Loose Ends (Magnolia Series Book 1) (25 page)

Chapte
r
Twenty-Fou
r

Ava pulled the truck
in the driveway at her beach house. Brandi’s car was there already—
Frankie must’ve driven it to throw suspicion off himself,
she guessed.

Every nerve in her body was on full alert as she grabbed the empty duffle bag and climbed down from the truck cab. Of course she’d never walk into a situation such as this without protection—and since Luke had confiscated her gun—she ‘
borrowed’
one of his that she found in the basement. Stuffing it into the back waistband of her jeans, Ava pulled her shirt over the exposed part of the black handgrip. Her hope was that Frankie would think she was too stupid to know how to protect herself. If that was the case, she had a fighting chance of making it out of this ordeal alive. That small fraction of positivity is what propelled her toward the front door of the house.

Ava said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t meet her demise in this home, but either way, she’d never be able to live here again. The thought that Frankie had invaded her personal space caused a sick feeling to settle in her gut. Pushing those feelings down, Ava stood on the stoop outside her front door. She noticed small things while she stood there. How the paint was starting to peel a little on the wooden door; must’ve been due to the salt from the ocean nearby. The cloudiness of the glass at the very top of the door; she’d never gotten around to cleaning details like that.

“Hey baby,” Frankie’s voice sounded behind her and she whipped around to face him. “Glad you could make it.”

“Where’s Brandi?” Ava asked with a bite to her tone.

She was done playing the meek little woman for him. It was time to stand up for herself and go down like a champ—if that was the case.

“Sounds like you’ve turned into a little bitch. Guess I’ll have to break you of that,” Frankie said as he pushed her against the door and pinned her arms beside her body.

“Let. Me. Go.” Ava enunciated the words.

“Hey, boss.” Frankie was interrupted by another man. When the guy rounded the corner she recognized him as Frankie’s right hand man, Flynn.

“
What
?” Frankie let her go and turned to the other man.

Ava made a split second decision. She reached behind her, quietly turned the door knob then pushed it open a tiny bit. The men stood there talking but Ava wasn’t concentrating on their words, all she could think of was getting inside the house to find her friend. When Frankie stepped forward and pointed a finger in Flynn’s face, Ava spun around and shoved the door open. She darted through the opening and slammed it shut—locking the deadbolt and regular locks. Cursing came from the outside along with loud banging on the door. Ava walked backwards as she watched the doorframe shake with the force of the men’s actions. The number one priority was finding Brandi, so she hastily began searching the house. The banging outside continued and Ava thanked her lucky stars she’d had strong locks installed when she bought the house. Those locks were the only thing keeping her from seeing the faces of two extremely dangerous men right now.

Fearing there was someone else lurking in the house, Ava refused to call out for Brandi. Being discovered would only complicate things at this point. She didn’t really have a plan if she
did
find her best friend beyond running as fast and as far as they could get. She knew in the back of her mind it wasn’t a good plan but it was the best she had at this stage in the game.

“You stupid bitch!” Frankie’s yell came from outside. Ava began searching more frantically for Brandi. “When I get in there, I’m gonna enjoy splattering your brains all over the walls.” He continued to pound on the door.

She darted through the kitchen and heard a muffled whine.
The garage
. Through the door she went that connected the kitchen with the garage. Looking around there was still no sign of her friend. As she began to walk back into the house she heard the sound again. This time it sounded like it was coming from the floor.
Her secret hiding place
. With each step closer to the hole in the floor, Ava heard what sounded like struggling. Frankie hadn’t put the lock on the door so she was able to slide it back. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw Brandi sitting in the floor of the area with duct tape over her mouth and her hands bound behind her back. Her ankles were also tied together and Ava watched as she struggled against her bindings.

“Hold still, I’ve got you.” Ava hurried into the hole and began to untie Brandi’s ankles and hands.

Once her hands were free Brandi yanked the tape off her mouth and took in a huge gulp of air. “Thanks.”

“Are you hurt?” Ava looked her over.

“No. I’d just gotten home and someone put something over my mouth. I passed out.”

“Shit. Okay, we need to get out of here.”

“Where’re they at?” Brandi asked as she stood on shaky legs.

“Outside. But I think we can slip out the back and take off running down the beach. If we can make it a half a mile up the road, there’s a 24 hour gas station there.”

“Where’s your cell phone?”

“In my purse in Luke’s truck.”

“Luke?” Brandi followed her out of the hiding spot.

“Long story. Come on.” She tip-toed with her friend close behind and came to the sliding glass doors at the back of the living room. Both women peered outside to make sure there was no one waiting. They could still hear Frankie’s voice toward the front of the house and decided to quietly slide the door open to make a run for it. Stepping outside Ava felt the refreshing hit of salted sea air as she tried to cross the small deck as silently as she could. “When we hit the sand, run. Don’t look back, just run as fast as you can,” Ava whispered to Brandi.

“Okay.” Brandi nodded.

They crossed the deck and landed on the sand. Even though the grainy terrain felt like quicksand, they dug in and put their all into getting the hell away from the house. Brandi was in the lead and Ava watched her clear the end of the house and take off down a flat area of the beach. She wasn’t far behind but when she passed the end of the house, something slammed into her and took her to the ground. Her body rolled a few feet as the sand dug into her skin. After she got her wits about her, Ava looked up to see Frankie coming right for her.

