Sarah snorted. “That’s not the only reason.”
Heat climbed into Ava’s neck and cheeks. “Hmm. Well, regardless, it is the main reason.”
Sarah fell silent, then sat up and took Ava’s hand in hers. Ava raised a brow and met Sarah’s gaze.
“Ava,” Sarah said. “You know I love you. You’re the sister I never had and always wanted.”
“I feel the same.”
“But if you break my brother’s heart, I’ll have to hurt you.”
Ava’s jaw dropped and Sarah’s lips twitched, but her eyes glinted with worry. Ava squeezed her friend’s hand. “I love Caden, Sarah, I always have. You know that.”
“You’ve loved him as a brother.”
“No, that’s not true. I had a vicious crush on him as a teenager.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that. I used to be jealous that you liked him so much.”
“What?” Ava laughed. “You never let on.”
Sarah shrugged. “I didn’t want to lose your friendship. I knew you liked Caden, but I knew you genuinely liked me, too, and weren’t trying to use me to get to him.”
“Like a lot of girls did,” Ava said, her voice soft. “I remember.”
“It’s just that you don’t date, and I’m worried he’s going to fall for you.” She paused. “If he hasn’t already.”
“He knows how I feel about dating. We’ve discussed it.”
Sarah blinked. “Oh.”
“Please don’t worry. We’ll be all right.” She hoped.
“Sorry if I was sticking my nose in where it didn’t belong.”
Ava almost laughed. “You’re a journalist. I don’t think it’s something you can help.”
“Hey, now . . .” Sarah sighed and looked away, her gaze turning anxious once more.
Ava scanned the waiting room to find Caden talking to a man in his midforties. The newcomer had on khakis and a black shirt advertising a food delivery service. Wow, that was fast. Special Agent Frank Green?
Caden caught her eye and waved her over.
She patted Sarah’s hand. “Hang in there, my friend. I’m going to see what Caden wants.” She walked over to the men and Caden made the introductions.
Frank nodded. “Glad to meet you.”
“And you.”
Caden looked at her. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“I can do it.” If it would bring her one step closer to finding her father, she could do just about anything.
“All you have to do,” Frank said, “is just tell me what she’s saying.”
Caden shifted and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I don’t like this.” He looked at the agent. “Can’t you wear an earpiece and a mic so she can hear and just tell you what the woman is saying?”
Ava laughed. “Caden, come on. How’s he supposed to answer her? Of course I have to be there.”
“She’ll have on a wire too,” Frank said. “Backup will be seconds away.”
“A lot can happen in a few seconds,” Caden said, his voice hard.
Ava laid a hand on his arm and squeezed. “I’ll be fine. Like Frank said, there will be cops and feds all over the place.”
“I still don’t like it. Things could go sideways and you’re not a trained agent.”
“No, I’m not, but I am a world-class liar, so I think I’ll do just fine.”
Ava’s frosty words stopped him and he sighed. “That’s how you describe yourself. No one else would. Ava, I’m sorry, I’m just not comfortable with this.”
“You don’t have to be. All you have to do is remember that I’m very capable of taking care of myself and trust me—and the agent that you requested for this, not to mention all of the backup—to do it.”
He’d thought he’d be all right leaving her in the hands of an extremely capable agent. He wasn’t. But she was right. He thought about going with them, but while Sarah had Gavin there for support, Caden had to stay.
The general was still his father, regardless of their rocky relationship. If Caden left and the man died, he’d never forgive himself. Then again, if something happened to Ava . . . “Fine. You’re right. Just text often.” He paused. “Or better yet, call and leave your phone on so I can listen in.”
“If I can do it, I will,” Ava said.
That helped. Sort of.
With his heart in his throat, he watched them leave, heads bent, already working on their plan.
“You can go with them,” Sarah said from behind him.
He turned, her pale face and worried eyes searing him. “No, I can’t. What if he—”
“Then I’ll call you.”
“But—” They shared power of attorney and if worse came to worst . . .
“Frank’s an excellent agent,” he said. “I’ve worked with him numerous times. It will be fine.”
She raised a brow, but whatever she was going to say was interrupted when a nurse in scrubs walked up to them.
“We’re moving him to recovery in a few minutes,” she said.
Caden put an arm around Sarah as they both took deep breaths. “How did he do?” Caden asked.
“The doctor will be out to see you soon and—”
Bells and alarms went off in the hallway. The nurse whirled and ran, and medical personnel swarmed to the area, calling out orders, shouting for meds and a crash cart.
All Caden could do was hold his sister and pray.
Ava glanced at the man beside her in the silver SUV. He was good-looking in a rough sort of way. He sported a crooked nose, and a faint scar ran from his temple to his chin.
He caught her looking and smiled. “Knife fight with a mean dude who thought he could win.”
“Looks like he almost did.”
“Not even close.”
“Hmm.”
He laughed. “All right, it was close.” He took a left at the next light, then glanced at her again. “So, tell me how you know Caden and why he’s so twitchy about trusting me with your safety.”
Ava gave a mental scoff and chose her words carefully, giving him the bare bones of the story, then asked, “What made you want to join the FBI?” By the time he finished telling her, he was pulling up next to a large van.
“This is the command center,” he said. “Everyone here will be listening in. Agents will be standing by ready to storm the place if necessary.”
“Let’s hope it won’t be.”
“Exactly. The home sits on three acres and has a barn in the back. It’s a lakefront property with a dock. From what I’ve been told, there’s no security system per se, but it looks like he’s got some homemade alerts rigged.”
“Lovely. Any drones in sight?”
He gave her a tight smile. “I heard about that little adventure, but you’ll be happy to know we’ve not seen any drones.”
“Then I should be fine.”
“Okay, so we’re going to drive right up and knock on the front door. I’ll start talking, and when she responds in Russian, you take over. When she asks you how you know Russian, you can tell her—”