Josh tucked his phone away and nodded to Ava. It was time to leave. The training had ended twenty minutes ago, and he was ready for some down time after yesterday’s emotional ride and today’s ongoing workout. Chase was staying behind to do an hour or two of one-on-one sessions with Desmond and a few of the others who wanted it, then he’d be taking over the guest room at Josh’s house. Maddie had left the gym already, and now, at last, he could take Ava home and spend some quality time with his niece.
He’d missed her over the weekend. Much as he’d enjoyed his R&R time and had been eager for a first real date with Maddie, he’d missed Ava’s energy and wit. Missed being able to give and receive the affection she so desperately needed.
“I vote we order pizza and binge-watch TV for the rest of the day,” he said as he hit the button to unlock the SUV. “How about every Spider-Man movie, starting with Tobey Maguire.”
“No way, it’s Tom Holland or it ain’t Spider-Man.” She chewed on a thumbnail, then said, “I think we should watch every movie that features a female superhero as the lead.”
He settled behind the wheel. “Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, what else?”
“Incredibles 2 is all about Elastigirl, so that counts. Birds of Prey counts too.”
“What about Catwoman?”
“Um. No. Definitely not.”
Josh laughed and started the engine.
“I’m going to add Black Panther to the watch list, because the women in that movie are so badass, I don’t even care that the main superhero is a guy. Plus, Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan are both crazy hot.”
“No objection from me. I could watch Lupita Nyong’o all day.” Thinking about the beautiful Black actress brought Trish to mind. He put the SUV in Reverse, but kept his foot on the brake. “Did Maddie tell you about my friend Tricia?”
Ava nodded. “How is she doing?”
“Better. Sean is making arrangements to fly her back to DC tomorrow, along with the other survivor, in Raptor’s jet.”
“She’s still in a coma?”
“Yeah. Medically induced. There’ll be a doctor on the flight, but keeping her out is probably best for the long flight.”
“I’m so sorry she was hurt, but glad she’s alive.” Ava reached out and placed her hand on his biceps.
He covered her fingers with his. “Thanks. Me too.”
“You were…supposed to go to that conference, weren’t you?”
He nodded.
“And you didn’t. Because of me.”
He gave her a half smile. “Owen, actually. His start date at R&R made being here a priority.”
“Is it…wrong that I’m glad it wasn’t you?”
“Honey, you’ve had enough loss. Not wanting to lose one more doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt, Uncle Josh. I—I need you. To be my dad. But also because I love you.”
Tears came to Josh’s eyes lightning fast. She’d never said that to him before. “I love you too, kiddo. I hate how it came about, but moving here, being your”—he stumbled, because he’d never dared to use the D-word before—“dad-like person is the best thing I ever did.”
“There’s something I have to tell you. You aren’t going to like it.”
Unease slithered down his spine, but really, what could she say that would be a problem? That she wanted him to find a different job because his work was dangerous? Give up training the volunteers? He could understand her reasons for feeling that way, and he would never tell her her feelings were wrong.
“Can it wait until we get home?”
“No. I might chicken out.”
He put the SUV in Park. “What’s up?”
“I—I know about Trina. That you moved here because you wanted to get away from her.”
All the blood in Josh’s body went straight to his gut. His deepest darkest secret. His greatest shame. Said aloud for the first time by his niece.
Maddie was sore everywhere. The training session in the gym had worked out muscles she’d only known existed in theory after intensive study of the human skeleton. She knew the insertion points on the bone, knew where they resided under her skin, but until today, they’d never made themselves felt.
They burned now, angry at being woken from their lifelong slumber. And if experience was any guide, tomorrow would be even worse.
She stopped at a Fred Meyer on the way home to pick up groceries and bath salts for sore muscles. She was driving back to the Painted Hills tomorrow and hoped the salts would ease the soreness before the long drive.
Next to the checkout was a stack of newspapers. She picked up the Oregonian, wondering if the photo of her and Josh with C-IV had made the print edition. She tossed it in the cart, just in case.
She probably wouldn’t see Josh again until Wednesday. Disappointing, but he needed alone time with Ava, and now he had Chase to take care of too.
