Page 74 of Aussie

He groaned in frustration, reluctantly pulling away to glance at the screen.

His body tensed as he read the name flashing across it:Derek.

A call from Derek could only mean two things: either his team was being called up, or something had happened related to Ava and Christian.

“I need to take this,” he said apologetically, stepping away. Ava nodded, her expression curious but understanding.

As Aussie answered, his gaze flickered to Ava again. She was still watching him, her brow furrowing slightly.

“Derek,” Aussie said, his voice low as he stepped farther away. “What’s up?”

“How’s everything going up there?” Derek’s tone was casual but carried an undertone of genuine concern.

Aussie allowed himself a small smirk.Derek had a funny way of always checking in on the women in his team’s lives. He was such a big teddy bear, not that he would ever tell Derek that to his face.

“Things are good here,” Aussie replied.

“That’s good. I do have some news for you,” Derek said.

“What’s that?”

“Authorities located Chase and Barrett earlier this morning.”

“That’s good news,” Aussie replied, his relief evident for a split second.

“Not exactly,” Derek said, his tone heavy. “They were found dead.”

Aussie froze. His blood ran cold, and his gaze instinctively snapped to Ava. She was watching him, her body tensing as if she could feel the change in his demeanor.

“What?” Aussie managed, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Their bodies were dumped in one of the parks up in Hampton Roads. Both of them were shot execution-style.”

Aussie pinched the bridge of his nose, his mind reeling. “Do they know who did it?”

“No leads yet,” Derek said. “But the evidence recovered at the scene ties them to the crimes in the area, including the three murders.”

“What about any leads regarding who they were working for?”

“It’s a dead end. However, I do believe that whoever is behind these deaths knew those boys were compromised and did one hell of a clean-up job. Although Agent Jefferson said they did recover a cell phone in the vicinity of one of the bodies. Hopefully, it belonged to one of them and contained viable information.”

“So, what does this mean for Ava and Christian’s situation?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Alright. Well, thanks for the heads-up,” Aussie said, his voice firm despite the weight settling on his shoulders. “If you hear anything else, you’ll call me, right?”

“Of course,” Derek assured him.

They wished each other a Merry Christmas before ending the call.

As Aussie slipped his phone back into his pocket, he looked up and saw Ava was now standing a few feet away. She had her arms wrapped around herself as if bracing for bad news.

He walked over to her, his expression softening.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice low and laced with concern.

“Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain everything,” he told her.