by Natalie Ann
“She seemed sincere,” he said.
“Because I think she is,” she said. “But boy, would it be nice to finally put this all behind me.”
“I think we are close to doing that. Not much longer,” he said.
And once it was over then she was going to take one more step that had been holding her back.
37
Finally End
Seth couldn’t believe that this might finally end. That it could actually have been a personal attack on Ava and not random.
When they got back to the casino, he found Eli with his daughter, who didn’t want to leave. She said she was having too much fun watching people pull the slot machines in the security room on camera.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he told her. “You’re too young to gamble.”
“Eli let me try one,” Adele said, causing Ava to laugh.
“Shhh,” Eli said. “That is our secret. And it’s not one on the floor, but in storage. It was broken and we needed to try it out to see if it was working again.”
He supposed that was better than nothing. “We’ll keep this to ourselves,” he told his daughter.
“I can. Thank you, Eli. I had fun today. Coming to the casino might be my new favorite thing.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “No,” he said, then narrowed his eyes at a man that was probably worth damn close to a billion dollars. If not him, then his family. He didn’t care. The Bond family seemed pretty down to earth to him and had taken him and his daughter in like they were one of them.
And that meant that he was going to give the man grief as he would his own brother.
Eli laughed. “I know that look well.”
“He isn’t intimidated by you,” Griffin said to Eli. “I thought that was only reserved to family and me.”
“No reason why anyone is intimidated by me,” Eli said. “I’m just a regular old Joe.”
“Yeah right,” Griffin said. When his phone rang, he answered it while they waited to see what was going on. It was easy enough to guess it had to do with Ava. “Jarrett said that the State Police in Cape Cod are trying to locate Tracy. They will let us know when they do. For now you might as well go home and try to relax.”
“Relax?” Ava said. “Yeah, that won’t be happening.”
But the three of them left and went back to his place. “Why don’t you stay with me tonight?” he said. “You’re going to be too wound up at your place.”
“I can,” she said. “Good thing I have a change of clothes here.”
She’d gotten into the habit of trying to leave one outfit for the weekend or work in case she decided to stay last minute.
“I’m hungry,” Adele said.
Crap, it was way past dinner. “Why don’t we go get some food. It’s too late to cook and I’m not sure there is anything we can do tonight.”
“Probably not,” she said.
“Do what?” Adele asked.
“Nothing,” he said, not wanting his daughter to know what was going on.
They’d gone to dinner, then went back to his place, got ready for bed and hadn’t heard a word all night. When they were in bed, Ava asked, “Do you think they will get her?”
“I don’t see why not unless she is running. Colleen didn’t seem to think that since she said she’d talked to her the other day.”
“I can’t believe if she did this if she is that cocky to stay in the area and not think she’d be caught.”
“Who knows what goes through people’s heads,” he said.
“You’re right. I’m exhausted though. Let’s try to get some sleep.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her, the two of them drifting off.
The next morning Ava was drinking her coffee when her phone went off with a text. It was Jarrett asking if she could talk, so she called him right away. “What do you have?” she asked.
“The State Police just arrived at Tracy’s apartment for questioning. She crumbled pretty fast and said she did it.”
“You’re kidding me,” she said. “That easy? Did she say why?”
“No. After she said she did it, she then wanted a lawyer when they arrested her. It was almost like she didn’t think it was going to happen. She’s not talking.”
“Oh, she’ll talk,” Ava said. “I’m going there to find out why she did this.”
She hung up the phone and told Seth. “I’m going with you.”
“Where are we going?” Adele asked when she came into the kitchen rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“You’re going to school,” Seth said.
She caught his look and knew to drop it, but she wasn’t waiting for a ferry either and made a call to Eli’s brother Egan to see if she could get a flight to Cape Cod. Unfortunately, once she hung up with him, she realized it wasn’t going to work.
“That was worth a shot, but we could get over quicker on the ferry than waiting for Egan to be available and then getting a car.”
“Excuse me if I’m trying not to laugh that you can just call up a helicopter when you want.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’ve never done that before and this isn’t an emergency. If we were going to Boston, it would have been easier. There are cars there we could use at any given point and that is where Egan is going this morning.”
“Cars?” he asked.
“Never mind. There is so much you don’t know about the family, but I’ll fill you in later. Just know when it’s needed everyone is there for the other.”
