124

The following morning, Ava and Gabriel ate breakfast together. Their routine had become to eat breakfast together, then move to the library where they had set up a temporary office. They would work until lunch. Zane and Ryder would get them and they would eat lunch together, Jax and Tom usually joined them and Linda if she wasn’t working. Then they would go back to work until it was time to log off for the day. This day as they got ready to head to the library, Ava saw Joe in the hallway. He looked to be waiting for someone and she tensed up for a moment. Joe was one of the old times, he had been one of the closest men to Zane’s father. As such he had ben firmly placed on the list of men not to trust.
“Mrs. A, I was wondering if you had a minute or two to spare me?” he asked as he saw Ava and Gabriel. Ava’s first reaction was to say no. But then she didn’t want Joe to know they were suspecting him.
“Hi, Joe. Sure. Gabriel, can you get some fruit for us to snack on? Joe, we can talk in the library,” she said.
“See you in a bit,” Gabriel cheerfully said. Ava could see he would let Ryder, and there by Zane, know about Joe. She felt a little better as she led the way to the library.
“Please have a seat, Joe. What can I help you whit today?” Ava said as they had got to the library. She sat down in her usual chair and Joe, who looked very nervous, took a seat across from her.
“Well, Mrs. A. I need to talk to the boss,” he started. Ava waited and smiled at him.
“Yes?” she finally asked when they had sat in silence for a while.
“Well, so. I need to tell the boss some things and I was wondering if you could sit in on the meeting?” Joe finally asked. Ava looked at him for a while.
“Is there a reason?” she asked. To her surprise the old gangster blushed.
“He is more, how should I put this…” Joe seemed to struggle to find the right words and Ava had to smile. She thought she knew were this was heading.
“Stable?” she sugested.
“Yes, stable, that is a good way to put it,” Joe agreed.
“I’m guessing this thing you need to talk to my husband about is of a sensitive subject.”
“Very much so,” he said and nodded.
“Okay. I don’t see an issue with it. But just so we are clear. I won’t stop Zane from doing something that is in the best interest for the organisation, or stop him from enforcing the rules,” she told Joe. He nodded.
“I would never ask you to,” Joe said.
“Well then, I would guess my husband is going to come walking in any moment. Let’s get going and we will meet him half way.” They both stood up and Ava had almost reached the door when it opened and Zane, Jax, Ryder and Tom came walking in. “Honey, we were just coming to see you,” Ava said and walked up to her husband. He looked away from Joe and focused on her.
“Is that so? Why is that?” he asked her and bent down so she could place a kiss on his cheek.
“Joe needs to talk to you and I’m going to sit in,” she told him.
“You are?”
“I am. Gabriel, we don’t have anything urgent in the morning. Right?” she asked Gabriel that stood behind Tom.
“No, it’s fine,” he agreed.
“I was thinking we would talk in your office,” Ava told Zane.
“If my wife has booked a meeting, it has to be important. Jax, you are with us. Ryder, re-arrange my morning,” Zane said. He placed his arm around Ava and walked out of the room. As usual he didn’t make sure the others followed his orders, Ava knew he just expected it to be done. They walked into his office and Ava took her place next to him behind his desk. Jax flopped down in the couch as always and Joe remained standing. “Take a seat Joe and tell me why we are having this meeting,” Zane said. Joe took a seat and he looked even more nervous than he had in the library. Ava reached out and took Zane’s hand. She expected they would need it.
“Boss, yesterday I got a phonecall from an unknown number. It was Amon,” Joe said and waited for Zane’s reaction. At the mention of his father’s name, Zane tensed up and his grip on Ava’s hand tightened.
“And?” Zane growled.
“At first we just talked about the good old times. You know how we old people are, we like to remember the days when we thought we were all that. But after a while Amon started to shift the conversation toward current events. I don’t know why, but I got an uneasy feeling about the whole thing. I didn’t want to say that I didn’t want to tell him anything. It felt disrespectful, he was head of this organisation. But at the same time, I didn’t feel right about telling him. So I tried to avoid it best I could. I don’t know. It’s probably an old fools paranoia after being in the game too long. But it didn’t sit right with me,” Joe explained. Zane nodded. Even Jax looked serious.
“What did he ask about?” Zane asked.
“He asked about how you were doing, boss. If married life had changed you,” Joe took a brief pause and glanced at Ava. Zane tensed up, but Ava understood the old man had done so to make sure she was still there.

