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“What? His assault of me is all over the news?”
“No, he is being charged with possession and distribution of marijuana to kids at the school where he worked and other places. They went to his apartment and found bricks of it plus stacks of cash hidden under the floor. Did you know any of this was going on?”
Ava started to realize that’s the source of his money for the expensive dinners. Her mouth dropped open. He didn’t get a promotion; he was selling drugs to finance his lifestyle. The man in the park must have been his supplier.
“I had no idea. He didn’t seem like the type.”
“He was, but I knew there was something shifty about him.”
“Does it hurt?” Sam gestured to her lip.
“A little but this hurts more.” She pulled down the turtleneck collar to reveal the bruises. They had darkened through the night revealing a perfect handprint. Sam clenched her fists.
“I swear that piece of shit better not get out on bail. I’m going to send some of Nico’s bouncers after him.”
Ava checked her watch and told Sam she would talk to her later. She hugged her friend tightly before she went down the hall. The light to Jacob’s office was off, so she went to Xander’s. The door was open, and she went in hoping he would be able to contain his anger at her injuries. The night before she could see the outrage on his face. He didn’t look up when she entered, and she said his name.
The look of pain on his face was torture for her. He rose from his chair, putting his thumb gently over the wound on her lip. Then he folded the collar of her sweater down to reveal the bruises. He kissed them lightly and then replaced the collar.
“I wish I had been there.”
“I know, but it’s over, and Sam said something about him was on the news this morning. Apparently, Tim is a drug dealer. They found money and marijuana in his apartment.”
Xander went to his laptop and typed in the news site. Indeed Tim had been charged with drug distribution. The college distributor was an undercover agent. The supplier Tim had used was arrested in the spring and wore a wire with each transaction between them. They had mountains of evidence against him. He was facing huge fines and up to fifteen years in jail.
What Xander read next made his blood run cold. Tim had been suspected of facilitating the death of his wife. The woman had been sick and dying of cancer, but he was accused of giving her an overdose of painkillers that directly led to her death. The district attorney in the state of Florida had to release him for lack of evidence. He was never charged, but the investigation was still ongoing four years later. This man was a sick bastard. He would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. He could have killed Ava.
Ava sat in front of his desk as he read the article. He didn’t say anything about Tim being a suspect in the murder of his wife. The less Ava knew about this, the better. She would eventually find out since it was splashed all over the news.
He clicked off of the news article and handed her several folders of work. Jacob would be in soon, and she knew he was going to make a big deal over her injuries. He had always been the most protective of Ava’s family in New York, besides Xander of course.
She heard the door to Jacob’s office open and rose to talk to him. She wanted his reaction to be in private, not in front of Xander. When he saw her, he rushed around his desk.
“What the fuck?”
“I’m okay.”
“What happened to you?”
She explained the incident from the night before. Jacob was upset that in the aftermath she didn’t call any of the family to be with her. She told him that she was able to deal with it on her own. She wasn’t about to reveal that Xander had comforted her. She showed him the bruises on his neck and asked him not to tell her father. He would once again assert why she should move back to Georgia even though she had lived in New York for the past nine years.
They went to Xander’s office to discuss what they needed her to do for that day. She was given her work assignment, and she went to the research room to start it. Due to the circumstances, it was the best place to be. She didn’t want to sit at her desk as colleagues whispered. Worse she didn’t want to sit on the couch in Xander’s office and see the pained look on his face each time he looked at her. She didn’t want anyone’s pity.
Hours later she stretched and got up to retrieve a law book that she needed. She was the only one in the research room for lunch since the other assistant who had been using the room had left. As she paged through the book, she heard the door to the room open and close. Then as he got nearer to her, she smelled him. He pushed the hair away from her neck and rolled down the collar of her turtleneck placing a soft kiss there.
She turned, and he rolled the collar all the way down, again the pained look on his face. She removed the collar from his grasp and pulled it up.
“Stop feeling guilty. You can’t protect me all the time. I lived for twenty-three years without you watching over me and another four after that. I should have been more careful.”
“I never should have left you in the first place.”
“You had to have lunch with your parents.”
“That is not what I mean. I should never have left you four years ago. You would be my wife now and never have met him. I can’t lose you again.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She said as she walked back to the table with the book she had been holding in her hand.
“Why? Do you think in the blink of an eye we can’t be taken from each other?”
