In Need of You

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Detective Brysen was supposed to be there. He was never late to work. Ava sat at her desk with her arms folded. A scowl sat upon her lips and brow ridge. The man was like fucking clockwork, she thought. Elisha would be the first to enter and the last to leave most days. Hell, when Captain Alders didn't show his ragged mug, Elisha was there to keep the team going and the work flowing. This wasn't like him. What the fuck had Jonah done now?

As she rose from her desk, she noticed a tall figure standing behind the frosted door. She sucked in a breath. That could have been him. It should have been him.  She waited as the door opened. A younger black man she'd never seen before walked inside. The red t-shirt and black causal pants he wore matched his light brown skin. It was like honey dripping off a spoon; it was so smooth... so delectable. His hair was smooth, wavy, and black. His caramel eyes glanced in her direction as he made his way to Captain Alder's office. 

Ava furrowed her eyebrows. She'd seen him before. Or maybe she hadn't, but he looked familiar. Making her way to the captain's door to introduce herself, Ava felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She glared at the clock on the wall. It wasn't even noon yet. But it wasn't unlike Jonah to call her with some unexpected bullshit he wanted her to do. That was, of course, the life of an escort. She pulled the phone from her pocket and noticed a text message. It read, "Meet me at the pier now." That wasn't Jonah's style. The man absolutely hated texting. Hell, he'd rather use physical messengers. It was more dramatic that way for him to make a statement. 

Backing up from the man she wanted to get close and cozy with, Ava grabbed her black cardigan from the back of her office chair and pulled her office keys out of the drawer. She glared at Captain Alders, holding several manilla folders and envelops in hand. This was really the best job in the world, she thought. She could leave anytime she wanted as long she was making the drop-offs of important shit she didn't care about to the right places. 

She made her way to the door and swung it open. She noticed the black Dodge Charger Elisha would normally drive when on duty, but for the life of her, Ava couldn't spot the driving bed he called an SUV as she made her way to the new white two-door BMW she bought herself. 

Ava glanced at the two oak trees sitting at the farther end of the parking lot and noticed something move. She frowned. It wasn't any animal she'd ever seen before, or maybe it was Jonah's fly. He probably had his asses out there watching her every move again, but it wasn't like she couldn't shake them, though. Besides, Elisha had busted them up pretty good at the warehouse. 

It wasn't like she was going to run off with the money he'd given her and jet set to Morroco. Though, that was probably better than being in Kentfield where all of her enemies and friends resided. Hell, it was better just to get away from society's prying eyes.  

Driving past the trees, Ava glanced at the figure standing in between them. Their leaves shrouded the person well enough that she couldn't make out whether it was a man or woman. Ava pushed the gas pedal of her little BMW and sped out of the parking lot. She glanced at the yellow light before it turned red and sped through it. With her smartphone in hand, she dialed Jonah's number, not paying attention to the children that were crossing the streets. Honking horns and screams caught her ears as she neared the children. She glanced at them, swerved, and pushed the car down the street at lightning sped. It wasn't her fault those little money grabbers were walking in the street. They should have gotten out of her way.

Before his phone had a chance to ring, it went straight to voicemail. Ava scoffed. That asshole never wanted to answer the phone for her when she called but had high expectations of her answering her phone whenever he called. She tossed the device onto the passenger's seat and drove past the park where she first met Lori. For a moment, she wondered what happened to Jonah's wife; she wondered why he didn't want to make things work between them. Their broken home when she was growing up. Then, her damned father had to go and get some other woman knocked up, and here came Daniel. The little boy who took everything she had away from her with his dada's and coos and dribbles.  Even his snot bubbles captured her real mother by the ovaries. She hated her mother for that.