The Brookfield Series Volume One (24 page)

“Tell me something. Have you ever been in a serious relationship?” Claire asked.

“Yeah, several. Why?”

“No, not a long-term one. A serious one. One that you were sure would last forever,” Claire clarified.

“Um…”

“I didn’t think so. I know I’m always butting in, but I really hope you give Seth a chance.”

Ava nodded.

Claire wrapped her arm around Ava’s shoulders. “I’m not your enemy. We can talk.”

“Thank you. It’s just that I’ve never had a friend to be like this with, so I’m not really sure how to open up.”

“Girl, it’s time for things to change. You need to fall in love, preferably with Seth, and you need a set of girlfriends. I love Julie, and I like you. The three of us need to head up to Jackson Hole to a bar and have some dancing fun. Once this weirdo gets caught. Sound good?”

“It does.” She wasn’t lying. It really did sound like a perfect evening. Maybe it was time to start letting her guard down and really connect with people.

“I don’t want to leave you alone, but I need to find Jace and get his thoughts.”

“I’m fine, Claire. Don’t worry. If Seth actually believes I can take care of myself, then that says something.”

Claire smiled. “You’re right about that, because he doesn’t think anyone can do that. You’re good for him. See ya. Call me if anything else happens.”

Ava waved as Claire left the cabin on a hunt to find her husband. Gazing around the untidy place, she debated on actually cleaning. Yeah, right. She was going to get dressed and then head to
her
shop. Whoever wanted her to leave was not going to win. She had wanted to open Bare Necessities for years.
They
weren’t going to keep her away.

An hour later, she stood in the middle of her shop, plotting out with boxes where the clothing racks would sit. Each box was labeled with a different item name as she tried to figure out what needed to be where. She wanted it to make sense and be easy for her customers to navigate.

She moved a few more around and then decided to get Kimberly’s opinion. Picking up her phone, she texted Kimberly out of curiosity just to see if she was around. After she set her phone down, she powered up her laptop to start ordering a few of the things she was going to need. She was determined to get this place open soon. Once it was, she would finally feel like Brookfield was home. And once she felt like that, it would be time to make it official and find a place to live and call her own.

Her phone dinged. She picked it up and unlocked the screen to read the text. She expected it to be from Kimberly, but it was John—again.

I really would love to see you and show you how sorry I am. It’s part of my twelve-step program. I’d like to apologize in person. Let me know when.

Ava stared at her phone, debating what to do. Part of her wanted to call her current wireless carrier and request a new number, but it wasn’t like he was hurting her. He wanted to talk, that was it. It made sense. If he was in rehab and following the steps, then it was only logical he would want to apologize to her for how things had been between them. But seeing him wasn’t a good idea. Maybe she’d call him later.

She quickly replied, hating herself for it but letting him know she would call him later to talk. After she hit the send button, she heard a weird sound from the back room. It sounded almost like a phone’s noise when someone received a notification. Surely, she was hearing things, but how strange it would happen right after she’d sent a message.

Her phone lit up and then followed the sound of a new text message from John. He told her he was looking forward to it. Even though she wasn’t, she decided to send one more message. She typed,
Me, too
. and then nervously let her finger hover above the send button. What the hell was she going to do if she heard the sound again? There was no way John was in her back room. No fucking way.

Now she was scaring the shit out of herself. Her heart raced. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button.

Seconds later, she heard the same sound. She froze, staring at the closed door that led to the back room. Had she closed it? There was just no way. He couldn’t be. With her phone clutched tightly in her hand, she started to walk backwards toward the front of the store, praying whoever it was wouldn’t decide to show their face. She had to get out of here and to Seth.

Her purse sat on a table near the front door. She tiptoed to it, and just as she put the strap over her shoulder, someone said her name. Turning, she came face-to-face with John.

“I’ve been waiting on you. I wanted to talk to you,” he said. He didn’t look like himself. He was usually well dressed and clean shaven, but his clothes were wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and he was in desperate need of a razor.

“John, hi.”
Stay calm.
“I was just going to leave and call you on my way back to the cabin. But instead you’re here. It’s good to see you.”

“Is it really? I’ve been trying to find you. You never should’ve left me.”

“You needed help, and we just weren’t good for one another.”

“That’s not true. We were very good together.” He stepped closer.

“Let’s be serious. We fought—a lot. It got out of control.”

“You always liked it rough. And that last time, I didn’t mean to. I never meant to hit that beautiful face of yours.”

Ava slowly took another step back. “This doesn’t sound much like that apology you said you wanted to give. I have a meeting I need to get to. Can we do this later?”

“A meeting? I thought you said you were just heading home and you were going to call me? Still a pretty little liar. That’s what got you into so much trouble.”

“I never would’ve lied if you didn’t want to control me so much. Who the hell wants to tell someone their every move? It’s not normal.”

“If you weren’t up to no good all the time, it never would’ve mattered.”

Ava slipped her phone into her back pocket and reached behind herself to see if she could feel the door yet.

“We have company,” John said, looking out the glass.

Turning around, she saw Kimberly. Just as Kimberly opened the door, Ava shouted, “Get out of here!”

Kimberly stopped mid-step and assessed what was going on. She then grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly went back out the door. Relief started to set in that help would be here soon, but that quickly vanished when John grabbed Ava by her forearm and started forcing her out the front.

