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He came so close to telling her that she was his family, and that as long as they were together, he’d be okay. But Ava wouldn’t look at it the same way he did. He wasn’t her family; her sister was, and until Aine was safe, there’d be no professions of love and no conversations about their future. There was still the chance, too, that Saylor was wrong, and Ava didn’t love him as much as his sister thought, and once this ordeal was over with, she’d go back to the life she had before, the one that he wasn’t a part of.
Razor looked over at Monk, who was staring at his phone. When the man’s eyes met his, he nodded.
Shit. Time to go already.
“I hate to cut the party short, but we need to leave.”
Both his sister and mother looked shocked but only momentarily. Ava stood, but didn’t move until Razor’s sister hugged her goodbye, followed by his mom and both of his nieces.
“Monk will grab your bag when you’ve gotten your stuff together, and then we’ll go.”
—:—
For the briefest of moments, Ava had let herself forget the nightmare that her life had become, and was enjoying the conversation she was having with Tabon’s family. She’d even allowed herself to think about how much Aine would like them, while pushing all the bad thoughts about what her sister was going through out of her head.
And then, just like that, she felt the rug being ripped from under her feet when Tabon said they had to leave. She knew it would be tonight sometime, but she’d thought they’d be able to have dinner at least. She’d barely had time to say goodbye to Tabon’s family.
As if in a trance, Ava walked into the cabin. She’d taken her toiletries into the bathroom; Monk probably wouldn’t think to grab them.
As she walked by the back door, something caught her eye. What was that? Was that Monk lying on the ground? And was that blood?
Before she could scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist, knocking the wind out of her.
“Not a sound, or the little girls will be next,” a heavily accented voice warned her. “Nod if you understand what I’m telling you.”
She did as he said, praying that he’d just take her and leave Tabon’s nieces alone. And what about his mother and sister? It was just like when she learned someone had Aine. She’d offered herself then, just like she would now. She wouldn’t scream. She wouldn’t fight. She’d go along willingly, praying no one else would get hurt.
The man led her to the back of the house and through the woods, but not in the direction she and Tabon or Monk had come from.
—:—
“Ava’s really lovely,” Razor’s mother said as she put her arms around his waist to say goodbye. “I’m so glad we got to meet her today, even though it was brief.”
“I’ll bring her back again soon, I promise.”
Saylor mouthed “sorry,” as both of his nieces hung on his neck so long he had to pry their arms from around him.
“Bye, Bro,” said Saylor, hugging him equally as hard. “Take care of that woman, and no more lying to her.” She wagged her finger at him, but the smile never left her face.
As he watched Saylor climb inside her car and drive away, a feeling of dread overcame him. How long would it be until he saw them all again? How long would it be until he could bring Ava back here? Never before had he hated his life as much as he did in this minute.
He went inside to see what was taking Monk and Ava so long. Maybe they’d wanted to give him privacy to say goodbye, but they really needed to get on the move.
“Avarie,” he shouted. “Time to go, sweetheart.”
In the same moment Razor realized the cabin was completely silent, he noticed the back door was partially propped open.
He ran o
ver and found Monk lying just outside of it. He knelt down, checking for a pulse. He found one, thank God, but where in the hell was Ava?
He scanned the area behind the cabin. To the left, he saw where the grass had been flattened in an almost perfect path into the woods.
“Monk,” he yelled, shaking him.
The man groaned and opened his eyes, pointing toward the forest. “They got Ava. One of them nailed me from behind.”
Razor’s heart pounded in his chest as he ran in the direction of the beaten pathway into the woods.
