“But it didn’t. I’m okay,” Ava assured him.
“Where did you go?”
“To see Smitty, he’s an old friend. I thought if anybody knew what was going on, he would.”
“And did he?”
“Sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?”
Ava came to a red light and stopped. She raked a hand through her hair and repeated Smitty’s information to him.
“Well we figured none of this was random. But I can’t believe one of Joseph’s associates would put a hit out on you.”
Ava pressed the gas as the light turned green. “Those were my thoughts, but how am I supposed to know how the mob really works?”
“Babe, it doesn’t work like that.”
“How do you know? You’re not even in the business,” Ava said.
“I may not be in the life, but I was raised around it, and I have friends who have deep mob ties.”
“Smitty did say he heard my brother-in-law’s name come up in connection to this.”
“Angelo could be behind this?”
“That’s one of the rumors.”
“Does he strike you as a man who’d order a hit on a woman?” Dominic asked.
“I honestly don’t know. Angelo has wanted me from the moment he saw me. I have a hard time believing he’d want to kill me. I’m scared, Dominic.”
“I know you are and I know it wasn’t easy for you to admit that. We’re going to figure this out and when we find out who the bastard is I’m going to make them pay. You have my word.”
“Dominic…”
Ava’s response was cut off as she glanced up at the rearview mirror. Her mouth went dry. A black sedan was following her.
“Ava, baby. Are you still there?”
“I think I’m being followed.”
“Where are you?” Dominic asked.
“Heading down Main Street.”
“What direction?”
“North.”
“I’m not too far from you. I’m heading there now. I want you to stay on the phone with me. Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“How close is the car?” Dominic asked.
“About two car lengths away.”
Ava kept one eye on the rearview mirror. The windows on the car were tinted. She couldn’t see inside. She swallowed the lump in her throat. There was no reason for her to be afraid. You’ve got a gun. If all else fails, pull it out and use it. Ava ignored the voice in her head. The last thing she wanted to do was shoot anyone, not to mention, it would draw the attention of the police.
“Ava, what’s going on? You still there?”
“Yes. I’m still here.”
She’d just cleared the last red light downtown. In front of her was open highway. Now was the time to see if she could outrun her pursuer. Ava stomped the gas and her car took off. The speedometer jumped to sixty. Sixty-five. Seventy. Seventy-five. She looked in the mirror. The black sedan was speeding up.
“No.”
“Ava, what’s wrong?”
“The car. It’s speeding up.”
“Can you outrun it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Ava yelled.
“Calm down, baby. I’m almost to where you are.”
Ava was driving eighty now and still the car kept coming. She pressed her foot down on the accelerator even harder. The car roared to ninety. She looked up and screamed. The sedan hit the back of her car with enough force to knock the cellphone from her hand. Ava held to the wheel tight, trying to hold the car on the road. She raised her foot off the gas in an effort to gain more control.
“Ava! Ava!” she could hear Dominic yelling through the phone.
She couldn’t pick it up. Didn’t have a chance. The sedan hit her again and Ava’s car went spinning right into a guardrail. The force of it made her windshield explode and airbags deploy. Her head banged against the dashboard before snapping back. She felt blood drip down her forehead as she fought unconsciousness. The blackness was coming. She couldn’t fight it. Dimly she thought she heard footsteps.
Ava tried to turn her head, but she couldn’t. It hurt too much. She was helpless as the door opened. Weakly she tried to put up her hands.
“I warned you. I told you you’d pay for betraying me and I meant it.”
The voice. In Ava’s impaired mind something about it was familiar to her. Ignoring the pain in her neck, she turned her head. The glaring sun of another day obscured the man’s features. All she could see was a silhouette standing in the sun. The sound of sirens reached her ears.
“You’re lucky. I should finish you off right here, but those sirens have just bought you a reprieve. This isn’t over.”
The man disappeared and the blackness Ava had been fighting finally engulfed her.
“Ma’am. Ma’am, can you hear me?”
Ava opened her eyes. A man was standing over her with a flashlight pointed in her face.
“Ma’am, I’m an EMT. Can you tell me your name?”
“Ava Hill.”
“Alright Ms. Hill, do you hurt anywhere?”
“Pain in my neck and shoulder.”
The EMT touched her neck with the pads of his fingers. Ava winced.
“You’ve got some really bad bruising, but it doesn’t feel like anything’s broken.”
“Ava!”
“Dominic?”
The EMT turned. “Sir, she’s just been in an accident.”
“I know that. I was on the phone with her when some asshole ran her off the road.”
“I understand you’re upset sir, but let me do my job. We need to get her to a hospital for further observation.”
“No. No,” Ava said.
“Ms. Hill, more than likely you have a concussion and there could be other injuries we can’t see right now.”
“No. I have to get to my daughter.”
Gritting her teeth, Ava gingerly tried to climb out of her car.
“Ma’am, you need to stay put.”
Ava ignored the EMT and got out of the vehicle. Her body ached, hurt in a way it never had before, but she was standing upright. And then she collapsed into Dominic’s arms.
“I’ve got you, baby. I’m so glad you’re alright,” he said rubbing her back.
“I bet I look horrible.”
“I’ve never seen a sight more beautiful.”
“Liar.”
Ava pulled back to look at him. There was a crease of worry between his eyes.
The EMT cleared his throat. “Ms. Hill, if you’re refusing further treatment, then there’s a form I need you to sign.”
Ava nodded, turning to face him. “Whatever you want.”
“Do you have anything in the car, Ava?”
“My purse and my phone.”
“I’ll get it.”
Ava was able to stand on her own as Dominic dug around in the smashed car and came away with her purse. Ava took the pen from the EMT’s hand and signed the paper. She handed the pen and clipboard back to him.
“Baby, are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital? You have a nasty bruise on your temple and your neck.”
“No. We have to get back to the hotel. I don’t want to leave Maia alone any longer than necessary.”
“Okay. We’ll go now.”
“Not so fast. Ms. Hill, we have a few questions for you.”
Dominic placed his hand on the small of her back as two policemen approached. Just great. This was the last thing she needed.
“Fine. What do you want to know?” Ava asked.
“For starters, what happened?”
“I was on the phone with my boyfriend and I noticed a black sedan following me.”
“Do you know the model? Altima? Maxima?”
“I don’t know. The car was behind me,” Ava stressed.
The two cops exchanged glances, before writing something down on their notepads.
“Why would you say you were being followed?” the brown haired officer asked.
“Because when I sped up, so did the car behind me. In fact it sped up and slammed into the back of my car.”
“What did you do then?”
“I tried to hold my car on the road.”
“Why didn’t you call us?” the bald officer asked.
“Because my phone had fallen to the floorboard and I was trying to keep from crashing, which I eventually did when the car hit me again and knocked me into the guardrail.”