What’s going on here?”
Dylan eyed Blair carefully. “It’s your call.”
She nodded before turning back to Ava. “Long story short, Tony is negotiating a merger for Redding Technologies. There’s been a lot of opposition within both companies and from outside competitors. That’s not unusual, but a couple of weeks ago, he started getting threatening phone calls at work. Then last week our house was broken into and someone left a message on the bathroom mirror.”
“What was the message?”
“‘Tell the truth.’”
“Tell the truth,” Ava repeated with a pensive frown. “And you think that message has something to do with the merger?”
“Coming after the phone calls, it seems a logical conclusion,” Dylan said.
Ava shot him a glance before turning back to the bed. She wore that look again, the one that told him she wasn’t about to accept anything at face value.
“Do you know what truth they’re talking about?” Ava asked.
“Tony doesn’t talk much about his business deals,” Blair hedged.
“Did you call the police?”
“No, because he doesn’t take the threats seriously. He thinks the opposition is trying to rattle him. If we go to the police, they’ll know they’re getting to him. It would weaken his bargaining power.”
“He’s playing a risky game with your safety,” Ava said as she moved around to the other side of the bed. She seemed to want to keep an eye on both of them while she examined the doll.
“I agree,” Blair said. “It is risky. That’s why I went behind my husband’s back and hired Dylan. To Tony and everyone else, he’s just another guest.”
Ava’s head came up. “What do you mean, you hired Dylan?”
He had remained silent for most of the exchange, preferring to let his client disclose as much or as little as she felt was warranted. But his gaze had remained on Ava, and now he saw a war of emotions on her face as she struggled to make sense of his deception.
“I work for a private security firm in Houston,” he explained. “You may have heard of it—the Blackthorn Agency.”
“Yes, I know of it.” Her tone sounded stilted. “For how long?”
“A little over a year.”
She shrugged, but her features hardened. “So much for being at loose ends.”
I can explain, he wanted to tell her, but instead he allowed her to draw her own conclusions.
“Please don’t say anything to the others,” Blair pleaded. “I asked everyone here so that we could catch up and have a good time. Maybe even mend some fences. We were once like family.”
“That was a long time ago,” Ava said, her cool gaze brushing Dylan’s before she looked away.
“And yet you’re here.” Blair’s smile turned hopeful. “Call me sentimental, but I still miss what we had. I still miss us. I thought if we could all get together just one more time, we could somehow recapture the magic. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking. Even so, I don’t want to cast a pall over our reunion.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Ava said. “I think you should go to the police regardless of what Tony says. It’s dangerous and irresponsible to do otherwise. I’ll keep quiet for now, but if anything else happens, all bets are off.” Her gaze dropped to the bed. “What are you going to do with this thing?”
Dylan moved around beside her. “I’ll handle everything in here. Why don’t you take Blair into the other room and fix her a drink? She still looks a little shaken.”
Ava nodded. “Good idea. Maybe I’ll fix one for myself while I’m at it.”
A little while later, Dylan answered the door of his room to Ava. She looked calm and collected, but there was something about her demeanor that put him on notice.
“Can I come in for a minute?”
He stepped back to allow her inside. “What’s up?”
She strode into the room and turned with a glare. “How about we start with the doll? You don’t really think it was put in Blair’s bed because of some business deal, do you?”
Dylan took a moment before he responded, surprised at how hard he had to work to remain dispassionate. He didn’t think he would be so affected by Ava’s presence, but his chest tightened uncomfortably as he followed her into the room. She stood with her back to the balcony doors, arms at her sides, head slightly lifted. Dressed all in black, she looked ethereal and mysterious, a dangerous temptress with lamplight shimmering in her hair and something indefinable gleaming in her green eyes. The bombardment of memories was almost a physical pain as Dylan leaned a hip against the dresser and folded his arms.
“You have a different opinion, I take it.”
Despite his measured tone, she gave him a withering assessment. “The shattered limbs? The twisted neck? And here we are together again at Whispering Springs after ten years of estrangement. You can’t tell me this is all one big coincidence. Someone is messing with us.”
“You weren’t even supposed to be here,” he reminded her.
“That’s beside the point.”
“You also conveniently disregard the other incidents. The break-in and phone calls happened weeks before the reunion. If you look at it as all of a piece, the doll fits a pattern.”
Doubt flickered across her face. “But why a doll? More specifically, why a smashed doll?”
“This place isn’t just known for its springs. Don’t you remember why we started coming out here in the first place? Tony and Blair wanted to climb Bishop’s Rock.”
“So did you. Even Jane was gung ho at first, but then she stayed behind to keep me company because she knew how terrified I was of heights.”
“Do you really think that’s why she stayed behind?”
“Don’t you?”
Dylan shrugged. “Jane has always been a hard one to figure out.”
“Yes, she always did march to her own drum,” Ava agreed as she turned to the window. She grew reflective. “Do you remember the last time we all came out here? We didn’t know it then, but that trip was the beginning of the end for us.”
Not true, Dylan thought. His breakup with Lily had been the first fracture in the once tight group.
Lily Callen had been a part of Dylan’s life since childhood. They’d remained devoted all through high school and most of college until he’d finally admitted to his growing feelings for someone else. Their split had seemed amicable at first. Lily had even seemed relieved. It was time they both spread their wings, she’d said. But in the ensuing weeks, she’d grown increasingly moody and withdrawn. Then had come a series of disjointed, bordering on paranoid phone calls, followed by a final text message that had driven a stake through the heart of his fledgling relationship with Ava.
I told you I was in trouble. Why didn’t you help me?
Ava watched him carefully as if trying to intercept his innermost thoughts. “You had a bad fall that weekend. The image of you tumbling down the side of Bishop’s Rock still gives me nightmares.”
Dylan smiled. “I managed to walk away in one piece.”
“Thankfully.”
They were still ignoring the ghost in the room. Neither seemed willing to speak Lily’s