She braced for what was to come. “He then asked if you still took part in the… more hands on part of the organisation. He asked if I had been invited to Ryder’s place recently. That one really threw me off. Ryder is skilled and we work well together, but we have never been friends. Amon knows that. Anyway, he then started to ask questions if I was still loyal to him and shit like that.” Ava was rubbing her thumb over the back of Zane’s hand.
“Did he ask any direct questions about my wife?” Zane asked.
“No, boss. He only mentioned her in passing,” Joe quickly said.
“Did he ask you to do something?” Jax asked. Joe looked back towards him and then faced Zane again.
“He did. He asked that I would give him a call if I heard anything unusual, if I got wind of something that didn’t seem right,” Joe confirmed.
“And have you?” Zane asked in an even voice.
“No Boss! Look, I know I go way back with your father, and I am loyal to him. To a point. But you are the boss. I don’t know what that call was all about, but fathers check up on their kids. Fuck, my two little ones are on the older side of thirty and I still make sure everything is alright every now and then,” Joe said. Zane stared at him for a long while and for once, even Ava had a hard time reading him. Joe did his best to look relaxed, but after a minute he was starting to squirm slightly in his chair.
“You have been honest with me, Joe. I appreciate it and I’m going to reward it with being honest with you. A couple of weeks back my father contacted Tristan. He, unlike yourself, answered my fathers questions and he also agreed to get something for my father. Something that belongs to me,” Zane said.
“Tristan, you old fucking idiot,” Joe mumbled.
“In doing so, Tristan put my wife in uncomfortable situations, twice,” Zane added. Joe paled and glanced over at Ava. She just gave a curt nod.
“Well fuck me. I guess that’s why I haven’t seen the old idiot around,” Joe said.
“Yes. Tristan was retired by myself and some others. It was a private party,” Zane confirmed. Joe nodded. “I am grateful for your loyalty Joe. My current theory is that my father is making a play for the organisation. I don’t know why, do you know?” Joe seemed to be thinking about it. Then he sighed and rubbed his face with both his hands.
“It’s just a thought boss. But after he got the news of your marriage, he has been… worried. I know the two of you haven’t been talking and Amon is not the man who would outright say it. But he has been proud of how you have handled the organisation. He may have bitched about the new rules you put in place, but as he saw it didn’t effect the business, he forgot about it. The memory of your mother…” Again Joe paused and seemed to look for the right way to put things. Perhaps he was afraid of Zane killing him if he didn’t tread lightly, Ava thought. Joe was heading into sensitive territory. As far as she knew, Zane didn’t talk to anyone except Ava about his mother. And even with her, it was a rarity. “Amon’s memory of your mother has become twisted. He only remembers the pain and what came after. One of the things he was proudest about how you lived your life, was your refusal to let women near you. He saw it as a sign of your power and self control. When he heard you had got married, and not only that, but that you seemed to care for Mrs. A. He didn’t like it. I think he was afraid that history would repeat it self,” Joe told them.
“Fucking bastard. He’s afraid I’m weak and that I couldn’t handle something like what happened to my mother. Fuck him. I had my own trial by fire and not only did the organisation emerge stronger from it, Ava survived,” Zane said in a low voice.
“I know boss,” Joe hurriedly told him.
“Thank you for letting me know, Joe. Go and grab some coffee in the kitchen and calm down. Why don’t you take some time off and go visit your kids?” Zane suggested.
“Thank’s boss. The wife would like it. She always complains we don’t see the grandkids often enough,” Joe said, standing up. “Mrs. A, boss,” he then said, nodding towards Ava and Jax before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Ava got up and sat in Zane’s lap without him having to ask. He wrapped his arms around her to help support her.
“Well, we will just have to assume that he has contacted everyone he thinks are still loyal to him,” Jax said. Zane nodded.
“Based on this, which scenario do you see as most likely? Have this information changed anything?” Zane asked.
“Not really. We have more details, which is always nice. But I think everything still points at your father going after the reserve and then trying to take over by force. He isn’t a subtle man and I don’t think he has patience enough for anything more intricate,” Jax said. Zane grunted. “On a positive note, it would indicate that Ava, Linda and Gabriel are safer than we might have thought. At least until the shit show is going down,” Jax added. Zane grunted again. Ava had no illusions that it would mean he would let up on her security.
“Does it mean you will pull back the group of bodyguards trailing Linda around?” Zane asked.
“Fuck no!” Jax said.
“Thought so.” It was all Zane said. They all sat a while in silence, trying to take in the new information.