“So I’m starting to realize.”
Three hours later, Adele was at school, and she and Seth were walking into the State Police barracks where Tracy was being held. Having to wait for the ferry and then drive had been a pain, but that was life on the island.
Tracy was asked if she’d be willing to talk to Ava and agreed. Her attorney had advised that Ava might be a help in a plea case since she was the victim.
“How many people did you do this to?” she asked right away.
Tracy’s eyes were red from crying, but where she felt sympathy for Colleen, she felt none for the woman that tried to ruin her life.
“No one else. Just you.”
“Why me?” she asked. “What did I ever do to you?”
“Nothing,” Tracy said. “That’s the point. You never wanted to do anything with me when I asked. You were friendly but never wanted to be friends.”
That was what this was about? “I don’t hang out with anyone in the office.”
“Because you’re better than everyone else.”
“I’ve never said or thought that,” she argued.
“You don’t have to say it. It’s just assumed that all Bonds feel it. Proof is the fact that your life didn’t stop from what happened. You still got a nice house, a job. You’re living your life like nothing happened.”
“Not because I think I’m better than anyone else,” she said. “My family has been there to support me.” Then she realized she didn’t have to explain anything to Tracy. To anyone.
“Forty thousand is nothing to someone like you. You were getting it wiped away. I just wanted to be like you. I wanted to know what it was like to have money like that. To do what I wanted. Then I got fired and it ended up being a need more than a want.”
“A need?” she said. “But your purchases didn’t make sense. They were all over the place.”
“I bought anything I could to not have it tracked. Then I sold it on eBay. No one could trace it that way.”
“But you made one mistake,” Ava said. “Your greed kept those cards local. You didn’t think that my family would support me and thought that amount of money was nothing to me, but what you did was wrong every day of the week and we wouldn’t stop for that reason alone.”
“They said Colleen threw me under the bus,” Tracy said. “I thought she was my friend.”
“She didn’t throw you under the bus. She did not want to be charged for your crime,” Ava said. There was no use talking to this woman. “I’m done.
I can move on now, but can you?”
“My lawyer said you can help reduce a sentence for me,” Tracy said.
“No. You made your bed. You can lie in it.”
Ava turned and walked out, found Seth where he’d been waiting for her and then told him everything that transpired. “Am I an awful person saying that to her?”
“No,” he said. “You aren’t. You did the same thing I would have. And think of it this way. If she hadn’t done what she had, we might have never met.”
“There is that,” she said. “And speaking of that… with Hailey almost ready to clear my credit, this will move it even faster.”
“It will,” he said.
“And now my bad credit won’t affect any man that I might want to marry.” His jaw dropped and she wondered if she was pushing when she shouldn’t. Then it hit her when she said Hailey’s name. And thought of everything Mac, Jarrett, Griffin, and everyone else had helped in the past months. She’d always wanted her own identity, but her mother was right—when it was threatened to be ruined or taken away, she found that the Bond family would never allow that to happen. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“No, it wasn’t. But I’m old fashioned. So can we leave it at that?”
She smiled, understanding what he was saying and realizing that she could see her own family forming now too. “We can.”
Epilogue
One month later
* * *
“I’m so excited that you are taking me trick or treating tonight,” Adele said when Ava helped to get her in the princess dress. She was shocked that the little girl picked that as her outfit.
“I am too. I haven’t been since I was a kid myself.”
“Do you think I’ll get a lot of candy?” Adele asked.
“It’s not about the candy,” Seth said. “It’s about the experience. And this year we are going to go and see Ava’s parents and brothers and then come back here to finish up.”
“I wanted to go trick or treating in your neighborhood,” Adele said to Ava. “There are more houses there to visit close together.”
She smiled. “There are, but this is your neighborhood.”
“It’s going to be yours too,” Adele said.
Seth cleared his throat and she looked over at him. “What?”
“Go ahead, Adele.”
“Do you know why I wanted to wear this dress for Halloween?” Adele asked her.
“Because it’s pretty,” she said.
“Yes. But because it’s the closest dress I could find to being a flower girl until I get to be one for real.”
Ava looked at Seth and saw his grin. “A flower girl?”
“Yes,” Seth said. “Adele and I talked and she said that it’s really time you move in with us. I know it’s early. Or it hasn’t been long.”
