
My uncle was the only person I’d told. He, too, hadn’t believed it was a simple invasion.
But the police caught the culprits a few days later thanks to street security footage that ID’ed their license plate, and they’d confirmed it was a home invasion. The “burglars” said they hadn’t wanted to leave witnesses, so they’d killed everyone. They also hadn’t made it to trial before they “mysteriously” died in jail.
My uncle did some digging and found the man who’d hired the killers’ killer. Apparently, he was one of my father’s business rivals and had a history of shady dealings and ruthless practices. By logic, he had to have been the one who’d ordered the hit on my family too.
I’d spent every second of my life since plotting his downfall.
11:58 p.m.
I’d been a kid, and I’d trusted my uncle, but what I’d read in the library threw everything I knew about him out the window.
Ava was right—I’d been distracted this past week, busy with my chess game. Not the unfinished one with my uncle in the library, but the one playing out in real life.
I’d had my tech guy hack into Ivan’s financial records dating back to my family’s deaths and paid him a hefty sum to work day and night until he found what I’d expected to find all along. A large sum of money had been wired from one of my uncle’s secret offshore accounts to an anonymous account two days before my family’s death, and another equal sum had been sent the day after. An even larger amount had been sent to a second anonymous account the day after the “burglars” died.
I’d paid the hacker another eye-watering sum to track down the second killer. He’d contacted me when I was on my way to meet Ava, saying he’d located the person, a notorious killer for hire who went by the name of Falcon. They’d apparently retired, but I didn’t need their “skills.” I only needed a name.
As a gesture of goodwill, I’d wired Falcon twenty-five percent of the fifty grand I’d promised them if they would confirm who hired them to kill the burglars.
Now, I waited.
11:59 p.m.
I stared at the blank black screen of Vortex, a fully encrypted messaging site popular amongst those in the criminal underworld. Unhackable and untraceable, it was where most of the world’s seediest transactions took place.
A chill whipped around me.
I hadn’t bothered to turn the heater on. I’d bought this house in D.C. under a shell company name because I wanted a place where I could carry out my more illicit activities without anyone knowing, not even my uncle. It boasted a security system the Pentagon would be jealous of, including a hidden jammer that disabled all electronic devices inside the house unless you had the code, which only I knew.
12:00 a.m.
A new message flashed onscreen.
Midnight on the dot. Gotta appreciate a punctual killer.
I read the message calmly, my blood colder than the chill creeping along the floorboards and bare walls.
No greeting, no questions. Just a name, like I’d requested.
I wired the rest of the money to the Falcon and sat there in the dark, mulling over the news.
I knew. Of course I knew. All the evidence had pointed to it, but now I had my confirmation.
The man responsible for my family’s death wasn’t Michael Chen, Ava’s father.
It was Ivan Volkov, my uncle.
Alex
I made pancakes.
I rarely cooked—why waste my time doing something I didn’t enjoy and which I could pay other people to do? But I made an exception today. I was waiting for a visitor, and I didn’t want to miss them by eating out.
The doorbell rang.
9:07 a.m., according to the clock on my microwave. Earlier than I’d expected, which meant he was eager.
I shut off the stove and sipped my tea as I answered the door. When I did, I had to mask my surprise.
Not who I was expecting.
“What are you doing here, Sunshine?”
Not the warmest greeting, but she needed to leave before he arrived.
Mild panic shot through me at the thought of them meeting.
Ava frowned. She looked exhausted, and I wondered if she was having nightmares again. They’d eased since she recovered her memories, but they still popped up from time to time.
Worry and guilt washed over me. We hadn’t spoken in days. She was still angry with me, and I’d been caught up in my plans. It was hard to convene a corporate board the week before Christmas—in secret, no less—but I held enough blackmail info over every member that they’d acquiesced to my request.
“We need to talk. About us,” Ava said.
Not words any man wants to hear come out of his girlfriend’s mouth, especially when he and said girlfriend were on rocky ground. I couldn’t wait until this mess with my uncle was over so I could give her the attention she deserved.
As for my twisted and apparently ill-placed revenge plan against her “father”…that was a confession for another day.
If I ever confessed.
