Page 129 of Tortured Tones

The breath shot from my lungs. Tears burned my cheeks. As I covered my mouth, my fingers trembled. Oh my God. No! I grabbed my cell phone and called Beckett. I struggled to draw in air to talk. “Becks. Becks. It’s Luther. Fucking Luther’s been following me. Not Cole. He’s after me.”

“What the fuck? You in your room?”

“Yes.”

“I’m coming. Stay there.”

I paced the floor as tears streamed down my cheeks. I’d played into Luther’s hands. He was going to use my nonexistent relationship with Cole against me. He was going to use my job against me. Again. Fuck, Fuck. FUCK!

My chest crushed my heart. My lungs collapsed. My vision blurred. Was I going to lose Josh over this? I couldn’t. I couldn’t do that. Oh no! Oh no. Oh God, please no!

Four minutes later, there was a knock on my door. I charged over to let Beckett in. But he wasn’t alone. Wells and Ramona followed him, piling into our room. Beckett wrapped his arms around me, and I cried against his chest.

“Ava, what’s happened?”

“Luther has had someone following me everywhere. We thought these people were after Cole. But they weren’t. They were after me.”

“What? How do you know that?” Confusion flitted across Wells’s eyes.

I pointed to the photos sprawled across my bed. “Every time I was out with Cole, he’s had photos taken of us. Luther would’ve used the location services on my cell phone to track me down. He knew exactly where I was at all times.” I pointed to the printed message. “Look at the note. He’s going to make out in court that I wasn’t doing my job. That I’m flitting around the country, partying, and sleeping with Cole. That I was in dangerous situations. He’s going to make me look like an unfit mother again.” How could I have been so foolish?

“Oh, shit.” Ramona came over and gave me a hug. “Why would he do that?”

“Because he’s an evil fucking asshole.” Anguish tore through every cell in my body. “He’s afraid I’ll get full custody. Josh is the only thing that keeps me tied to him. He doesn’t want to let me go.” I sobbed and sniffled. “I can’t lose Josh. What am I going to do?”

Wells sifted through the photos and picked out another one of us leaving the hotel together in the morning after the Angels in LA party. Oh God...that night. Last night...I still felt Cole all around me. Fuck.

Wells turned the photo to me. “So have you been fucking him?”

Taking two steps back toward the desk, I swayed on my feet. The throb in my head split my skull. I couldn’t lie. I closed my eyes and nodded. “We have. A couple times. But never when I was on duty.”

Wells scratched the tip of his chin. “So that’s why you and Becks changed covers—not because Cole was an arrogant asshole?”

“You know I can handle smack talk.”

“Oh, I know.” Wells raised both eyebrows. “That’s why I was surprised. But I never questioned your decision to swap.” He jerked his chin at Beckett. “So you knew?”

“Yes.” Beckett dipped his chin. “Ava did the right thing, changing with me. She loves this job and is damn good at it. Her situation with Cole has never affected her focus on duty.”

“I never doubted that until last night when Charlotte disappeared.” Wells’s tone tightened as he tossed the photo onto the bed. “You were too emotional, Ava. You made some loose calls by letting the band help search for her rather than securing them in their dressing room in case it was a threat. You overstepped your position and took control of the op rather than letting me handle the process. You never left Cole’s side when Slip was supposed to be under your protection.”

“Slip was safe. He was with the others.” My chest shuddered. I’d crossed the line in more ways than one. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to find Charlotte.”

He waved his hand toward the door. “You put everyone in danger until we were certain of what we were dealing with. Being involved with the client is not allowed in this job. You know that.”

Fire licked through my veins. “We’re not supposed to be with fellow team members either, but you’re with Ramona. Why is it okay for you to bend the rules and no one else?”

The whites in Wells’s eye flared as he glanced sideways at Beckett.

Beckett puffed air threw his nose and shook his head. “It’s obvious, dude. We’re trained to observe and notice things. Don’t stress.”

Wells’s shoulders sank, but then he tensed his jaw, diverting his gaze back to me. “Me being with Rommie is ...different.”

“How so?” I drilled him with a challenging glare. “If we were in a compromising situation, you’d do anything to save and protect her first, wouldn’t you? You’re fucking an employee. What is the difference between client and co-worker? You’re emotionally involved.”

“Hey?” Ramona held up her hands. “Don’t bring us into this.”

“Rommie’s right.” Hardness set in Wells’s voice as he jammed his hands on his hips. “Yes, we’re together. But we’re never on shift at the same time. We’re always one hundred percent focused on the client. Never compromised.”

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