“Long enough,” Ava said, laughing and feeling the tears in her eyes.
“And your family seems to have taken us in like little lost strays,” he said.
“They have. They love you as much as I do.”
“Daddy wants you to marry him,” Adele shouted. “Just ask, Daddy. I want to see the ring again.”
Ava burst out laughing. “Wow. I guess someone is as impatient as me. Let me see.”
He got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. “Ava, now that your credit is all cleared up, will you be my wife?”
She threw her head back and burst out laughing. “Yes, I will!”
“What does credit have to do with it?” Adele asked.
“A story for another time,” Seth told his daughter. “Just know that Amore Island sure does lead to some strange meetings and love matches.”
“As long as you are getting married and moving in, I don’t care,” Adele said, moving forward and hugging both of them at once. “So when do I get a little brother or sister? Can you deliver your own baby?”
Seth shook his head. “Are you ready for this?”
“I’m ready for anything with the two of you by my side!”
* * *
The End!
* * *
Check out the next in Amore Island…Family Bonds- Eli and Bella
* * *
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
* * *
Lucas and Brooke’s Story- Road to Recovery
Jack and Cori’s Story – Road to Redemption
Mac and Beth’s Story- Road to Reality
Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story- Road to Reason
* * *
The All Series
* * *
William and Isabel’s Story — All for Love
Ben and Presley’s Story – All or Nothing
Phil and Sophia’s Story – All of Me
Alec and Brynn’s Story – All the Way
Sean and Carly’s Story — All I Want
Drew and Jordyn’s Story— All My Love
Finn and Olivia’s Story—All About You
Landon Barber and Kristen Reid- All Of Us
* * *
The Lake Placid Series
* * *
Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning – Second Chance
Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker – Give Me A Chance
Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire – Our Chance
Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan – Take A Chance
Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon- Deserve A Chance
Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton – Last Chance
Matt Winters and Dena Hall- Another Chance
Logan Taylor and Kennedy Miles- It’s My Chance
Justin Cambridge and Taryn Miles – One More Chance
* * *
The Fierce Five Series
* * *
Gavin Fierce and Jolene O’Malley- How Gavin Stole Christmas
Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed - Brody
Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti- Aiden
Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning- Mason
Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall - Cade
Ella Fierce and Travis McKinley- Ella
* * *
Fierce Family
* * *
Sam Fierce and Dani Rhodes- Sam
Bryce Fierce and Payton Davies - Bryce
Drake Fierce and Kara Winslow – Drake
Noah Fierce and Paige Parker - Noah
Wyatt Fierce and Adriana Lopez – Wyatt
Jade Fierce and Brock James – Jade
Ryder Fierce and Marissa McMillan – Ryder
* * *
Fierce Matchmaking
* * *
Devin Andrews and Hope Hall- Devin
Mick McNamara and Lindsey White- Mick
* * *
Love Collection
* * *
Vin Steele and Piper Fielding – Secret Love
Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald – True Love
Erik McMann and Sheldon Case – Finding Love
Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love
Ian Price and Cam Mason- Intense Love
Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers - Autumn Love
Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan - Holiday Love
Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett - Christmas Love
Zeke Collins and Kendall Hendricks - Winter Love
Troy Walker and Meena Dawson – Chasing Love
Jace Stratton and Lauren Towne - First Love
Gabe Richards and Leah Morrison - Forever Love
Blake Wilson and Gemma Anderson – Simply Love
Brendan St. Nicholas and Holly Lane – Gifts of Love
* * *
Paradise Place
* * *
Josh Turner and Ruby Gentile – Cupid’s Quest
Harris Walker and Kaelyn Butler – Change Up
Philip Aire and Blair McKay- Starting Over
Nathan Randal and Brina Shepard – Eternal
Ryan Butler and Shannon Wilder – Falling Into Love
Brian Dawson and Robin Masters – Mistletoe Magic
Caden Finley and Sarah Walker- Be
lieve In Me
Evan Butler and Parker Reed – Unexpected Delivery
* * *
Amore Island
* * *
Family Bonds- Hunter and Kayla
Family Bonds- Drew and Amanda
Family Bonds – Mac and Sidney
Family Bonds- Emily & Crew
Family Bonds- Ava & Seth
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