Razor

by Heather Slade

  “I do have a sister, and if anything like this ever happened to her, I’d want the best people possible to rescue her, and that is the K19 team. You cannot involve your father or the police.”

  “Can you hear yourself? You’re telling me not to tell my parents or get law enforcement involved? Do you all operate in your own little world so often you’ve forgotten how real life works?”

  “You have no idea how many lives are saved by the people who you think operate in their own little world.”

  She stood with her arms crossed, shooting death daggers at him.

  “If we hadn’t done our job, Quinn never would’ve married Mercer. And Merrigan? She’d be dead just like Quinn would have been. Unless you want that to be your fate and that of your sister and your friends, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to do.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “You will. One way or another.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “Nope, it’s a promise.”

  “I hate you,” she spat.

  “That is crystal clear.”

  Razor set Monk up in one of the downstairs guest bedrooms and switched the house alarm to the stay setting. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, Ava was essentially a captive in his house.

  “What are you doing?” he said when he saw her moving her suitcase to a room farther down the hallway. He was pissed when she didn’t respond, but for now, he’d let it go. It hadn’t been that long since she told him she hated him.

  As far as he knew, she hadn’t eaten yet, although the news that her sister and friends were missing had likely killed her appetite.

  Razor went into the kitchen and opened and closed the refrigerator. He didn’t have much of an appetite either. What he really needed was a good, hard workout. He would love it if Ava would go for a run with him, but he knew, if he asked, she’d turn him down.

  Instead, he went into the bedroom, changed into workout clothes, and went downstairs, to the gym. He was surprised to hear someone pounding away on the treadmill, particularly since he’d just passed Monk in the hallway. Evidently, Ava had had the same idea he had.

  He went back upstairs and called the only person he knew who could give him advice about his current situation without giving him too much shit about it at the same time.

  “Hey, Saylor,” he said when she answered the phone.

  “I heard a rumor you were in town.”

  “Yeah, about that—”

  “No worries, Raze, we also heard you weren’t alone.”

  His sister, Saylor, was his only sibling, and from the time they were kids, she’d rarely let anything bother her. Razor was that way too, which was why he’d initially been recruited for special ops. They both took after their mom.

  Their dad had been another story. His temper had been legendary in a town as small as Yachats. Ultimately, his inability to handle stress was what killed him. It was almost ten years ago that he’d died of a heart attack.

  “That’s why I’m calling. I need some advice.”

  “I’m here if you want to come by.”

  “I’m housebound right now. Would you mind coming to me?”

  “Oh, goodie! Does this mean I get to meet her, whoever she is?”

  “Uh…maybe. She isn’t speaking to me at the moment.”

  “I’ll be right there. Oh, can I bring the girls along? They’d love to see you.”

  Sierra and Savannah were a year apart, just like him and Saylor. It was hard to believe it was almost six months since he’d last seen them, and then it had been for a quick three-day weekend trip.

  —:—

  Ava was an hour into what she’d hoped would be a ten-mile run. Staying focused for that length of time on a treadmill required a great deal of concentration, which she didn’t have today. Even the music playing through her headphones, which was turned up far too loud, wasn’t enough to drown out the last words she and Razor had said to each other.

  Giving up, she stopped at five miles and decided that was good enough for now. She wondered if Monk was a runner, since it was unlikely she’d be allowed out of the house without him or Razor with her. Given she never wanted to see the latter’s face again, Mr. Mute was her only option.

  She shrugged when she didn’t see him on her way upstairs. Maybe she’d find him later. For now, she needed a long, hot shower.

  Praying Razor wasn’t in the main room or the kitchen, Ava slowly climbed the stairs, keeping her eyes downcast, just in case.

  As she came to the landing between floors, she heard what sounded like peels of laughter. She looked up, and two little girls, both blonde and blue-eyed, were standing at the top of the stairs, staring at her.

  “Hi,” she said, taking her earbuds out.

  “Who are you?” one of the girls asked.

  Ava couldn’t speak. It was like she was looking at a living, three-dimensional photo of her and Aine when they were little.

  “Are you twins?” she managed to eek out, but the two little girls were already racing back to whatever had them captivated before they saw a strange woman coming upstairs.

  “Hi,” said a woman who looked so much like Tabon, she had to be his sister. “I’m Saylor, and those two towheads are my girls, Savannah and Sierra.”

  “Hi,” said Ava, shaking the woman’s outstretched hand. “I’m Ava.”

  She looked beyond the woman, and saw Tabon sitting on the floor, letting the two little girls, who couldn’t be more than five, climb all over him.

  “Are they twins?” she asked again.

  “No. Savannah is just tall for her age. They’re actually a year apart, like Razor and I are.”

  “Oh. You call him Razor?”

  The woman laughed. “Pity the person who dares call him Tabon.”

  “Ava calls me Tabon,” he said, walking over and standing next to his sister. “Unless she’s mad at me.”

  It wasn’t that she was mad at him; she hated him. Didn’t she? God, he’d infuriated her, and yet, here she was, wishing he’d take her in his arms again.

