The curly haired woman was on the ground drenched in dried blood from her lower half. "She's alive?" Ava immediately asked the question even though the answer was right in front of her. Monica looked afraid almost, looking at Ava as if she was begging for her life.
"The bullet is stuck in her thigh." Ava knew exactly why he brought her there. She needed to try and get the bullet out of her thigh or it'd cause an infection and eventually kill her.
"Do you have a medic kit?" Ava asked as she knelt down beside of the pale woman. Denver leaned down next to the both of them, his eyes running along his victim. She looked like she was in a hell of a lot of pain. Her skin was pale, she was covered in blood all over, but at least she wasn't dead. Denver wasn't a murderer. "Who else knows about this?" Denver handed over the medical kit and the scalpel that he stole from the surgeons that were inside. Ava carefully examined her leg, her eyes finding the bullet almost immediately. It wasn't too deep, but it was already causing an infection. They couldn't let it get any worse than it was already.
"My father." Denver said. "I had to show him that she was alive." He was afraid that he was literally going to die from the panic and disappointment if he didn't know that Denver didn't kill someone. "That's all. So you can't say anything to anyone." He was practically begging her. He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Especially Berlin."
"I'm not going to say anything." Ava told him. She met his eyes for a second and then cleaned her hands with the alcohol wipes in the medic kit. She started on working to remove the bullet, glancing up every now and then to check how Monica was doing. She was being quiet so they wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention to the safe. The bullet was removed in less than twenty minutes thankfully because she knew she had to get back to watching the hostages. She stood up from the ground after wrapping Monica up well, and walked towards the safe door. She motioned for Denver to follow her. Denver stepped over to her, cleaning up his hands the best he could as well. "When's the last time you rested?" Ava asked, sincerely worried about him. The heist was messing with everyone and they still had days to go. The longer they stayed the more money they'd have.
"Yesterday." Denver shrugged his shoulders, not admitting to only getting a few hours at best. He was exhausted, but who wasn't at this point? "I'm fine. I'll be fine." He rephrased it.
"Just try to rest now. I'll cover for you." Ava cared for Denver. She cared about all of the group members, but Denver was almost innocent seeming in her eyes. He had a short temper, but with women it seemed that all of his anger disappeared. It was probably his complicated relationship with his own mother, but it made him a good man. It made him a man that deserved to be protected. Denver finally nodded, agreeing and allowing her to cover for him. Ava snuck out of the safe, shutting the door back slowly so it didn't make any loud noises. Just as she was rounding the corner she saw Moscow heading that direction. They shared a knowing smile with each other.
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It was late. It was a little past one in the morning, and Ava was just now leaving Andres' hotel to sneak back to her own house. She opened the back door slowly, creeping into her house barefoot to make as little noise as possible. The lights were off so it seemed everyone was fast asleep, but just as she rounded the corner to head up the stairs to get to her bedroom, her mother spoke up, "Ava!" Her voice was loud and demanding as she hollered her name from the living area. Ava closed her eyes tightly, finally dropping her shoes to the ground. She'd been sneaking out the last few months to be with Andres, but her parents had just noticed tonight. She was caught. Ava turned on her heel, making her way into the living room. She immediately frowned upon seeing her mother's worried eyes and then her father's. Her father just sat in the chair, staring at her like he lost his little girl. "Where have you been?" Her mother snapped the words as she asked them.
Ava stayed where she was standing, crossing her arms across Andres' grey t-shirt that she was now wearing after their long night together. Ava's father stood up from the chair, a sigh leaving his lips and he left the room, heading straight up the stairs for her mother to deal with her. "I'm sorry, mom." Ava said this quickly, wishing she could save herself the embarrassment of this conversation. "I was with Martin. I fell asleep on accident. Sorry, mom. It won't happen again." She tried playing it off, but her mother knew better.
"I know you weren't with Martin. He's surely not driving a new car like the one you pulled up in."
Ava's cheeks were now burning, fuming from even have to explain this to her mother. She was seventeen and thought she knew everything. She didn't feel like she had to explain this to her so she simply, didn't. She stood there silently, one eyebrow raised.