Michael Chen was a sociopathic bastard even if he hadn’t plotted my family’s murder, and I was tempted to follow through with my original plan to hire someone to off him in prison. But I wouldn’t…yet.
“Can we talk later?” A familiar gray Mercedes came into view, and my muscles tensed. “Now isn’t a good time.”
Ava shook her head. “It’s been a week, Christmas is in two days, and I’m tired of us tiptoeing around each other. You’ve been acting weird for a while now, and I deserve to know what’s going on. If you don’t want to be with me any longer—” She exhaled a sharp breath, her face tinting red. “Just tell me. Don’t string me along.”
Goddamn it. If only Josh had come home for Christmas like he’d planned, he would’ve kept Ava away. But there’d been an earthquake in his volunteer region—he was okay, thank God—and the people needed all the medical help they could get in the aftermath, so he’d stayed. I’d donated a hefty sum to help with his organization’s expenses as well. Partly out of charity, mostly out of guilt.
Ava wasn’t the only Chen I’d fucked over these past few years.
My uncle parked and got out of his car, his face thunderous.
My grip tightened around my mug.
“Of course I want to be with you,” I said in a low voice while keeping an eye on Ivan. “I’ll always want to be with you. But I—”
“Alex.” My uncle’s pleasant tone belied the fury simmering in his eyes. When Ava turned, startled, he smoothed his face into a gracious smile. “Who’s this lovely creature?”
If the mug were glass, it would’ve cracked by now.
“Ava, Uncle Ivan,” I responded, voice clipped.
“Ah, the infamous Ava. How lovely to meet you, dear.”
She smiled, looking uncomfortable. “I didn’t realize you were expecting company,” she told me. “Um, you’re right. We can talk later—”
“Nonsense. I’m just here for a friendly chat with my nephew.” Ivan placed a hand on Ava’s back and guided her into the house. Get your fucking hands off her. Anger streaked through me, but I tamped it down.
I couldn’t lose my cool. Not now.
We settled in the dining room—Ava and I on one side, Ivan on the other. Tension laced the air.
“Anyone want a drink?” I set my near-empty mug on the table. “Tea? Hot chocolate?”
Ava shook her head. “No, thanks.”
“Green tea for me.” Ivan patted his stomach. I returned a few minutes later with his drink and found him in deep conversation with Ava.
“…Thanksgiving weekend?” My uncle took the tea from me with an oily smile. “Alex, Ava was telling me about how you spent your Thanksgiving. He loves his holidays with the Chens,” he told her. “He finds them so…enlightening.”
My muscles burned from how tense I was while Ava returned his smile with her own uncertain one.
“What can I do for you, uncle?” I asked, taking my seat with careful nonchalance. “It must be important if you’re here this early. Long drive from Philly.”
“I wanted to congratulate my favorite nephew.” Ivan’s smile tightened. I didn’t bother pointing out I was his only nephew. “Ava, dear, did you know you’re sitting next to the new CEO of Archer Group?”
I betrayed no emotion while Ava’s head whipped toward me, her eyes wide.
“My uncle graciously stepped aside,” I said. I addressed Ivan. “I’m grateful for your tutelage and all the years you’ve dedicated to the company, but now you can retire and indulge in fishing, crossword puzzles, TV dramas…a life of leisure, just like you deserve.”
“Yes,” he said coldly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
It was all bullshit, this show we were putting on. My uncle didn’t resign, though that would be the official story we fed to the press. He’d toppled from power thanks to the secret boardroom coup I’d spent the past week executing. I’d had to use more dirty tricks than usual to get it done in such a short time, but anger is the world’s greatest motivator.
I was now CEO of Archer Group, and Ivan was nothing. After I finished with him, he wouldn’t have anything, either.
“Congratulations. That’s amazing.” Ava looked genuinely happy for me, but she also sounded confused and a little hurt, probably because I hadn’t mentioned something so huge to her. Then again, the changeover hadn’t been official until yesterday afternoon. No doubt the board notified Ivan, and he’d driven here first thing in the morning, intent on reaming me out.