  “Hey, girls, it’s time for us to go and leave Uncle Razor alone for a bit.”

  “Please don’t leave on my account,” said Ava. “I was just about to take a shower.”

  “I don’t want to go,” whined one of the girls, Ava wasn’t sure if she was Savannah or Sierra. “I wanna stay with Uncle Razor and Aunt Ava,” she said, coming up and putting her teeny hand in hers.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Saylor, trying to get the little girl to let go. “Come on, Sierra. Remember that I promised to take you to see Ya-Ya after we saw Uncle Razor?”

  “I don’t want to go see Ya-Ya,” said the other little girl. “I want to stay here.” She proceeded to join her sister, holding Ava’s other hand with both of hers.

  “Who’s Ya-Ya?” Ava asked, kneeling down so she was on their level.

  “She’s the girls’ grandmother. Our mom,” Saylor said, looking back at Tabon. “She wasn’t quite ready to be called Grandma.”

  “My mother would never be ready to be called Grandma either. She doesn’t even let us call her Mom.”

  Saylor laughed. “What’s her replacement name?”

  “Peggy,” Ava deadpanned.

  “Who wants to play frisbee on the beach?” asked Tabon.

  Both little girls cheered, but neither let go of Ava’s hands.

  “I’m sorry,” he mouthed.

  Ava could barely look at him. Not because she was still mad, but because he’d changed into workout clothes just like the ones he’d worn when they went for their run in Cambria. The same clothes she’d stripped off his sweaty body before he did the same and brought her to orgasm after orgasm.

  She closed her eyes, remembering his words from earlier.

  I know how to make your body sing, Ava, in a way that no one else has or will again. The reason no one will again is because I have no intention of ever letting you go.

  Had he meant those words? Did she really ma
tter to him, and would she still after this nightmare ended?

  “Come on,” she heard him say, taking each girl’s hand in his. When they let go, Ava missed the warmth and comfort the sweet girls gave her.

  “Wanna come along?” Tabon asked.

  Ava nodded, still unable to find her voice with him.

  “I thought they were twins,” she told him after they’d been on the beach long enough that the girls had lost interest in playing frisbee and were playing in the water instead.

  “I can understand why you would’ve thought that. It’ll only be a minute before Savannah is taller than Sierra.”

  “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I don’t hate you.”

  “I know you don’t, and I knew you didn’t when you said it. And you were right, if something like what you’re going through ever happened to Saylor, the only way anyone could stop me from trying to find her would be to shackle me.”

  “I’m so scared.” She sat on the sand, lowered her head, and Tabon sat next to her.

  “Come here,” he said, putting his arm around her and drawing her close to him.

  There wasn’t a single thing she could think of that would feel better right now, except a hug from her sister.

  “I asked Saylor to come over to get her advice.”

  “What about?”

  “You.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that. Has Saylor been a bodyguard too? I know that isn’t what you really do but you know what I mean.”

  “No, but she’s always given me the best advice when it came to girls I liked.”

  Ava stared out at the waves. It was low tide, so they rolled in gently, rather than crashing against the rocks on the shoreline. “What was her advice?” she asked without looking at him.

  “To give you space, but never be too far away. Be smart enough to know when you need me to leave you alone and when, instead, to give you a hug.”

  “Does she know about…you know?”

  “No. And she wouldn’t ask.”

  Ava nodded. “So, she just thinks I’m a bitch?”

  “Saylor is the least judgmental person I know.”

  “Aine is like that.”

  Tabon nodded. “I want you to understand I know how hard this is for you. I truly believe our team will find your sister and bring her back safe, or I would’ve been on that plane myself.”

  “But you stayed with me instead.”

  “I did.” Tabon scrubbed his face with his hand. “Do you not understand that I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you?”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, again trying so hard not to cry.

  “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. I get that you think I’m this annoying guy who has the hots for you, but it’s so much more than that for me, Ava. There hasn’t been a day since I met you that you haven’t popped into my head at least once.”

  “I don’t think that about you.”

  He laughed. “Right.”

  “Tabon.” She waited until he was looking at her. “I don’t think that about you,” she said a second time.

  Again, he turned away from her, only this time, she could see the hurt in his eyes.

  “You asked me to stop,” he said.

  “When?”

  “I was telling you how I feel about you, and you said it wasn’t real.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “No? I didn’t mishear you, Ava.”

  She drew her knees up close to her body and wrapped her arms around them.

  “You were a fantasy, Tabon. My fantasy. There wasn’t a breath you took the day I met you that I don’t remember. I’ve played every word you said to me over and over in my head.”

  “Fantasies rarely live up to the hype.”

  “Are you fishing for a compliment?”

  “Hardly. I’m being realistic, Ava.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  He turned his head and looked at her, which was what she’d been going for.

  She smiled. “No one ever calls me Avarie, except you.”

  “I hate it when you call me Razor.”

  “I know, and you’re right. I only call you that when I’m mad at you. I do it in my head too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I always think of you as Tabon, but when I’m mad, you’re Razor in my head too.”