"Andres, right?" Her mother said his name and Ava's eyes widened as her brows furrowed. How did she know? Ava had done everything to hide the fact that Andres was in town, or so she thought she did.
"Why does it matter?" As a teen, Ava was very wild. She was opinionated and very passionate. She didn't hide the way she felt most of the time, and it got her into more trouble than she needed.
"Just what I thought." Her mother sighed in frustration, covering her face with her hands to calm herself down. She knew she had to approach the situation carefully because of Ava and Andres' complicated relationship. "So," she brought her hands back down to her sides, "you're sleeping with him then?"
"Mom," Ava huffed, not even wanting to have this conversation, especially at one in the morning.
"He's too old for you."
"He's barely older!" Ava hollered in annoyance now, letting her own arms now fall down to her sides. "He's twenty two."
"And you're seventeen." Her mother stared at her with disappointment, but her anger was getting the best of her. "And wasn't it just last year that he came to see you for a weekend? Then he left after he got what he wanted, right? You don't think the same thing is going to happen this time? You think he actually cares about you, Ava? You think he loves you?" Ava couldn't remember him once saying that he was in love with her, but she was very much in love with him. She thought about him constantly, would do anything for him, and he even knew that. She was in so deep with him that she'd follow him anywhere.
"Yeah, I do." Ava was vulnerable. She was young and naïve. She truly believed that he loved her just as much as she loved him.
"Give me your phone." Her mother edged closer to her, holding a hand out for the phone. Ava stared at her in disgust but pulled out her phone, smacking it in her mother's hands roughly. "You won't be seeing him again. If I see his car in my driveway I'll call the police. " Ava had never hated her mother so much as she did in that moment. She angrily hurried up the stairs of the house, slamming the door to her bedroom in complete frustration.
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Ava was finally able to have a break for a few hours. She had been watching the hostages until Tokyo relieved her. Phoenix was sitting on the couch in the office alongside Ava. She was giving him the time of day after the guilt really started to get to her. She had sex with Berlin. He kissed her, touched her, embraced her, and she was a taken woman. She had been taken for years and she let herself fall back into the toxic arms of her childhood lover. She felt so much guilt eating her about not only the sex, but how much she liked it. How much she wanted it to happen again. Phoenix had one arm around Ava as he leaned in to kiss her. The door opened at just that time and Berlin walked inside the room like the two of them kissing didn't bother him. Ava quickly pulled away from Phoenix, embarrassment rushing over her as she looked at Berlin. She could feel his eyes burning on her lips a bit too long.
"Was I interrupting?" Berlin asked the question even though he already knew the answer.
"No." Phoenix answered instead of Ava this time. He leaned over to peck Ava's cheek, almost asserting dominance over Berlin. He was still being jealous, even without saying it directly. "You're fine. I was just getting back to work." Phoenix stood up from the couch. Ava's eyes moved to Phoenix, offering him a small smile. It was the most forced it had ever been. Her heart was racing, and her cheeks were burning. She was so worried that Berlin wouldn't be able to keep their night together a secret. That maybe he'd spill it aloud because he wanted to break Phoenix down even more. Ava stood up from the couch as well, pulling the jumpsuit up so that it wasn't showing any amount of bra underneath. Her eyes went straight to Berlin and his went to her. They stared at each other for a bit longer than they should've.
"Phoenix," Berlin spoke his name just as he was about to leave the room and Phoenix turned around, his brows furrowed. They were trying so hard to play nice with each other when it was clear they both hated each other.
"Yeah?"
"I'd like to forget about last night." Berlin stepped a bit closer to Phoenix until he was directly in front of him. He almost had a grimace on his lips like he was teasing him. Ava was watching and listening carefully, begging silently for him not to say anything. "I care about Ava like a sister, nothing more. You have nothing to be jealous of." Even the words were enough to cause knots in Ava's stomach. Phoenix sighed but he offered him a short nod.
"Yeah, I know." Phoenix left the room after sharing a quick look at Ava. He didn't trust Berlin still, and he didn't believe the bullshit about being family. He thought his only interest was to wreck their relationship so that he could have Ava all to himself.
