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"Are you okay, angel?” Zane asked Ava and gently took a hold of her chin and tilted it upwards to make her look at him. Ava smiled at him.
“I am. You are here and that makes me okay,” she answered him. He chuckled and kissed her lightly.
“Tom has cleared some time in your schedule. You and Gabriel are coming with us, we will have lunch and there are things we need to talk about,” Zane told her. She nodded and saw Ryder and Gabriel walking out of Gabriel’s office hand in hand. Zane took them to In Cavea Aurea where a private table had been set up for them. Jax was waiting for them at the table.
“I heard you had an exciting morning. Are you okay?” Jax asked Ava. She smiled at him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
“I’m fine, and so is the baby,” she told him before letting Zane guide her to a chair. Once everyone had sat down and the food was ordered, Zane asked Ava to tell them about her conversation with the detectives. Ava tried to remember all the details and when she was done, she was confident that she had told them everything. the food was brough in and everyone stayed silent as they were served.
“This is bad,” Tom said as they were alone again. Both Zane and Jax grumbled in agreement.
“Tell me if I’m wrong. But does this mean someone in the organisation is talking?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, that is exactly what it means,” Ryder confirmed.
“But it can’t be too hard to figure out who it is, or at least narrow it down,” Ava said. “I mean most of the people in the organisation don’t know everything that goes on. You and Jax, of course,” she told Zane. “And Ryder and Tom. I hope you don’t suspect those two?” she asked her husband and Jax.
“No,” they both sighed. Ryder and Tom both inclined their heads as a thank you. They knew the trust wasn’t a given.
“Good. Okay, then who else knew about James and you funding Gabriel’s business?” she asked.
“Gabriel’s business is quite well known,” Jax said, Zane nodded.
“But the incident with James isn’t that well known, at least not the details,” Zane added.
“They seemed to know the truth about my aunt and uncle as well, even if they didn’t say so,” Ava added.
“That would narrow it as well,” Ryder said. The men looked to be thinking.
“Jerry,” Jax said.
“Malcom,” Zane added.
“Marco,” Tom said. Ava looked at him, she had a close relationship with Marco. She didn’t want to think he would betray them. But Tom was right, the needed to look at everyone.
“Bo,” Zane said.
“Luc,” Ryder said. Then there was a long silence.
“We will start with them,” Jax said.
“Look into every aspect of their lives, nothing is too small or a coincident. We can’t let anyone outside this room know what we are doing, this stays in this group,” Zane said with the voice he used for dealing out orders. Ava knew it was wrong of her to fantasise about dragging him into the rest room and have his way with him. She shook her head and blamed it on pregnancy hormones.
“I don’t know if I like you working from the office right now,” Zane told Ava.
“Oh no you don’t,” she told him. “The detectives came to talk to me. I think I handled it really good, and I was never in any danger. If I stop coming to work, they might see it as a sign of your guilt, or even worse, that you are actually holding me hostage.”
“She is right, as usual,” Jax said.
“So, I should just keep sending her there?” Zane asked, upset.
“It’s not like it’s a drug den or something,” Gabriel objected. “It’s a nice and secure office with more people guarding it then even fort Knox,” he added. Ryder chuckled and kissed his boyfriend.
“He isn’t wrong,” he then told Zane.
“And I will not let her out of my sight,” Tom promised.
“Fine!” Zane exclaimed and gestured widely to make everyone aware that he didn’t like the idea.
“Thank you, honey,” Ava said.
“But we better catch this fucking rat fast. If I hear so much as a murmur about him telling the police things that can actually cause issues, you will be placed under house arrest quicker than you can say baby bump,” he told Ava. She nodded.
“I can live with that,” she said.
“And you have had enough excitement for one day. You are coming home with me after lunch,” he added. Ava knew when to push and when to fold. This was a moment to fold. Truth be told, she would be happy to spend some time with Zane. The meeting with the detectives had frazzled her and he was her safe place. When they had finished eating and everyone was a little calmer they split up. Ryder and Gabriel were heading back to the office, Tom would join Zane and Ava and go back to the mansion and Jax were off to the hospital to find Linda and warn her about the detectives in case they came by her as well. Ava ended up sitting on her usual chair next to Zane as he worked. Zane had insisted on her having a blanket over her knees and Anna had insisted on a cup of camomile tea. Ava was very content as she crocheted away on a baby blanket.
“Should I go straight?” Zane asked her out of nowhere. The question took Ava by surprise, and she looked at her husband.
“You mean no more illegal things?” she asked, to buy her brain some time to kick start.
“Yeah. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about me being locked away,” he explained. “I have done things that could land me in prison for a long time, angel.” Ava couldn’t stop the snort that escaped her. Like he had to tell her that? She had seen him gun down groups of rivals to get to her. She tried to envision Zane as a regular businessman. Working office hours, never needing to disappear in the middle of the night. She frowned. That wouldn’t be Zane. She knew there were part of her husband that needed the dark side of the organisation. His life had moulded him to be who he was, and by asking him to cut away that part of himself, she would ask him to become someone else. Ava also knew that after a while of suppressing that side of him, it would turn on him and start twisting in on itself. Her instincts told her that what would be the result of that, it wouldn’t be Zane. It would be something much darker. She looked at Zane and smiled.
“Why would I want that. I fell in love with you. Your dark sides, your light sides and the ones in between. You have never hidden the darkness from me, I have always known that part of you. I don’t want you to change.” she told him. He took her hand and placed a long kiss on her palm.
“And the risk that I will not be here for you?” he asked. Ava shrugged.
“I knew it could be a possibility. If that day comes, Jax will keep the organization going and I will help him best I can. If the both of you are sent away. Then Linda, Gabriel and I will have to take over,” she said.
“God help us all if that day comes. I will have to sit behind bars and watch as you expend our boarders and slay our enemies. Probably while they all adore you,” Zane said with a grin.
“Don’t tease me,” she said, laughing.
“Oh, I’m not teasing you, angel. I’m sure you and your friends would make a scary entity.” He pulled on her hand, and she ended up in his lap whit him kissing her until they both ran out of air. “So, no going straight?” he asked as they had collected themselves.
“No. I want you just the way you are. Anything else would be false advertising,” she told him and kissed him.
“And when the baby comes?” he asked.
“We will have a safety net in place. We both know that life doesn’t always turn out how you want it. So, we will make sure to plan for the worst.”
“I can live with that,” he agreed.
“But we do need to start planning the nursery. Where are we going to put it? My old room?” she asked. Zane chuckled.
“I think we can stop calling it your old room. You stayed there for less than a week over a year ago. But I think that is a good choice. Or we can use the room on the other side. That one doesn’t have an attached bathroom,” he suggested.
“That does make more sense. Then it’s settled. Do you want to know the gender?” she asked.
“I don’t care. I would love a little mini angel running around, but I could go for a cherub as well. It won’t be the last one, so we have time to get at least one of each,” he said.
“Then I say we wait and find out when the baby arrives. And I’m going to give you homework,” she told him.
“Homework?”
“Yes. I need you to start to think of names, both for a boy and for a girl since we will need at least one of each if we aren’t going to find out the gender,” she said.
“I will do that and give you a list,” Zane said. He sounded happy and it made Ava happy as well.