Текст книги "Surge "

Автор книги: Sloan Storm

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AVA

Gene Philo.

Simon’s sperm donor, aka, Deadbeat dad and weasel like none other. I hadn’t heard a peep from him since he found out my sister was pregnant.

And now, all of a sudden, he’s back?

“How did you get my number, Gene?” I asked, biting my lip.

Jillian raised her hands to her mouth before lowering them a fraction. “Gene?” she mouthed. “Are you serious?”

I nodded and just then, he began to speak.

“Shut up, Ava,” he growled. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t call you so you could ask me a bunch of fucking questions.”

“Fuck you!” I exclaimed, before slapping my hand over my mouth.

Gene’s signature hyena-like laugh echoed in my ear. “I see you haven’t changed one bit, Ava.”

I removed my hand from my lips. “Why are you calling me? What do you want?”

“I already told you to shut up. Just like your sister, you Walters women… You don’t listen to a God damn word.”

Shaking my head, I exited the kitchen as fast as I could, almost jogging as I ran down the hall to my bedroom.

Gene continued to talk.

“You’re looking as pretty as ever, I see.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

He ignored me.

After closing my bedroom door, I sat down on the mattress, hanging my feet over the side. Trembling, I leaned forward and dropped my head into my hand.

“What the hell do you want, Gene?” I hissed.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll get to that. But first, how’s my son?”

The fingers on my free hand began to curl into the shape of a fist. “Simon is not your son, you bastard. You lost that privilege a long time ago.”

Gene cackled once more. “Not according to the state. So, Ava, you can sit over there and pretend all you want, but the fact is Simon is my boy.”

I exhaled, barely restraining myself from unleashing a torrent of obscenity at him. “Either tell me what you want, or I’m hanging up on you right now.”

“Oh, sis, it hurts when you talk to me like that,” he began. “Now here I went and gave you a compliment, telling you how pretty you looked, and you didn’t even thank me.”

A long, silent exhale passed between my lips. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh don’t you?” he replied, the sound of his voice taking on an accusatory tone. “Maybe you need a little reminder…”

I sat upright and squeezed the phone tight between my fingers, but before I could reply, he continued.

“The Formula One race, this past weekend in Miami, I saw you there kissing your boyfriend.”

Baffled, I shook my head, trying to understand. “Kissing who? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t give me that, Ava. I saw the winner, Dyson Vix, pull you to his side after the race and kiss you.”

I scoffed. “Gene, you moron, Dyson is not my boyfriend. All I can tell you is that you’re wrong about what you think you saw. There is nothing going on between us. And anyway, even if there was, what the hell business is it of yours?”

Gene sputtered a chuckle. “Oh, it’s my business all right. And if you don’t listen carefully, and do exactly as I say, you can forget about seeing your nephew ever again.”

I bolted into a standing position. “Don’t you threaten me. I have no idea what you’re getting at, but if you think you are taking Simon away from me, think again.”

“Oh, I won’t be the one taking him. The state will do it for me. After all, that’s the law, you know.”

I pinched my lower lip between my teeth. Pacing back and forth across my bedroom, I knew Gene was right. Even after all these years, I still only had temporary custody of Simon. At any point, Gene could come back into the picture and take him from me. There was nothing I could do about it. Still, he’d never shown any desire to do it before, and I couldn’t understand why he would all of a sudden.

“Listen to me, Gene,” I began, clenching my jaw. “I know that you don’t want to have anything to do with Simon. So why don’t you just tell me what the hell you want.”

Gene remained silent for a moment and then, at last, revealed the true reason for his phone call. “Hmm, I’d say about a half a million dollars oughta cover it.”

“A half a million dollars!” I exclaimed. “How in hell am I supposed to get that kind of money? And why would I give to you, anyway?”

“Because if you don’t, Ava, I can promise you that Simon will be out of your life within the month.”

I froze in place, struggling to wrap my mind around what he was saying. “Are you… blackmailing me?”

“Blackmail is such a nasty word, isn’t it? I’d like to think of it more as a friendly sales transaction. You pay me five hundred thousand dollars and you get to keep Simon.”

“I don’t have five hundred thousand dollars, you piece of shit.”

“I know you don’t. But your pretty-boy racing boyfriend sure does.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Gene, I already told you. Dyson Vix is not my boyfriend. Even if he was, I would never ask him to give you a single penny.”

Gene ignored me. “It’s funny, you know. I mean in an ironic way. You going out with a race car driver after what happened to your little sister.”

