“I couldn’t reach her in time.” Gabrielle cried and Javier held her in his arms.
“Gabby, it’s going to be fine, the pack warriors have been alerted, the grounds are being scoured, and they will find her. Ava will be fine.”
“But she’s pregnant! She won’t be able to defend herself. I told her she could stay here but I couldn’t even keep her safe.” Gabrielle’s voice cracked and her shoulders slumped as she inwardly berated herself.
She should have followed her out. She should have insisted on accompanying her, but she hadn’t and now her sister was gone. She recalled what Rosa, the pack warrior who had brought Ava in had said about those unknown assailants that were after Ava’s life.
Could the one that escaped have come back to finish his job?
“Gabby, look at me.”
The voice of her mate penetrated through her internal worries. She looked into his beautiful hazel eyes.
“You can’t blame yourself for this. Ava needed to go out and no one knows for sure if keeping her cooped up would have prevented this situation from happening.”
“But I could have gone with her. Been there with her. Maybe then…”
“There was no way you could have known that this would happen, Gabby. What if they had taken you too? You would both be powerless. Rather than beat yourself up, why don’t you channel that energy into the search? We can’t change what has already happened.”
Gabby thought about it. Javier was right. She had to focus on finding Ava now. She would focus on blaming herself later after she had found her.
She nodded shakily and wiped her tears.
“You are right. I can’t lose my head like this. She needs me.”
Javier kissed her forehead and she relaxed into his embrace. She could believe everything would be alright whenever he held her. That was the thing about having a mate, they were all you needed at the time of your need.
She finally processed her thoughts. Goddess, how could this have skipped her mind? She pulled away from Javier.
“What’s wrong?”
“We need to call Adrian. If he is here instead of a continent away, he can reach her with their bond. At least we will know she isn’t near the pack if he can’t reach her.”
Javier hesitated.
“Are you sure, Gabby? Not only did Ava not want this but if they know you are here they can try to enforce your exile again since we aren’t mated yet.”
But Gabrielle’s mind was already set as she looked at him determinedly. If something happened to Javier, she would want to know, separated or not
“The most important thing is Ava right now and as for separating us, I’d love to see them try.”
She gave him a fierce smile and dropped a kiss on his lips before she walked towards the phone and dialled a number she couldn’t erase from her mind even if she tried.
It took a second before he picked up.
“Yes?” He sounded tired, frustrated and undeniably Adrian. Her heart remained still and didn’t flutter. She didn’t think of Adrian instead she thought of her sister in a strange place held by strange people and grew even more afraid for her.
“It’s Gabby. Ava has been abducted.”
******
When Ava opened her eyes, she was chained and in the dark.
Where was she?
How many hours had she been out, and how long had it been since her abduction? How was Gabby taking it?
Her eyes were beginning to adjust when the lights came on.
“Ava, good to see you again.” Ivy said appearing in front of her with a smirk.
Ava was in disbelief at first then in shock. There was no way Ivy came all the way here. She was supposed to be living the dream life with Adrian.
“Ivy?”
“So shocked to see me? Aww, I’m almost touched.”
Ava looked around suddenly realizing what was going on.
“You did this? That means you also sent those men after me?”
Ivy tilted her head to the side considering her.
“You are pretty dumb, has anyone ever told you that?” She rolled her eyes and flicked back her hair arrogantly. “Isn’t it obvious? Do I need to wear a villain cape and leather before I’m taken seriously?”
Ava couldn’t understand. There was no reason for Ivy to have taken her.
“But why would you do this? You already have everything. You have Adrian, you are now his consort as you’ve always wanted. You are carrying his child and I left him for you. What else do you want?”
Ivy tsked.
“Everything. Unfortunately for me, Adrian found out that I took advantage of his drugged state to conceive our child. He got really mad. You know how he gets.”
Ava’s jaw dropped. Of course. Of course, Adrian had been drugged. She should have seen this coming. Adrian would never have betrayed her like that with a clear head. But he had hidden it from her.
