A chill coursed through her body, but she tried to ignore it. There had to be a million black sedans out there. This couldn’t possibly be the one that had followed her before. She continued walking, still aware of Dominic’s footsteps behind her. As she turned, she saw something glitter in the sunlight.

“Ava!” Dominic yelled.

She turned and found him running towards her. The next thing she knew they were hitting the sidewalk hard as the sound of gunshots rang out.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Stay down, Ava,” Dominic yelled in her ear.

She couldn’t have moved if she wanted to. Gunshots. So many. Her body shook with fear. Someone was shooting at her. Somebody wanted her dead. Dominic’s body covered hers. She was pressed face-first into the sidewalk. She couldn’t see anything. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. Ava had never been so scared in her life. If something happened to her, Maia would be alone. She had to survive.

Ava listened, heart still in her throat. Then she heard the sound of tires peeling away. No more gunshots. It was safe. At least she hoped.

“Can we get up?” she asked.

“Not yet. Let me check things out.”

Dominic’s body left hers. She didn’t dare move. The sounds of screams were all around her. Suddenly, Dominic was grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.

“Let’s get out of here now. Give me your keys.”

With shaking hands, she dug into her purse and gave him her car keys. His grip on her arm hurt, but she didn’t say a word as he marched them towards the garage where her car was parked. There was panic all around them. People were running and screaming. In the distance she could hear the sound of sirens approaching. She hoped nobody was hurt.

“What floor?” Dominic asked.

“First.”

“White Mercedes?”

“Yes.”

They entered the garage and Ava pointed in the direction of her vehicle. Dominic raised her remote and unlocked the car. He walked her around to the passenger side and opened the door. Once she was safely inside he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. Ava was quiet as he climbed in and started the car. Locking the doors, he looked around in all directions before he turned the car and roared out of the garage.

The street in front of the courthouse was starting to fill up with cars fleeing in a panic, but Dominic managed to make it under the traffic light just as it turned red. With the chaos of downtown fading away, Dominic turned and looked at her. His eyes were dark, his jaw tense. She’d never seen him look so fierce.

“Who’s trying to kill you?”

Ava swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Truly? You have a habit of pissing people off,” he said, harshness in his tone.

Ava blinked back tears. “I won’t deny that, but that doesn’t mean I deserve to have someone shooting at me.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, Ava.”

“No. You’re right. I’m horrible to everyone. Why wouldn’t someone want me dead?”

“No, you’re not. And despite what you think I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“So what are you now, my bodyguard?” Ava asked, sarcasm in her tone.

“Yeah. It seems like you need one.”

“No one has wanted to take on the job. I’ve looked.”

“Well you just found someone who will.”

Dominic reached across the console and grabbed her hand. Ava looked at him, but his attention was on the road. She quickly wiped away a tear.

She cleared her throat. “Where are we going? I have to get to my daughter and make sure she’s okay.”

“I’m sure she is. Someone would’ve called you by now. We’re going to check on her, but first we need to stop by my place.”

“For what?”

“So I can get some clothes and my gun.”

“Your gun?” Ava asked.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at Dominic. As they came to a red light, he met her gaze.

“Yes, my gun. What happened today is not going to happen again without consequences.”

“Dominic the last thing we need is more police attention. Especially not with Gina’s death still being investigated and the cops looking at us.”

Dominic smirked. “They won’t be looking at us anymore.”

“What makes you so sure about that?”

“By the time they were through interrogating me, I’d regaled them with all the salacious details of our tryst and they were firmly convinced that neither you nor I could have killed your friend because we were too busy screwing.”

“You didn’t?”

“I did.”

As the car slowed, Ava noticed they were pulling into another garage.

“Where are we?”

“My place. Don’t worry. You’re in a good part of town.” Dominic chuckled.

“After being shot at in bright, sunny downtown, no place is safe.”

“I can’t argue with you there.”

Dominic found a space and parked her car. He killed the ignition and turned towards her. “Come on up. I won’t be long.”

Ava nodded and got out of the car. Dominic followed suit, locking it behind him. Ava walked over to where he was. He grabbed her hand and held it tight. She looked up at him. A tender smile was on his face. She couldn’t help smiling back. They walked hand in hand as he led her to an elevator.

“Where’s your car?” Ava asked.

“Here. I took a cab to the courthouse.”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. As the doors closed behind them, Ava felt flushed. Memories of their tryst less than an hour ago played across her mind. She cleared her throat.

“Thinking about it, aren’t you?” Dominic asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar. Don’t worry. We’ll try it again when we’re not so pressed for time.” Dominic chuckled.

Ava’s mouth nearly fell open. You’ve just been shot at. Get a hold of yourself. The last thing you should be doing is fantasizing about any future escapades in an elevator. The doors opened, emptying them into a tan-colored foyer. Large wicker baskets and gold vases were lined along the wall. Beige walls highlighted the gold metal artwork.

“This is pretty swanky,” Ava said.

“Glad you approve. Wait until you see my condo.”

Ava allowed Dominic to lead her down the hallway. “I bet this costs a pretty penny.”

“Not really. I do have a little money, Ava.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But I know what you’re thinking.”

“So you’re a psychic now?”

Dominic smiled as he pulled out a key. “Hardly. I just seem to be able to read you pretty well.”

Ava rolled her eyes. Dominic chuckled as he put the key into the door. Then abruptly his smile disappeared.

“What’s wrong?” Ava asked.

Dominic held up a finger to his lips. Slowly he eased the door open and stepped inside. Ava followed behind him quietly. She could see the tenseness in his shoulders. Then she saw why. Furniture was overturned. Pictures had been ripped from the wall. A glass table had been broken. The living room looked like a hurricane had ripped through it.

Dominic cursed.

“Do you have any enemies?” Ava asked.

“None that I know of,” he said stomping down the hallway.

What was going on? First the shooting downtown, now Dominic’s apartment had been trashed. Was all of it connected? Was he the one they were aiming at? There were so many unanswered questions. And Ava was afraid of what they might be. Making her way down the hallway, she found Dominic in a large bedroom decorated in black. It too had been searched. Dresser drawers were open, clothes thrown on the floor. Dominic was moving inside the room gathering clothes and stuffing them into a large duffle bag. A silver briefcase sat on the bed. He turned when he heard her enter. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Dominic, what is going on?”

“I don’t know, Ava, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this. One way or another.”

Ava leaned against the wall, suddenly too weak to move. In a few short hours, her life had been turned upside down. She didn’t even know where to start to try and figure out what was going on. Only one thing was clear. For the first time, she was thankful that Dominic hadn’t allowed her to push him away. That he was sticking to her no matter how hard she fought. She was clueless as to what to do next and it felt wonderful having someone else to step up to the plate.