Ava's face fell and her eyes snapped directly to Berlin. Berlin shut the door, and turned to face Ava. She could barely look at him after hearing about the order to have one of the hostages executed. She hadn't spoke to him since finding out, and she hadn't been planning on it either. "What are you doing in here? I have no interest in talking."
Berlin walked over to her, raising one brow. "Me either." His eyes lowered to her lips and slowly down her body, making it known that he was interested in something more.
"No." Ava said the word firmly, but her body suggested otherwise. She could feel her legs getting weak at just the look he was giving her. "I can't even look at you."
"You don't have to." Berlin brought a hand out to move her hair completely off of her shoulders. This caused shivers to run down her spine.
"Stop." Ava pulled away from him, her eyes staring at him with anger. "You killed someone."
"I didn't." Berlin said this confidently. He stared at her with a bit of sadness in his eyes. He was regretting giving the order now that everyone knew.
"You gave the fucking order Berlin." Ava knew that Monica was very well alive, but that wasn't thanks to Berlin. Denver didn't kill her because he couldn't. His heart wasn't capable of pulling the trigger on a pregnant woman, but Berlin's seemed to be capable of giving the order. "You don't even seem remorseful!" Ava snapped at him. "Do you feel anything at all? Do you ever feel anything?" Ava could feel her eyes swelling with tears. The frustration, anger, but also the sadness was causing the tears.
"You think I'm heartless?" Berlin furrowed his eyebrows as he asked the question. He struggled with his own emotions. He knew he didn't feel and care as much as others, but he did feel and care some. He knew he wasn't a psychopath completely. "I feel." Berlin started. "I have never felt the way I feel with you around anyone else." Berlin flipped the subject, knowing where to go to get Ava's own head whirled. "I've never felt the way I feel when I talk to you, or touch you, or kiss you." Berlin started to get lost as he stepped closer to her. He was there for a certain objective. He wanted her. He needed something to clear his mind and she was that something. He leaned down so that he was directly beside her ear. She had goosebumps all over her body when she felt his hot breath on her skin. "I've never felt so good fucking someone." His lips lowered until they rested on her neck, pressing kisses down it slowly. Ava knew better than to give in, but she stood there frozen in pleasure. He pulled away from her neck, wrapping an arm around to the back of her head as he leaned up to look at her. They both leaned in at the same time, devouring each other like they hadn't gotten all their sexual tension out the night before.
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Ava sat down on the bed in the hotel room, her eyes shooting to Andres. Usually they would've already been undressed, but he wasn't even going over to her. Instead, he grabbed a wine bottle out of the fridge, popping it open and pouring two glasses. Ava enjoyed sleeping with him, sure, but spending time like this with him was so much more intimate than sex ever was. He walked over to her, handing her the wine glass. She took it, thanking him and taking a small drink. He took a seat beside of her on the bed and for several minutes they were just quiet, both sipping at their wine glasses. "Andres, is everything okay?" Ava questioned as she turned to face him completely. Andres' face fell and quickly Ava's matched his frown. "What? Is it Sergio? Is he okay?"
"Sergio's fine." Andres started with. "But I have to leave." Ava's stomach sunk to the ground when she heard his words. "It's been great spending every night with you, but I have to get home to my brother. He needs me." Andres explained.
"I'll go with you." Ava said, practically begging him. "Please, Andres. Don't leave me."
"You can't go." Andres sighed. "You are finishing school. That's more important than a summer romance."
"It's not just a summer romance." Ava's eyes were heavy with tears as she stared at him in confusion. "Please, don't just leave me." Andres stared at her with seemingly almost no emotions. He was not invested the same way that Ava was in their relationship, and it was finally clear to her. "I love you, Andres." His eyes met hers quickly when she said this like it was a shocker, but he knew it. He knew it for longer than she admitting it to her own self.
"I'm sorry, Ava." Andres stood up from the bed, walking back over to fill his wine glass again. Ava just stood up from the bed, putting the glass down on the side table and looked over at him.
"You've never cared about me, have you? It was all a fucking game to you." Andres stared at her silently, allowing her to go off on him for what felt like hours. They spent the rest of the night in bed wrapped in each other's arms and by the time morning came, Ava woke up to find the hotel room empty. He was gone that fast.