  “I guess that’s better than ‘asshole.’” He leaned closer to her. “Can I kiss you, Avarie?”

  She nodded, and he covered her lips with the sweetest, most gentle kiss. It almost brought her to tears. How could she have told this man that she hated him? Especially since all he’d ever wanted to do was protect her?

  “Okay, you two,” said Saylor. “The girls are tired, so I’m going to take them home, but—”

  “What?” asked Tabon.

  Ava looked up at his house, like his sister was.

  “Who is that?”

  “That’s Monk. He’s hangin’ with us for a few days.”

  “Someone you work with?”

  Tabon nodded.

  “He’s kinda hot.”

  For the first time since they’d met, Ava looked at Saylor’s left ring finger and saw it was bare.

  “I’ll explain later,” Tabon whispered.

  It wasn’t any of her business, and she’d certainly seen plenty of people divorce in her life. Her father alone had done it three times.

  “He doesn’t talk very much,” Ava said to Saylor. “I think I’ve heard him say a total of three words.”

  “Is that why you call him Monk?”

  Tabon nodded.

  “I can live with that, as long as he’s not celibate too,” she laughed.

  15

  “You moved your stuff out of the room,” Razor said when they walked back into the house.

  “It’s your room, Tabon.”

  What was he supposed to do now? Should he tell her he wanted her to sleep with him, or should he give her space? She was obviously distraught over her sister and their friends. He didn’t want her to think he was coming on to her at a time like this.

  “You could invite me back,” she murmured.

  “Wait. What? Of course I want you with me. I was just trying to figure out if saying so would make me too much of an asshole.”

  “I don’t think I’d be able to sleep…you know… alone.”

  “You don’t have to, sweetheart.”

  “Look,” she said right as they came inside. “There are two side-by-side.”

  Razor didn’t see the blow, but he saw the two whales as they momentarily surfaced, and she was right, they were side-by-side.

  “You’ve got to be starving,” he said, walking into the kitchen. “You haven’t eaten anything all day.”

  “I wasn’t hungry, but now I think I could eat something little.”

  “How about eggs and toast?”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  “Bacon?”

  Ava scrunched her nose.

  “That would be no to bacon.”

  “Hey,” said Monk, coming up the stairs. “Am I interrupting?”

  “Not at all. I was about to make eggs and toast if you’d like to join us.”

  Monk walked over and opened the refrigerator, pulling things out and setting them on the counter.

  “I could make omelets if you’d like,” he offered.

  “You cook?”

  Monk nodded. “I spent a year undercover as a private chef.”

  “Awesome,” said Razor. “Seriously. I can’t cook for shit.”

  He looked over and saw a smile show through Ava’s haunted eyes. No matter how brief, he loved seeing it.

  “Avarie, you think you could manage an omelet, or would you prefer to stick with plain eggs?”

  This time the smile wasn’t as brief. “I’d love an omelet. Thanks, Monk.”

  “Uh, you’re welcome, Avar—”

  “That’s it. Just Ava. I’m the only one who calls her Avarie
.”

  Monk went back to chopping vegetables, but Razor swore he smiled too.

  “Damn, you’re a good cook,” Razor said, rubbing his belly.

  “Chef.”

  “Oh, sorry, Monk. Maybe we should start calling you that instead.”

  “Chef Monk is fine with me.”

  “So, Monk. Are you single?” asked Ava.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You know…not married, not dating anyone.”

  Monk looked at Razor and then back at Ava.

  “Yeah. Single.”

  Razor smiled at Ava. “Are you gonna tell him anything else, or just leave him hangin’?”

  “I wasn’t sure I should.”

  “My sister has the hots for you, Monk. Beware, though. She comes with two of the sweetest little girls on the face of the earth.”

  Monk nodded, but didn’t say anything. A minute later, he stood and went into the kitchen.

  Razor heard the water running. “Hey, you cooked; I’ll clean up.”

  “I got it,” he answered. “Your sister. Was she the one here earlier?”

  “Yep.”

  “She’s pretty.”

  Razor winked at Ava. “My mom’s gotta be chomping at the bit to have us over for dinner. We’ll get Saylor to bring the girls, and we’ll bring Monk along with us.”

  “Saylor? That’s her name?”

  Razor nodded.

  “Cool name,” said Monk before he turned back to the dishes.

  “I can help,” said Ava, joining him near the sink.

  “I actually would prefer if you didn’t. I like doing dishes. It relaxes me.”

  “Hey, Tabon? You should invite your sister back over now. A man who cooks the way Monk does who also likes doing dishes? She should grab him before someone else does.”

  Razor watched her expression change from playful back to somber. He knew the transition well. When he, Gunner, and Mercer all believed that Doc had been killed in action, every smile was followed by a somber moment of regret. It was a horrible way to live for those two years, until they discovered he’d been held captive by a group of Russians. Finding out he was still alive was one of the best days of Razor’s life.

  Soon, he prayed, Ava could smile with the same sense of relief, knowing her sister was safe.