“You’re an asshole, Gene. Why are you bringing her into this?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Because of how she died?”

My underarms soaked through my shirt. I struggled to understand his nonsensical rambling. “Street racing and Formula One aren’t anything alike. But why would I expect someone as stupid as you to understand that, Gene?”

Gene fell silent. “Here’s how this is gonna go, Ava, so pay attention. You have one month from today to come up with the money. You can expect more calls from me with instructions on exactly where and when…”

I interrupted him. “There isn’t going to be any money, Gene. You’re not listening. I’m not with Dyson. I don’t have that kind of money and…”

Gene screamed at the top of his lungs into the receiver. “And I’m telling you, if you don’t figure something out and do it soon, you will never see Simon again!”

And then, just like that, he hung up on me.

My hand fell away from my ear. I let go of my phone and it bounced once on the carpet before flipping over and coming to a stop. I stood there for a moment, shaking my head.

What was I going to do?

AVA

My mouth went dry. Unable to move, let alone think, I stood in the center of my bedroom just trying to calm down. Just then, there was a soft knock against my bedroom door.

I turned my head towards it.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Jillian whispered. “Can I come in?”

I dropped my head a bit and exhaled, turning in the direction of the door. A few moments later, I wrapped my fingers around the knob and after twisting it, pulled the door in towards me.

Jillian stood there, her face fixed with worry. “What happened?”

Before answering, I looked past her, towards Simon’s room.

“I just checked, he’s sleeping,” Jillian said.

Without speaking, I nodded and stepped aside so she could enter. After she did, I closed the bedroom door behind her and just to be safe, locked it as well.

Afterward, I walked in her direction. Jillian opened her arms, inviting me in for a hug. By now, a feeling of numbness consumed me. I just stood there, looking at her, feeling nothing.

Seeing this, Jillian eventually dropped her arms to her sides. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I looked at her and without thinking, said the first thing that came to mind, “He’s threatening to take Simon away from us.”

“What? How?”

As best I could, I told her the details of our phone conversation, including his attempt at blackmail. When I finished, Jillian shook her head and walked towards my bed where she sat down. She dropped her hands in her lap and looked up at me.

“Do you think… Will he actually do this?”

Jillian and I had been friends since we were teenagers. She knew Gene well. He was probably the worst person either of us had ever known. Even so, something like this, well, it caught us both by surprise.

“I honestly don’t know,” I said, exhaling. A moment later, I sat down next to her on the bed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Jillian glanced at me. “What about Dyson?”

I looked back at her. “What about him?”

“Well, I mean, you are going to tell him about this, aren’t you?”

I frowned at her and shook my head. “No, absolutely not. What makes you think I would?”

Jillian groaned. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t. He can help you.”

“Jillian, how can Dyson help me? We aren’t together, and this isn’t his problem. I can figure this out and handle Gene on my own.”

Jillian looked away from me and exhaled.

“Look,” I began, reaching toward her and placing my hand on her knee. “I’m almost positive Gene is bluffing just to get the cash.”

She turned her head and looked at me once more. “What if he isn’t? What if he comes here and takes Simon away from us?”

I shook my head with a series of vigorous snaps. “That’s never going to happen. Okay?”

Like she always did when thinking, Jillian raised her hand to her mouth and picked at her lower teeth with her thumb nail.

While she sat there in silence, I continued, “Here’s the thing though—I’ve got to go to Los Angeles for the next race tomorrow. That means I can’t be here if Gene does decide to try something crazy.”

Jillian shook her head and dropped her hand away from her mouth. “I won’t let anything happen. If I have to, I’ll take Simon to stay at Dan’s house. I can promise you I won’t let Gene just come and take Simon away when you’re not here.”

I nodded, swallowing in relief. “Thank you.”

I reached for my best friend and we hugged for several seconds.

“Ava, I don’t understand why you won’t just talk to Dyson about it. He’s a decent guy.”

I stood from the mattress and rested my hands on my lower back, just above my waist. I turned and looked down at her. “I know he is. But, this isn’t his problem.”

“Okay, well, if you don’t tell him, then what are you going to do?”

I shook my head. “At this point, I don’t know. I just need a little time to think.”

Jillian nodded and stood from the bed once again. “I hope you change your mind about Dyson. But like I said, you won’t have to worry about Simon while you’re in Los Angeles. I promise.”

I smiled.

“Do you need anything else?” Jillian asked.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m going to say goodnight to Simon. Thank you. Thank you for everything.”

