I learned quickly to not raise flags on these cases though. I made the mistake of bringing the first case I came across where things didn’t seem to add up right and was quickly told to stick to the new cases and “stay in my lane” by Mayor Burns. From that day on I catalogued everything I found but kept it to myself. I always hoped I would find something, anything that would be enough to solve one of the cases, but until now there has been nothing concrete enough to bring forward. With the information Neo has gathered, combined with what I have, I think we finally have enough to not only get closure on Anna’s case, but if everything goes to plan, we will pin Burns to the wall for all of it.
That’s where Ava comes in. Early on, before I pissed off Burns by poking around where he didn’t want me, I overheard Burns mention something about needing to add some files to his “personal stock.” Neo was able to pull the building permits for the renovations Burns had done on his house a few years ago and confirmed there was a large wall safe added in his home office. So that leaves us with Ava needing to get in, crack the safe, and get us anything and everything he has. Neo said he is working up some kind of hacker voodoo program for her to run on his computer to scrape anything from there as well. Once we have everything, we should have no issues pinning several of the unsolved cases on him.
If it all works to plan, if we can find records related to the kidnapping, I should be able to get the files related to the Jane Doe case and original evidence. If Neo confirms the Jane Doe was Anna, he will adjust the digital records in the police system and Barn’s financial records to dig out his payouts and expose him.
I know the tech side is in hand, Neo could take down a small country from the comfort of his bedroom with the hacking shit he can pull off. It’s Ava I’m worried about. She is more than capable, I have no doubt of that, but regardless of how much planning we do there is always the chance of something going wrong, some wild card we could never plan for.
It also doesn’t help that over the last few days while putting our plan in place, the bond between Ava and myself has only been growing stronger. We haven’t acted on it, hell we haven’t even touched since that first morning, but there is no denying the pull I feel towards that woman. The thought of completing the mating bond and shifting still freaks me out to some extent, but we talked through it the second night here while Neo ran to the clubhouse to grab some clean clothes. Armed with a basic understanding of her world, and what mating would mean for me, I know deep down that I will go through with it, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a little scared still. I’ll come around when it’s time.
I had thought we were keeping things pretty well in hand and under control, only exchanging a heated glance here, or a flirtatious wink there. But, clearly, I was wrong. Ava and I are cleaning up after lunch while Neo completes some last details before tonight. Ava’s going in tonight to get everything from Burns, so if everything goes to plan, we should have him dead to rights by morning. I’m about to go back to what has become my “spot” in the far corner of the room on a large overstuffed chair, when Neo slams his laptop shut and starts shoving all his belongings in his rucksack.
“Dude, what got up your ass?” I ask, giving him as wide a berth as I can manage in the tiny space.
“I can’t fuckin take it anymore!” he yells, shoving a hoodie into the bag and synching it closed.
“Take what?” Ava asks.
“The two of you! Seriously. Just fuck each other already!”
Ava and I look at each other in shock as Neo storms around the apartment gathering the last of his things before storming to the door.
“And don’t fucking leave this apartment till you do!” He yells over his shoulder and slams the door behind him. Ava and I stand frozen, staring at the door, when it opens again and Neo’s bright green head pops through the crack. “Oh, and Ava, if you don’t claim him, I’m hacking Burns’ security system to scream out La Cucaracha while you’re in there tonight.”
Ava’s apartment echoes with the sound of the door slamming shut again while we both stare at the door, not trusting he won’t pop in again. I’m not sure which one of us moves first, but I’m pretty sure we both say “Fuck it” at the same time and all but dive for one another.
We crash together in the center of the room and are tearing at each other’s clothing as soon as we are within arm’s reach. When I all but tear off the last piece of her clothing, I reach down and tag her behind both her knees, prompting her to wrap her legs around my waist as I lift her up, our lips finally connecting in a frantic kiss. Shuffling towards her bed with my pants and boxers around my ankles, I manage to get in