“You’re going to walk with me as though we are friends to my car. We are leaving, and you are coming home with me. If you don’t do as I tell you, I will hurt that girl along with your cousin and her daughter. And don’t think I won’t. People who have money also have power.”

Ava gulped and nodded. She then walked out the door with him as he’d asked and crossed the street to a blue sports car. She’d seen this car in Brookfield before, several times, but it had never registered in her head that it might be his.

Once she took her seat, he climbed in and started the car. From the side mirror, she could see Kimberly on the phone looking as though she was having a panic attack. Seth would save her. She was sure of it. Afterwards, he’d never trust her again. She’d repeatedly told him she could take care of herself and had gotten him to start letting go of his past, and now this happened.

“I think, before we go home, we should take a detour. Let’s get married,” John suggested.

“Married? No way.”

“Ava, I don’t want to hear it. You’re mine. I just went halfway across this damn country to prove it. Doesn’t that show you just how much I love you?”

More like how psycho he really was. “You know how I feel about marriage.”

“And you now know how I feel about you. Really, do you have much choice? What’s that pretty little girl’s name? Ah, Lila.”

“You’re a real creep, you know that?” she snapped.

He laughed as he sped through town, heading right for the interstate. Things weren’t looking good. If he got on the interstate, it was going to be much harder for Seth and the other officers to find her. Ava closed her eyes. All she could do now was hope luck was on her side.

Chapter Fifteen

Seth’s office door flung open, and Cody and Randy stood there, ghost-white. Seth dropped his pen and went to his feet. Something had happened.

“Is it Ava?” Seth asked.

Randy nodded. “Kimberly just called.”

“What has the son of a bitch done now?” Seth demanded.

“He kidnapped her.”

Seth’s mouth dropped open. Had he heard them right? “What?”

“Kimberly said a man took Ava.”

“What the fuck are we doing here? Get your asses in a car, and get her!” Seth grabbed his keys and started to leave the office.

Cody placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got several officers out. You’re not on this case. You can’t go.”

Biting his lip, Seth couldn’t believe they didn’t want his help, but he didn’t care. “Cody, I don’t give a fuck. That is the woman I love, and
I
am going to save her.” He stomped past the men and didn’t care one bit about his job at the moment. The only thing he cared about was Ava.

Seth was out the door and in his car before anyone had a chance to argue. Part of him was pissed that anyone would tell him not to. He revved his car then froze. Which way to go? There were multiple ways he could find her. Shit! As his heart raced, he feared he was going to lose control. He punched the steering wheel, sounding the horn.

Cody appeared by the passenger’s side. Seth rolled the window down.

“I’m coming with you. According to your sister, he was headed toward Jackson Hole. If we can catch him before he hits the interstate, we’ll be good. You already know what happens if he gets there before we catch him. He’s in a blue Mustang, so he’s going fast. I’ve got an officer trying to track Ava’s phone right now. As long as it stays on, we will know where they’re headed.”

“Get in, and let’s go.”

Once Cody was in the car, Seth backed out, put his lights on, and got the hell out of Brookfield.

* * *

Ava stared out the window as the car sped down winding roads. In another ten miles, they would be getting close to the interstate. She had no idea if the police even knew she was missing, and if they did, she didn’t know how much of a distance John had on them. Her eyes watched the passenger side mirror, hoping to see blue and red flashing lights. Instead, she just kept seeing the green trees as they passed them.

They’d already made it through Jackson Hole. She knew the road’s thirty-five miles per hour speed limit would slow the police down. Glancing over to the speedometer, she saw John was easily pushing eighty.

She had to figure out something. She had to slow this vehicle down.

“I’ve got to use the restroom,” she said.

“Need a cup?” he replied.

“Not unless you want me shitting in it.”

“Fuck! It’s just like you to have to need something to put us off schedule. You always do this.”

“It wasn’t like I was expecting to get dragged out of my store today and forced to marry someone.”

John’s grip left the steering wheel, and before she had time to move, he slapped her across the face. She yelped.

“You will not talk to me in that sarcastic tone. You will respect me. Do you understand me?”

“I understand you, all right. You’re a chauvinist pig.”

John’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. She could see anger boiling in him.

“I will never be that woman. I will always defy you.”

“Just shut up! Can you do that? Shut up!”

The car sped up, and Ava knew this was getting even more dangerous. One of two things was going to happen. He was going to get so angry he would crash, or the need to hit her would take over, and he’d pull over just to put her in her place—as he called it.

“Maybe if you had been nice to me, I would have willingly married you. But how can you want to marry me, knowing I am doing it just so you don’t hurt the people I care about? Can you live your life knowing that when you have sex with me, it’s just rape? Because I’m never going to want it.”

“Shut up!” The car jerked toward the side, and it started to slow.

He was going to beat her, but at least it would give the police time to catch up. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been through this before. Once the car was parked, John climbed out and came around to her door. Panic set in as Ava remembered the pain she was about to experience.

She went to hit the lock button, but he opened the door before she had a chance. He reached in and yanked her out by her hair. She screamed as he tossed her to the ground, and she landed hard on her butt.

“You are going to shut that mouth of yours.” John slapped her across the face again.

This time she tasted blood. She started to push herself up. Maybe she could run. He only shoved her back down before she made it to her feet.