Jillian smiled at me. “Of course. Don’t mention it.”

A few minutes later I cracked open the door to Simon’s bedroom. Streaks of faint light from the living room spread across his face. To my surprise, he was awake. I swallowed, wondering if he’d heard any of my conversation with Gene.

“Hey, sweetie… Whatcha doin’?” I began, walking across his room towards him. “Aunt Jillian told me you were sleeping.”

Simon looked up at me, his brown eyes reflecting an ambient glow. “I woke up.”

I reached down and glided my fingers across the top of his head. “Is everything all right?”

He looked away from me and shrugged.

“Scoot over,” I said.

After he moved to the other side of the bed, I slipped under his sheets with him.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

With my head on the pillow, I rolled it towards him. He was looking straight up, towards the ceiling.

“Simon?”

I noticed a lump pass down his throat.

“Are you upset about something?”

He nodded, but continued to stare at the ceiling. I spent the next minute or so trying to pry the answer out of him. We went through a short checklist of things. I asked him about school, homework and his friends. None of those things were on his mind. A sense of dread came over me. With each shake of his head, I grew more certain he’d heard my conversation.

“Well, you know I’m leaving tomorrow, so if you want to talk about it, you need to do it now.”

He turned and looked at me. I noticed the beginnings of tears in his eyes. And then, it dawned on me.

“Oh, honey… Are you upset because I’m going away again?”

He nodded vigorously. Tears streaked down his small cheeks. I reached for Simon, pulling him close.

“Shhh,” I said, leaning in towards him and kissing the top of his head. “I won’t be gone for long.”

He choked down sobs over the next minute or so. I did my best to try and calm him down.

“Do you want me to stay in here with you tonight?”

He squeezed me and nodded his head.

“Okay, but only if you promise to go to sleep,” I said. “Will you do that for me?”

“Yes,” he muttered.

I leaned over and kissed him on top of the head one more time. Holding him close to me, I continue to stroke his hair. Within five minutes, he’d fallen asleep.

As I lay there, I stared up towards the ceiling. I had no idea what the next few days would bring. But no matter what, I’d never give Simon up, not for anything.

Just then, Jillian tapped lightly against the bedroom door. Rolling my head on the pillow, I glanced up in her direction.

“Should I close this?” she whispered, pointing at the door.

I nodded and seconds later the room went dark.

AVA

I arrived in Los Angeles and joined the team. Maybe it was my preoccupation with Gene, or maybe it was the fact I’d gotten to go home for a while, but for some reason, things were better. I didn’t have any of the homesick feelings I experienced in Miami.

Small victories.

Still, I couldn’t deny being distracted. Each night, I’d call home, never one hundred percent sure Simon would be there. Jillian told me she’d spoken with Dan, and he’d agreed to help, if needed. I felt a bit guilty about it since I never particularly cared for their relationship. For now though, I had to take help wherever I could find it, so I told her to thank him for me.

As for Gene, he still hadn’t called me since Austin. With each day that passed, I grew more and more anxious.

Dyson was busy testing and getting the car ready for the race. We’d only seen each other a handful of times. Luckily, I’d been able to camouflage my frazzled state of mind enough, he didn’t grow suspicious.

Or at least, I didn’t think he did.

Even so, I knew it was a matter of time before Gene contacted me again. In fact, I’d just left the team trailer when my cell phone began to vibrate in the pocket of my jeans. I swallowed hard, sliding my hand inside and pulling it out. I flipped it over and saw the ‘Unlisted’ flash on the screen.

I closed my eyes and answered.

“Hey there, sis.”

After a slow blink, I exhaled and leaned against a nearby wall. “What do you want?”

“You already know what I want, Ava. The time has come for you to give it to me.”

I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair, shaking my hand free with a vigorous motion. “You told me I had a month, Gene. It’s hardly been a week. There’s no way I can get you the money right now. None.”

Gene scoffed at my protest. “Plans change. Adapt accordingly.”

“Adapt?” I said, snapping my upper body away from the wall. I began to pace back and forth, taking a series of small steps in each direction. “You can’t just change the deal. I don’t have any money to give you.”

“Did you talk to your boyfriend yet?”

I slid my hand around to the back of my neck and squeezed it tight. “I already told you, he’s not my boyfriend. How many more ways do I need to say the same thing to you?”

Gene ignored me. “I’ll give you one more week to get your shit together. If you don’t, I’ll get the state involved and take the kid from you. Understand?”