He didn’t take his eyes off me as he said, “You and Ava should visit one day. I’m an old man who doesn’t have many friends, and I don’t like to leave the house much.” He chuckled. “I’m a bit paranoid about security, you see. I have cameras all over my home—my office, the kitchen…the library. I rarely go through all the tapes, but—” He sipped his tea. “What’s a man with too much free time to do?”
I read between the lines in an instant.
Fuck. How had I missed the cameras in the library? I’d jammed the ones in his bedroom and office and adjusted them afterward so they didn’t show any suspicious missing time periods, but my uncle had never had cameras in the other rooms before. He must’ve checked the feeds to see what I’d been up to after he received word of the coup.
He’d grown more paranoid—and I’d grown more lax.
I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Ivan and I stared at each other. The jig was up. He knew I’d seen the letters between him and my mother—the ones where he’d professed his love and begged her to leave my father, the ones where she’d rebuffed him until he grew more and more aggressive and she had to threaten him with a restraining order…the ones where he promised she would regret spurning him.
Once I had that piece of information, the rest of the puzzle fell into place—why my father and Ivan fell out, how the burglars knew so much about our family, why my uncle sometimes got a weird look on his face when we talked about my parents.. I’d known all along how narcissistic my uncle could be, and my mother’s rejection must’ve hit hard—hard enough that he’d plot his own brother’s death.
That didn’t explain why he chose Michael Chen as the scapegoat, but I’d figure it out. I wouldn’t stop until I’d peeled back every layer of Ivan’s deception and strangled him with them.
I now understood how Ava felt. I’d been lied to most of my life too, only my reaction was far less benign than hers.
“Um, sure.” Ava glanced at me. “We’ll visit someday.”
Yes. Over my dead body. Or, to be more accurate, my uncle’s dead body.
“Excellent.” Ivan set his empty mug on the table. “Well, I think I’ve overstayed my welcome. I’ll leave you kids alone. Alex, I’m sure we’ll talk soon.”
“I’m sure we will,” I drawled.
After he left, Ava and I sat in silence, eyeing each other warily. I wanted to pull her to me, kiss her and reassure her, but everything had gotten so fucking complicated. Not to mention, she still didn’t know the truth about me and what I did.
She won’t find out. The only other person who knew was my uncle, and he would be out of the picture soon.
A better person would tell her the truth, but I’d rather be the villain with her by my side than the hero who risked losing her because of a misguided sense of morality.
What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.
“Your uncle is not what I expected,” she finally said. “He’s very…slick.”
That pulled a small smile out of me. She didn’t like him, either. Atta girl.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your promotion?” she asked. “That’s huge news! We should’ve celebrated or something.”
“It wasn’t official until yesterday. Thought I’d announce it as a Christmas surprise.” That was partly true.
Ava sighed, her expression growing sad. “I miss you, Alex.”
God, this girl. She had no clue what she did to me. “I miss you too, Sunshine.” I opened my arms, and she climbed into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. I breathed in her scent, my heart aching. I wanted to keep her here, safe and cherished, forever. Fuck the rest of the world. It could burn for all I cared.
“I don’t want to fight, but…” Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. “You have been acting strange lately. If something is wrong, you know you can tell me and we’ll figure it out together, right?”
“I know.” How was she so amazing? Anyone who’d gone through what she had would’ve locked themselves away from the rest of the world by now, but not Ava. She was always thinking of others.
I didn’t deserve her.
“Is it because I told you I—” She paused, pink blossoming on her cheeks. “I loved you?”
“Of course not.” I tightened my hold and kissed her. “You know I’d do anything for you.”
“Okay, because you started acting weird right after…”
“It’s work,” I lied. “I’ve been stressed about the CEO transition.” Also partly true.
It was a testament to Ava’s trust that she took my words at face value. “You’ll be a great CEO.” She brushed her lips over a sensitive spot on my neck, and my cock jumped with interest. I hadn’t touched her in a week, and I was dying to tie her down and have my way with her. “Now, how about we alleviate that stress…”
I responded with a wicked grin. “I like the way you think.”
But as I carried her upstairs and fucked her in every position until she couldn’t scream anymore, the sense of impending doom hovering over me remained.