“Don’t ever think you’re fucking smarter than me.” He kicked sand at her and reached down to grab a fist full of her hair. Ava wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of crying out at his assault so she bit her lip until she tasted blood. “Come on.” He yanked her to her feet. “I don’t want an audience when I put a bullet in your head.” He began to pull her toward the house. “I hope you had a good two years down here, they are fixing to come to an end.”

***

Cole whipped his truck in front of Ava’s beach house and Luke was out the door before he’d put the vehicle in park. He yanked his Glock from his shoulder holster and chambered a round.

“You cover the front, I’ve got the back,” Luke barked orders to Cole.

“Got it.” Cole was yet again in business mode. His gun was drawn and he was just as ready as Luke was to end
this shit.

Luke crept around the side of the house by the garage and listened for voices. He could hear the brush of the water on the sand and the sound of a man’s voice coming from the back of the house. This was it. Luke took a deep breath and counted to five as he worked on quelling the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Some people loved the thrill of an adrenaline high but he hated it. It only meant he was in a situation he didn’t want to be in. Just like right now.

After the initial energy calmed down a bit, Luke continued around the side of the house and stopped again at the corner. He got down low and took a peek to see what was going on. Terror was the only word to describe how he felt at seeing Ava being dragged up the beach by her hair. Luke’s animal instincts took over and he stepped out from the cover of the house and yelled, “FBI! Put your hands where I can see them!” Luke’s gun was trained on Frankie Bohannan—son to one of the most notorious crime bosses on the East Coast.

He watched with eagle eyes as Frankie acted shocked to see him standing there. Then as if it were happening in super slow motion, Luke saw him reach around his back and grab for something. It was a decision he had to make when he raised his gun just a little higher and squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gunshot rang out around him and he sucked in a breath as he witnessed the bullet hit Frankie right between the eyes.

Ava fell to the sand when Luke pulled the trigger and he wanted to get to her and make sure she was alright. He took one step and heard another gunshot. The air was sucked from his lungs as pain slammed him in the back and dropped him to his knees. Fire spread out from where the bullet hit and everything began to fade around him.

“Luke!” He heard Ava scream and could see her silhouette running toward him. Right before he fell completely, Luke heard another shot and Cole’s voice behind him.

“Got him!” Cole yelled.

“Cole! Luke’s been shot!” Ava screamed as she knelt beside him.

***

Ava watched in horror as Luke’s body crumpled to the sand. The only noises she could hear were the grunts and groans from him being in pain and another shot fired. When she looked around Luke’s body, she saw Cole take out Flynn. Flynn had shot Luke in the back in a coward move. That didn’t surprise her at all; the majority of Frankie’s men were ruthless with zero honor. But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that Luke was dipping in and out of consciousness as she knelt down beside him. Her hand wrapped around his and squeezed as if it would help him stay with her.

“Luke, stay with me, please.” Tears formed in her eyes and for the first time in forever, she wasn’t afraid to let them fall.

Cole walked up on them and dropped to his knees. “Help me roll him over,” Cole said.

“Okay.” Ava wiped the tears from her eyes so she could see to help Cole. Luke groaned as they shifted his body to lay on his stomach. “Hold on, Luke.” She grabbed his hand again.

Cole used his pocket knife to cut the leather straps of Luke’s shoulder holster then yanked it off him and tossed it to the side. Ava watched as Cole made a slit in the bottom of Luke’s t-shirt and pulled so that it split down the middle. Her eyes widened and she fell back on her ass in the sand when she saw what was revealed.

“He’s gonna be bruised for a while, maybe a broken rib or two, but he’ll live.” Cole sat back and chuckled.

“A bulletproof vest,” Ava whispered.

“He’s not stupid enough to go into something like this and not protect himself. Neither am I.” Cole thumped his own chest, showing her that he was wearing the Kevlar protection as well.

“Damn it.” Luke shifted and tried to roll back over. “A little help please,” he groaned.

Ava and Cole helped him onto his back and then into a sitting position. “I thought you were dying.” More tears escaped her eyes as she sat there, still in disbelief.

“It sure as hell felt like it for a while. Holy shit that hurt.” Luke pulled what was left of his shirt over his head and revealed the vest that’d saved his life. He undid the Velcro and pulled the protection off. He looked around, “You cut my fucking holster?” Luke pinned Cole with a
stare.

“Wanted to make sure the bullet hit the vest and not below it. I’ll buy you a new one.”

“That was my favorite one.” Luke looked serious and then started laughing.

“
And
he’s back.” Cole slapped Luke on the back, Luke flinching.

“Stop laughing,” Ava reprimanded.

Both men stopped chuckling and looked at Ava. “Everything’s fine,” Luke assured her.

“No, it’s not. There’re two dead guys on the beach and you were shot. That hardly qualifies as
being fine
.”

Ava sat there while Luke leaned over and grabbed the sides of her face in his hands. “Look at me. I’m here and I’m alive.” Ava nodded.

“I think I’ll leave you two be. Gonna go put in a call to the local PD.” Cole hopped up and walked up toward the house.

“What happens now?” Ava asked.

“Now I kiss you because you’re safe.” Luke pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss deepened in no time and she felt herself being pulled under the spell that was Luke once more. She was the one to break the kiss.