She nodded, her face pressed into my chest. But she didn't move.
"Do you know where Gray is?"
She cried harder and shook her head.
I brushed my hand down the back of her hair, trying to soothe something I knew would likely haunt her for a long, long time.
"It's ok, baby, I am here now and I have you ok."
Her small hand gripped my shirt harder as she shook, crying in my arms.
She finally looked up at me, tears staining her cheeks and said, "We need to find Gray. The last time I saw him, he looked hurt."
I stood pulling her up with me and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head when I heard it... A snap of a branch.
And then... "Well, isn't this touching?"
CHAPTER 72
AVA - I’M RIGHT HERE
The smoke parted like a curtain, and hell walked through it.
I knew that voice.
Erin.
I turned slowly, heart hammering as she stepped out of the haze with Bishop beside her. Both armed. Both smiling like wolves who’d already tasted blood.
Behind them, five more shadows emerged, fanning out in a loose circle around me and Harlan. I felt his body tense beside mine, and I heard the barely contained growl in his breath. His hand flexed near his gun, but we both knew we were outnumbered.
“Look what we have here,” Erin said, voice syrupy and cold, “The disgraced cop and his little charity case. God, you’re even filthier in person.”
She tilted her head, eyes gleaming as she circled, gun trained between us. “No comms. No backup. No one is coming to save you.”
A rumble sounded in the distance, faint and low. A storm? Thunder? Engines? The ground almost seemed to hum beneath my feet.
Erin paused, glancing toward the sound. Then smiled wider. “Whatever that is, it’ll be too late.”
Harlan stepped forward slightly. “You want me? Fine. You have me. But let her go.”
“No,” I whispered it before I could stop myself. “No, you don’t get to trade me like some fragile thing, Harlan. I will not leave you.”
He turned to me, desperate. “Ava...”
Erin chuckled, cutting him off. “While I love a good romantic suspense... what woman doesn’t?” She motioned toward Bishop. “ButI amsickandtiredof the Ava show. So, this is how it’s going to go down. You’re going to get on your knees and die quietly.”
“Harlan will never get on his knees for you,” I snapped, my voice low and razor-sharp.
Erin laughed, full and venomous. “That’s right, Ava... it wasmewho was on my knees for him. Over and over and over again. He couldn’t get enough.”
I rolled my eyes. “This petty jealous ex bullshit is getting old, Voss. He doesn’t want you. He never did. You weren’t even good enough to keep. And while we’re at it, what the fuck is wrong with you? You’re a female officer. In a position of power. A chance to actually make a difference... to be a role model to younger generations.”
She scoffed, twirling her gun lazily. I flicked a glance at Harlan. His eyes moved, scanning, calculating, and tracking threats. He was trying to find an opening. I just had to keep her talking.
“Not every woman wants to be Mother Teresa,” Erin sneered. “You live amiserablelife, Ava. You scrape by, you suffer, and you act like it makes you some kind of martyr. I live my life exactly how I want to, and I fuckingloveit. Almost as much as I love fucking.”
The men around her chuckled.