Trying to restrain myself from screaming, I dug my fingernails into my neck. “I swear, Gene, if you come anywhere near Simon I’ll…”

Gene interrupted me. “You’ll what, Ava? You think I’m afraid of you? If you try anything, I promise you, I’ll vanish with that kid, and you’ll never hear from him again. Do I make myself clear?”

I stayed silent, restraining the rage within me.

“Now, listen to me,” Gene began, increasing the volume of his voice. “Quit fucking around and get your boyfriend to cough up the money.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Dyson is not my God damn boyfriend!” I shouted, squeezing my eyes closed tight.

Gene stayed silent for second. “Get it handled. I’ll be in touch.”

“Shit!” I exclaimed.

Shaking, I flipped my eyes open and to my horror, Dyson stood not six feet away from me. I looked at him in shock before turning away. Frantic, I tried to slide my cell phone back into my pocket and get out of there. But before I could even move, he spoke.

“Ava?”

Frozen in place, I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. From behind, I heard the sound of his footsteps as he moved along the crushed gravel path.

Oh no, oh shit.

Not long after, I sensed his presence. He passed by me, brushing my upper arm. I flipped my eyes open to see him standing in front of me, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at me.

“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

I shook my head, still half in shock by the conversation I just had and the fact Dyson likely heard the most important part of it.

“No,” I whispered. “Please don’t make me. And anyway, it doesn’t concern you.”

“I heard my name. I happen to think it does concern me.”

I shook my head. “No, really, you don’t understand.”

“Yeah, no kidding, Ava. That’s why I’m standing here asking you. I heard you telling someone I wasn’t your boyfriend. What the hell is that about?”

I licked my lips, frantically searching my mind for a plausible lie. “It’s… It’s just my roommate, Jillian. She keeps making silly jokes about what I’m really doing when I’m here with the team.”

Dyson scowled at me, nodding his head slowly. I stared at him until I couldn’t anymore.

“So why don’t I believe you?” he said.

I looked at him once again, shrugging and shaking my head. “I have no idea. It’s the truth. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get going.”

When I’d finished speaking, I tried to walk away. Before I’d taken a single step, Dyson stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Our eyes met for a second. I tried once more. Again, he moved in front of me.

“What are you doing, Dyson? Get out of my way.”

He edged closer towards me, shaking his head. “No. You’re not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t have to take this from you. Don’t threaten me.”

He licked his lips. “Trust me, it’s not a threat.”

It was clear he wasn’t about to let me walk past him. Frustrated, I turned my back and tried to walk in the other direction. But after only a single step, I felt his hand crush my upper arm in its grasp. Stopping, I snapped my head in his direction.

“Ow!” I exclaimed. “Let…” I began, yanking my arm. “Go! You’re hurting me!”

Yet Dyson remained silent, and instead of releasing me, he grabbed hold of my other arm. I struggled to free myself, but he pinned me against the wall.

“Shut up, Ava,” he warned, glaring at me. “Tell me what is going on. I know something is wrong.”

“Unnhhh,” I growled, shaking my upper body back and forth, still trying to break free. “Stop!”

And then, without a word of warning, Dyson leaned the weight of his torso against me and crushed his mouth into mine, kissing me. I continued to struggle, twisting my upper body and trying to break my mouth free of his.

“Unnhhhh!!” I exclaimed, thrashing beneath his viselike grip.

However, the harder I tried to break free, the stronger he became. Soon, I felt the energy of my struggle began to wear on me, and I relaxed a bit. Not long after, Dyson pulled his lips away from mine. We both stood there looking at each other without a word.

The only sound between us was the labored breathing we shared.

I tasted him in my mouth, traces of him left behind on my tongue. My lips parted. But before I could speak a single word, Dyson pressed his mouth to mine once again.

For no sane reason, I forgot about all of my troubles.

I inhaled his sweet scent, allowing his tongue into my mouth. With a soft moan, I reached up and slid my fingers into his thick hair. Dyson twisted his head back and forth as we kissed, in full view of anyone who happened to see.

DYSON

Yeah, I knew something was wrong. But fuck it, I couldn’t help myself.

I hadn’t seen much of Ava at all and something about the state she was in… I can’t explain it. What started as wanting to help, an urge to protect, transformed into something else.

I had to have her and I was sick of waiting.

And I couldn’t have been gladder I’d done it. She tasted incredible, sweet in a way that I can’t describe. She’d resisted me at first, but now I felt her body give in beneath me. She dragged her fingers along my scalp, making lazy strokes with the tips.

