Page 48

Jack

“All okay?”

My blood alternates between ice cold and blistering. My head throbs. The numbness in my chest holds a permanence to it. Anger, fury? My mind has settled into a meditative trance. The bright flash of white, the rolling waves crest and crash, luring me away from absolute madness.

“Fisher told me he escorted Ava off the property and out of your neighborhood last night. He revoked her pass with the front guards.” Ryan’s on speakerphone.

A rustling noise crosses the line, and I empty my glass with one long swallow. If I had more energy, I would hurl the phone across the room.

“Today? Is that still what you want?”

“Ava Amara is not allowed on the property. Under any circumstance.”

Ryan has questions but I don’t have to answer.

“Everything we discussed yesterday is underway. But we haven’t linked–”

“And you probably won’t. He’s a master. We’ll talk later.”

After leaving my uncle, it hit me like a freight train that he’d been fully aware of not only my impending arrival, but other things he shouldn’t have known.

The government reference. She told him I worked for the government.

My deepest secret. The one thing I’d never shared with anyone, not even my wife, and she told him.

She told him everything. Either she was listening in behind closed doors or there are more listening devices.

Living here, she could plant them anywhere she liked.

So, I called Ryan, filled him in, asked him to look closely at all of my uncle's correspondence and financial dealings.

And I asked him to do another deep sweep of my home.

Fucking money-hungry bitch .

So far, we haven’t found any additional devices.

Anything regarding Victor Morales, my loving uncle derived from the source.

Ava clearly told him I wanted a relationship after the contract ended.

She told him I was on my way to visit him.

And… proving I meant nothing to her, she told him about my prior government work.

That one really infuriates me. Thank god I didn’t tell her everything.

“When we meet next, let’s discuss the new project. In detail.”

The current joint task force operation, dubbed Operation MexTex, has essentially been hijacked by the government entities involved. They are extremely interested in this distribution avenue and are debating at what point they’ll pull the trigger and end it. They could continue the op for eternity.

So, I told Ryan I want to splinter the UC project.

My goal is to uncover every deal Mark Sullivan orchestrated behind the scenes, and I want a list of all involved.

Whether it’s a government contact or an employee of mine, I want their names on a list. And I will systematically work to build a case against them.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

My head pounds and my stomach roils, remnants of the physical abuse I wrought last night.

I can’t remember the last time I drank that much.

I woke up feeling like death and couldn’t bear to pick up my phone.

I asked Fisher to contact my assistant and have her clear my schedule for the day.

It’s not in his job description, but they can charge me extra.

“Working.”

She crosses her arms and looks at me like she’s calling bullshit.

Then she leaves. I should talk to her, but my head isn’t in the right space.

I need to get out of the house, so I head out to the beach.

I kick off my shoes at the end of the path and let my bare feet sink into the sand, all the way to the water's edge, where I sit.

One positive outcome of all of this is that when I do talk to Sophia, I’ll have good news to tell her. Ava and I are done. She’s gone. Never to re-enter our lives again.