Cold & Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)(101)
“I’m fine.”
Her mother squeezed her hand.
Mallory wanted to be alone for a few minutes and instead there were three hundred people ready to make small talk. She’d rather make an arrest. God. “I just don’t want to go into a stuffy house full of people.”
“Okay. If you are sure. I’ll say hello to Douglas and Tracy and get you a drink. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Sure, she would.
Mallory smiled reassuringly at her. She loved her mother. What she hated was being treated like she needed a nursemaid.
Alone for the time being, she headed down to the garden bench and sat, sighing as her poor aching feet got some relief.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of lavender, and her head shot up.
Was that Ava Kanas?
Mal hurried to her feet and walked over to the main gate.
“Ava?” she called.
The woman whirled, and Mal took in her devastated expression. She hurried forward. “What happened?”
Ava blinked suspiciously bright eyes. “Nothing.”
“Liar,” said Mal. “It has to be Dominic. What did he do?”
The bark of laughter had a bitter edge. “What gave it away?”
“The broken heart you’re wearing on your face.” Mal put an arm around Ava and held her when the woman started to shake. “Okay, we’re going to walk down the street here so that we don’t give anyone a free show. I’ll call Alex to come pick us up.”
Mal one-handedly speed-dialed her husband. “Can you come get me and Ava?”
“The baby?” he asked.
“No, Ava is having a problem with a certain hostage negotiator and needs to get out of here fast.” Mal hung up and slipped the phone in her pocket.
Ava straightened and used both hands to wipe at the makeup around her eyes. “Not an agent any longer. The director fired me.”
“What? Why?”
“He caught me and Dominic kissing.”
“What about Dominic? Did he get fired?” asked Mal.
“No.” Ava’s lips trembled.
“What did Dominic say?” Heat rose through Mal. A wave of sensation ran over her skin.
“Nothing much. He just stood there looking pissed.” Ava shook her head. “I couldn’t stay. I had to get out of there.”
Mal ran her hand over Ava’s back. “I’m so sorry. I am sure Dominic will not let this stand.”
Ava didn’t look convinced. At all. And then two things happened at once. Mal felt a rush of liquid burst down her legs, and a car pulled up beside them.
“Oh, hell. Here we go.”
“What?” Ava frowned and then looked down at the puddle around Mal’s legs. “Uh oh.”
Uh oh, indeed. Suddenly the long hours of back ache made a lot more sense. She’d probably been in pre-labor the whole time.
The car window rolled down, and a woman’s voice called out, “Can I offer you a ride?”
Mal leaned into the open window. “My waters broke. Can you give me a ride to the hospital, please?” She’d text Alex to meet her there.
“Of course, get in.”
Mal turned and gave Ava a squeeze, recognizing the misery in her pinched features.
“Do you love him?” she asked.
Ava blinked like she hadn’t known the answer to that question until Mal had voiced it, then nodded despondently.
“Then go back in there and fight for him.”
Ava closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “I can’t chase him, Mallory. I can’t be another of those women throwing themselves at him. If he wants me, he’s going to have to fight for me. Come on, you have a baby to deliver. Let’s get you to the hospital.”
“Call him? At least give him a chance.”
Ava squeezed her hand. “I’ll call him.” But her sad eyes conveyed she didn’t think there was much point.
Mallory nodded. Right now, she had another priority so she slid awkwardly into the passenger seat and held her breath as the pain intensified.
*
“Suzanna. What are you doing here?” Ava recognized the woman as soon as she got into the car. “This is Dominic’s neighbor,” she told Mallory.
Suzanna checked her shoulder, flipped her signal, and pulled smoothly away from the curb.
“I’m one of the governor’s donors so I was invited to the party.” Her bony fingers clenched and unclenched around the wheel. “To be honest, I’d hoped to talk to Dominic alone, but when he showed up with you, I figured I’d better get out of there before he spotted me. No one wants to look pathetic.”
Ava agreed. She took her cell from her borrowed, glittery purse and stared at the screen. She knew she should text the guy so he didn’t wonder where she was or waste time looking for her, but emotionally she was still reeling. He’d defended her honor with his brother but hadn’t been willing to do the same with the director.
Why was that? Because he believed in her as a woman but not as an agent? Or was too chicken to stand up to the boss? Either way his silence had felt like a betrayal.
She looked at her phone, fingers poised over the text window, but hesitated. She needed time before she contacted the man who’d come to mean so much to her. Time to put up her defenses and shore up her smile, time to figure out what to do with the rest of her life without him or the FBI in it.