I didn’t give a shit who happened to see.

I’d waited so long for this moment that there could’ve been thousands of people around, and I wouldn’t have noticed. Eventually, we separated from each other. Ava looked up at me, her eyes glassy with the kind of lustful gaze I’d seen hundreds of times in my life.

I smiled at her, expecting the same in return. But, instead Ava blinked a couple of times and shook her head.

She looked away from me.

“Dyson,” she began, reaching up and wiping her lips. “We shouldn’t have done that. Please, let me go.”

I looked at Ava, trying to figure out what the problem was all of a sudden. She turned her face towards me. “Please…”

Nodding, I dropped my hands and backed away from her.

“Thank you,” she said, smoothing out the fabric of her shirt. “That was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about? I’m the one who did it. I’m not sorry one bit.”

Our eyes met. The bright green of her irises seemed darker somehow.

“Well, I am, Dyson. I’m sorry because I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me.”

I slid my thumbs through the loops on my jeans. “What idea is that exactly?”

“I just… I’m not going to be one of your girls. I’m not going to be like Anastasia or Svetlana. I won’t.”

“I see.”

Her mood changed even more. Ava crossed her arms and shook her head. “I have no interest in being anyone’s flavor of the month. I have big goals and dreams for my life, and the last thing I’m interested in is being your… plaything.”

I nodded at her, content to let her speak her mind. “So you didn’t enjoy it?”

“Whether I did or not, it doesn’t matter. It was a mistake. I never should have done it and…”

Without thinking, and without giving her a chance to protest, I grabbed her and kissed her again. And just like the time before, she struggled. After a few seconds, I let her go.

“Stop that!” she said, stomping her foot. “What did I just tell you?”

I shrugged. “Why should I listen to you? You won’t even tell me what’s wrong.”

She pointed her finger at me. “Don’t try to change the subject. What’s wrong with me has nothing to do with…”

I snatched her in my grasp again. Kissing her harder than ever, I pulled her to my body and held her there as she struggled to break free. After a few seconds, I let go of her once more. She slapped my upper arm with all her might.

“God damn it, Dyson!” she exclaimed. “If you do that one more time I swear, I’m going to scream.”

I shook my head, casually letting her threat roll right off of me. I stepped towards Ava, pausing and looking at her in silence.

“Scream all you want, sweetheart,” I said, wiping my fingers across my lips. “Because until you tell me what the hell is going on I’m going to stand here and kiss you until the sun goes down.”

Ava glared at me. I backed away, maybe by a foot or so. Crossing my arms at my chest, I raised my eyebrows at her.

“If you don’t believe it, just try me.”

She looked away. Reaching up, she crossed her hands in front of her body and began to rub her upper arms as if she were cold. The only thing was, it had to be at least eighty degrees outside, and we were standing in the sun.

“I’ve got all afternoon,” I began, leaning away from her a bit. “We’re not going anywhere until…”

With that, Ava dropped her hands and snapped her head in my direction. “Fine! All right!”

She exhaled and reached up towards her forehead, rubbing it briefly before she looked at me once again. Over the next several minutes I listened in disbelief while she told me the story about how Simon’s old man was back in the picture, threatening to take the kid. The only part she left out was how my name got mentioned. So when she paused for a second, I asked her about it.

She nodded. “I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Well, you need to.”

A long slow breath passed between her lips. “Gene thinks you and I are a couple. He saw you kiss me after you won in Miami.”

“Ah, okay,” I began, raising my thumb and forefinger to my chin. “Makes sense. What did you tell him? “

“What do you think? Of course, I told him we weren’t…” Her voice drifted off. Just then, Ava cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, that’s not all. Um, he’s demanding money.”

“How much?”

“Half a million dollars.”

I wrinkled my brow in disbelief. “Are you serious? You mean to tell me that this worm is extorting you?”

Ava shrugged. “Yes.”

“How much time do you have to come up with the money?”

She frowned at me. “Why?”

“Just answer the question. How much time do you have?”

DYSON

Ava exhaled a frustrated breath. “He gave me until the end of the week.”

“All right,” I nodded, waving my hand with a casual flick. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you out.”

Right away, Ava began to shake her head. “Oh no, no way. Absolutely not, Dyson.”

I shrugged. “I’m helping you, and that’s all there is to it.”

“No. I’ve never let anyone fight my battles for me before, and I’m not about to start now. Thank you. I appreciate it, but no.”

“Okay then,” I began, crossing my arms. “If you won’t take my help, then what’s your plan? What choice do you have?”

