Page 41 of Darkest Deeds

Nuts. Ripped down the center and split wide open. Spewed like a geyser too.

She shakes her head, unable to finish. “It happened not long after he left here. Security cameras out back caught Ava and him in some kind of argument. She kneed him in the crotch, but she wasn’t facing the camera, so that’s all Blade saw. He ran off after that.”

“You think Ava—”

“No!” Her lips pucker as if she just sucked on a lemon. “Ava wouldn’t hurt a flea. I’m worried about her. What if the guy who killed our regular followed her home too?”

He didn’t. You hand delivered him right to her doorstep.

“Ava warned me to leave Seven, but I needed the money.” Looking over her shoulder, she stares up at the glowing red sign. “Now, I’m not so sure.”

There’s no way out of this. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll swing by your place and see if she’s there,” I say, wanting to stuff every word back in my mouth and chew them into dust.

Her big doe eyes widen. “You will?” Without warning, she leaps onto her toes and throws her arms around me. I have no idea what to do, so I pat her on the head again. “Thank you, Nick!” Quickly letting go, she digs into what I assume is supposed to be bra and produces a cell phone. “Oh, I almost forgot. Ava left her phone at work. I’ve kept it with me in case she tried to call it. If you see her, can you give it to her?”

No, but I’ll sure as hell take it off your hands.

“Sure, no problem.”

I take it from her offered hand and stare at it as she starts to jog back to the side entrance to Seven. She’s a good kid, talkative as shit and way too handsy for my liking, but still good. Unlike me. There’s a lot of life in her, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.

“Hey, Rose?”

She stops a few feet away from me and turns around.

“Let’s keep this conversation between us, okay? Dmitry’s not exactly my biggest fan.”

She nods, clamping her lips closed and turning an invisible key against them with her fingers before pretending to toss it over her shoulder. I almost feel guilty as her innocent face breaks out into a wide grin as she disappears around the back of the building.

Once I’m settled back in the leather seat of the Audi, I power on Ava’s phone and stare at the password lock screen. Four numbers. They could be anything, but only one set come to mind. The only thing Ava ever called “lucky” in her life.

The day we met. A ghost of a smile pulls at my lips as I punch them in one by one.

0-6-1-4

Nothing.

The only other significant date is the one that destroyed me. As the knowledge sets in, my smile cracks.

1-2-2-2

The screen comes to life, and I force myself to ignore the orange blossom wallpaper, so I won’t crush the damn thing against the steering wheel. I head straight for recent calls and texts.

“Okay, Ava,” I huff. “Mikhail thinks you’re hiding something. Let’s see if he’s right.”

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