The man couldn’t not be a caretaker. Although Chase appeared to be doing just fine. Much further along the healing spectrum than Owen had been. But Trina had given only the barest overview of what Chase had been though, and Maddie suspected what Trina had been allowed to share was only the tip of the iceberg of what the operative had suffered.
She was in her car, nearly home, when her cell phone buzzed. With the phone in the dashboard holder, the caller was easy to read without taking her eyes off the road for a full second.
Portland Police Bureau.
She spotted a gas station on the right and pulled into the lot, then answered the call.
“Ms. Foster, this is Officer Leahey with the Portland Police Bureau,” a woman said. “Your alarm service alerted us to check on your address, and we discovered a break-in. How soon can you get here to assess the damage and inventory what was stolen?”
Her stomach had plummeted at the officer’s first words. Her beautiful little rental house. She felt a sharp sense of violation and fear, and she didn’t even know if anything had been taken. She managed to form the necessary words. “I’m—I’m f-five minutes away.”
“You’re driving?”
“I’m pulled over at a gas station.”
“Stay there. I’ll send a patrol car to pick you up.”
“No. I’m okay. I can drive. I just…” She trailed off. She wasn’t sure if she was feeling adrenaline or panic or both.
“Give yourself a few minutes, then. Buy a soda if the station’s got a convenience store. We’re guarding the property, and will be here when you arrive.”
“Okay.”
She took the officer’s advice and entered the store, grabbing the first sugary drink she could find. Back inside the car, she sipped it slowly and tried to sort her thoughts. Her hands were still shaking. She wasn’t quite ready to drive.
She dialed Josh’s number. Her call rolled to voicemail, and she left a message, telling him the scant details she knew. She waited a few minutes to see if he’d call back. When he didn’t, she took several deep breaths and held out her hands. The trembling had lessened.
She put the car in gear and headed home, dreading what she would find there.
Josh’s phone buzzed as Ava’s words hung in the air. He glanced at the screen. Maddie.
No way could he take her call now, not when Ava had just laid that bombshell. He sent the call to voicemail.
“Talk,” he said to Ava, a harder edge to his voice than he intended. It was a gut punch that Ava knew his secret. The only way she could possibly know was if she’d read the damn letter. The one he’d intended to burn after getting it out of his system.
But for some damn reason, he’d kept it. Hadn’t been able to destroy it because rereading it had helped him come to terms with the guilt and shame. He’d have put it in the gun safe at the house, but that was Raptor property. Not only did it feel weird to store it there, but Owen, Chase, and any other visiting operative could’ve found it.
He should have bought his own damn document safe.
“I—I—I’m sorry, Uncle Josh.”
“First, I came here for you. That letter was me processing something that has nothing to do with you. Second, it hurts that you would go through my things. I would never violate your privacy in that way.”
“It—it wasn’t me.”
She wasn’t making sense. “What do you mean? How could it not be you?”
“When Maddie took me home yesterday to grab clean clothes for my sleepover at Marcus’s house, I found her in your room, going through your nightstand drawer. I was shocked. I told her that I was going to tell you. She said you’d never believe me. Because I’ve already made it clear I don’t like her and I’d do anything to get rid of her. Even lie. Then she gave me the letter and said, ‘You should know he didn’t come here for you. You were his excuse.’”
Every word from Ava’s mouth was a sucker punch. It didn’t sound like Maddie at all. Ava had to be lying.
But if he called Ava a liar and she was telling the truth… He’d lose everything he’d built with her.
And how well did he really know Maddie?
Sure, the sexual attraction was there in spades, but what if that was based on her resemblance to Trina? What if their chemistry came from nothing more than a shared taste in wine?
No. Hours on the phone with her said his feelings went deeper than that. He knew Maddie. She wouldn’t violate his privacy, wouldn’t cut Ava’s growing confidence by saying something so awful.
But Ava loved him. Needed him to be her dad. Why would she hurt him by making up such a story?
Last night, when Tisdale mentioned Maddie’s resemblance to Trina, Maddie had stiffened. He’d had a flash of worry that somehow Maddie knew, but that was impossible.
Except now he knew it wasn’t.
Maddie had known.
His eyes burned. One of the two women who’d become the center of his world in a very short time had just hurt him deeply. And he wasn’t a hundred percent certain which one.