Page 29 of Lost to Thievery
Wehadmadeourway through the whole town during the following two days, searching high and low for anything that could help Owen get Grayson. But we found nothing.
Well, not nothing. I did findsomething. Deep in the archives of the local high school that somehow called to me. Something that had knocked the breath from me. A video. That I had hurriedly copied onto a flash drive.
A video that I kept from Owen. It wasn’t going to be of much use to him anyway. It wouldn’t help him catch Grayson, but it was precious and priceless, nonetheless. To me.
“So… is the breakfast any good at that bed and breakfast?” Owen grinned at me, as we drove out of Dianna’s hometown.
So he’d been serious about taking a break. I nodded excitedly. “Yes, and after breakfast you can join me and Rachel in the water. We’ll teach you to surf.”
He looked at me as if I was crazy. “There is no way I’m getting in any water with that psychotic friend of yours. One of us will end up dead and the other in prison.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, Rach would probably look good in orange.” I snickered at the look on Owen’s face.
“I’ll have you know…” He fell silent as his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. “Becket,” he answered in a clipped tone, all the humour in his voice suddenly gone.
His eyes darted to me for a second, and my breathing stopped. They had something. Something that made Owen sit up straighter, clenching the steering wheel tighter, and accelerating faster. I could feel his excitement and tension thicken the air around us.
“I guess you’re not taking that break after all,” I stated flatly as he ended the call.
He didn’t answer.
“Owen…” I tried to reason, but he cut me off.
“Ava, don’t.” His voice sounded harsh, and we both flinched. He didn’t mean to speak to me like that. But within seconds, he was already sucked back into the black hole that was Grayson Varon.
“Will you please reconsider and—”
“Come with me,” he interrupted again, his voice filled with hope.
My heart panged as I shook my head. No way. I was done chasing after people who didn’t want me.
“Please, Ava. They were spotted in Italy. Please come with me.”
Italy? My stomach fluttered. Grayson was in Italy.
I shook my head and turned towards my window. I shouldn’t care. I should stay away. Far away.
“We can’t do this without you. We need you.”
I scoffed and shook my head again. No way.
“Ineed you,” Owen said softly.
I turned to look at him.
My friend’s eyes were pleading. “I know I’m a complete asshole for asking. I know that.” His expression turned pained. “But you’re the only one who can give us an edge over Grayson. And you keep me sane, Ava. I need you.”
Gods, why was this happening? Why couldn’t I just rid myself of Grayson? He was at the end of every road I took, every turn I made.
I glared at Owen. “Youarean asshole for asking. But I’ll go foryou. Not to help catch the Apparitions, but as moral support toyou. I don’t want anything to do with them anymore. So this is the last time.” I crossed my arms in finality. “You’ll need to get an emotional support dog or something.”
Owen huffed a laugh and reached for my hand, squeezing it. “Thank you, Ava.”
I informed Rachel and my parents of where I was going while we waited for the FBI’s jet at the little town airport. I could hear the reluctance in their voices, but no one objected.
The jet finally landed, and we rushed up the steps.
“My, my, my. Look what the cat dragged back in. And by cat, I mean Becket.” Liam stood lazily from his seat, grinning at me. “And yes, Iampissed that you just left us to our own devices.”