He might not have done anything but he had felt the need to hide it from her. But it still didn’t change the conclusion of what had happened.
“So I decided to have a little vacation until he calmed down and unfortunately for you, I found out your little secret.”
Ivy touched Ava’s belly and she felt dread consume her.
“I can not take the chance that your child will claim what is my child’s right.”
“Ivy please, whatever issues you have with me, let us leave it between us but please don’t bring my child into this. You are also about to become a mother, don’t do this.”
Ivy smiled.
“But that is the exact reason I am doing this. For my child. I waited several hours for you to wake up for this. It felt… wrong to kill you while you were oblivious. You should feel every moment of it the same way I did when you beat me up in front of the entire pack.”
Goddess, Ivy was still mad about that? There was no way she would show Ava any mercy and there was no way she could have known that things had gone south in the pack, enough so that Ivy had thought it important to escape.
No one knew where she was or who was holding her. Even if Reeve knew that she would come after Ava, he couldn’t reach her because he didn’t even know where she was because she had forbidden Gabby from telling him. Maybe she was dumb like Ivy said.
“Ivy, please–”
“Enough small talk.”
Ivy cocked a gun and clicked off the safety. “Sleep tight, Ava. I’ll take care of Adrian from here on out.”
Ava struggled against her restraint drawing blood but it was to no avail. She couldn’t escape.
Was this going to– There was an explosion.
Ivy startled. “What was that–”
Adrian kicked the gun out of her hand once she was distracted, before backhanding her so soundly that she fell to the ground.
“Adrian! How did you–”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Let’s just get you out of here.”
Adrian pried the silver chains off her burning his fingers in the process but he didn’t seem to even notice it. In seconds she was free.
She embraced Adrian tightly and he returned the hug briefly.
“Let’s go.” He urged. She nodded.
There was a gunshot. Ava couldn’t move. She looked down in shock.
Blood spilt on the concrete floor.
“Ava.”
Adrian’s voice held as much shock as Ava’s face did as he fell, a bleeding wound in his middle. Ivy was on her knees and had managed to get to the gun Adrian had kicked out of her grasp.
“Adrian!” Ava screamed, dropping to her knees, obstructing Ivy’s line of fire with Adrian’s body unintentionally.
Ivy pulled herself up so she could aim properly. She has missed before. She wouldn’t miss again. Ava would not leave this place alive.
She ignored the trickle of pain in her midsection from where she had hit when Adrian had flung her down hard.
She straightened partway wondering where her men who had been guarding this abandoned had gone. Perhaps Adrian had dispatched them. She had no idea how he had gotten here so quickly though.
Ava was still trying to shake Adrian awake, blood smearing on her hands as she sobbed.
Ivy took aim, her arm feeling heavy and strained from the fall.
Ava looked up from Adrian to her, finally seeing her death. It was too late. Even though she tried to move now, it would be too late. Ivy couldn’t even smile. It had taken way too fucking long to get this shot at her.
A gunshot shattered the moment and for a minute it was like nothing had happened then as though in slow motion, Ivy watched her gun fall out of her grasp as she reached for her bleeding side.
Then time returned to its normal speed and Ivy gasped in pain and shock looking at where the gunshot had come from. Standing a distance away with a gun in her hands was Gabrielle.
That bitch had actually made good on her word to come for her even if it was now to save her sister instead of to keep Adrian.
“Ava!” Ivy ran towards her sister.
Ivy heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. If she didn’t leave here, she would be caught and she had no illusion about what they would do to her if Adrian died.
Grasping her wound so as to put pressure on it, Ivy stood and limped away, her blood pumping beneath her fingertips and staining her hand. She had to get to her car before they came after her. Her scent would only be too easy to follow with all the blood.
Please let my child be fine. She prayed as she moved, every movement sending pain running through her. This conception had come through so much effort. She couldn’t let it all go to waste. And the truth no matter what the inspiration had been behind this, she had begun to become attached to the idea of becoming a mother.