Ava fell silent, gnawing on her lip. She broke her gaze on me.

Sensing her uncertainty, I continued, “Is this dude the type that will follow through on something like this?”

Eventually, she looked at me again. “To be honest, I really don’t know. But with the kind of money we’re talking about here, I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

“So what are you going to do, Ava? Are you just going to call his bluff? See what he does? What exactly are you going to do?”

“I already told you. I don’t know!”

I paused for a second and stepped towards her, wrapping my hands around her upper arms. “Look, don’t be stubborn about this. What if he is serious? Are you willing to lose Simon over it?”

Ava looked up at me, her eyes glassed over.

“I don’t know what to do, Dyson. I love Simon more than anything in this world.”

I squeezed her a bit. “I know you do. I know. Listen, you’ve got to let me help you.”

Ava turned her head, and a single tear streamed down her cheek. She reached up to smear it away, when I heard the sound of her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. She froze and glanced at me for a second before reaching in and pulling it out.

After looking at the screen, she glanced towards me. “It’s Gene.”

I opened my hand. “Let me talk to him.”

Ava began to shake her head. “No, please.”

“Give me the phone, Ava. We’re together, a couple, remember? He won’t be surprised to hear from me. Come on, hand it over.”

After the end of the third ring, she passed the phone to me with reluctance. I answered.

“Who’s this?” A man’s voice said. “Where’s Ava? Put her back on the line.”

“Afraid not,” I replied, looking Ava in the eye. “I’m the person you want to talk to anyway.”

“Oh, well, if it isn’t pretty boy. So, you’re ready to swoop in and save the day for your girl?”

There is a part of me that wanted to cuss this good for nothing douchebag out. But, I thought better of it. After all, if I could talk him into my idea, I’d get what I wanted anyway.

“Let’s just cut the shit. Gene, is it?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Here’s my offer. I’m only going to say it once, so pay attention.”

He cleared his throat but didn’t speak, so I continued.

“I’m in Los Angeles for a race. If you want your money, you need to come to me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, slick,” he said. “If you want me to come there, then you’re paying for my ticket. First-class by the way.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I replied, “No problem. Buy your ticket, and when you get here I’ll reimburse you for it.”

He hesitated for a second. I wondered if I’d aroused his suspicions.

“Okay,” he said at last.

Guess not.

“Great,” I said. “I’ll have the rest of your money when you arrive. But in exchange for it, you agree to leave Ava and Simon alone for good.”

I glanced at Ava. She covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head back and forth.

“No problem,” he replied. “When?”

“How soon can you get here?”

“I can be there in a couple of days.”

I spent the next few minutes telling him to meet us at one of the bars where the team had been hanging out since arriving in Los Angeles. Not long after, I hung up and passed the phone back to Ava. She took it from me. Her face hardened with a scowl.

“Are you being serious?”

“Huh?” I said, frowning back at her. “What you talking about? Serious about what?”

Ava exhaled and slapped the outside of her thighs with her palms. “Gene! About giving him the money. How could you just, give in to him like that?”

I shook my head and chuckled at her. “Okay, let me get this straight. Fifteen minutes ago, you didn’t want me to help you at all. Now, as soon as I get the whole situation handled, you’re upset?”

“Paying off this weasel’s attempt at blackmail is not my idea of handling the situation!”

“Who said I’m paying him?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

“What?” she stammered. “Well, you did, just a minute ago on the phone call. You told him you were going to pay for his first-class plane ticket and then give him the rest of the money when he got here.”

I nodded and winked at Ava. “Ohhh, that… Right. Yeah, um, there’s not going to be any money. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? How can I not worry about it?” she replied, stepping close to me. Pointing off in the distance, she continued, “He’s coming here expecting to get that money. What’s going to happen when he shows up and there isn’t any?”

Unconcerned, I shrugged as Ava continued to ramble.

“I’ll tell you exactly what’s going to happen, Dyson.” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “He’s going to take Simon away from me. Jesus! When you said you were going to help me, this is not what I had in mind! And now, things are one hundred times worse than they were before you got involved!”

I’d had enough. I stepped towards Ava, reaching out to try and calm her down. But as I neared, she pulled away.

“Just… Please don’t touch me. Please.”

“All right, okay,” I said. “Let’s take it down a notch. You’re right. I’m not going to give that dirt ball one penny. But I can promise you that by the time I’m finished with him he will be keeping his word. Trust me, Simon isn’t going anywhere.”