He hesitated for a second. I wondered if I’d aroused his suspicions.
“Okay,” he said at last.
Guess not.
“Great,” I said. “I’ll have the rest of your money when you arrive. But in exchange for it, you agree to leave Ava and Simon alone for good.”
I glanced at Ava. She covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head back and forth.
“No problem,” he replied. “When?”
“How soon can you get here?”
“I can be there in a couple of days.”
I spent the next few minutes telling him to meet us at one of the bars where the team had been hanging out since arriving in Los Angeles. Not long after, I hung up and passed the phone back to Ava. She took it from me. Her face hardened with a scowl.
“Are you being serious?”
“Huh?” I said, frowning back at her. “What you talking about? Serious about what?”
Ava exhaled and slapped the outside of her thighs with her palms. “Gene! About giving him the money. How could you just, give in to him like that?”
I shook my head and chuckled at her. “Okay, let me get this straight. Fifteen minutes ago, you didn’t want me to help you at all. Now, as soon as I get the whole situation handled, you’re upset?”
“Paying off this weasel’s attempt at blackmail is not my idea of handling the situation!”
“Who said I’m paying him?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
“What?” she stammered. “Well, you did, just a minute ago on the phone call. You told him you were going to pay for his first-class plane ticket and then give him the rest of the money when he got here.”
I nodded and winked at Ava. “Ohhh, that… Right. Yeah, um, there’s not going to be any money. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it? How can I not worry about it?” she replied, stepping close to me. Pointing off in the distance, she continued, “He’s coming here expecting to get that money. What’s going to happen when he shows up and there isn’t any?”
Unconcerned, I shrugged as Ava continued to ramble.
“I’ll tell you exactly what’s going to happen, Dyson.” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “He’s going to take Simon away from me. Jesus! When you said you were going to help me, this is not what I had in mind! And now, things are one hundred times worse than they were before you got involved!”
I’d had enough. I stepped towards Ava, reaching out to try and calm her down. But as I neared, she pulled away.
“Just… Please don’t touch me. Please.”
“All right, okay,” I said. “Let’s take it down a notch. You’re right. I’m not going to give that dirt ball one penny. But I can promise you that by the time I’m finished with him he will be keeping his word. Trust me, Simon isn’t going anywhere.”
Ava looked at me with suspicion. “What are you trying to say, Dyson?”
“I think I just said it, didn’t I? What part of that didn’t you understand?”
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt, Dyson.”
“Well, Gene should’ve thought of that before he got me involved.”
Ava started to say something in response but before she could, I continued, preventing her.
“I know how to deal with people like this. They only understand one thing, okay?”
I stepped towards her once again, reaching up to hold her.
This time, she didn’t flinch.
“I’m afraid, Dyson.”
“Don’t be.”
AVA
I hadn’t heard a word from Gene since his phone conversation with Dyson. As far as I knew, he planned on showing up as agreed. However, I was a nervous wreck about the whole thing. I tried calling Jillian and talking to her about it, but her attitude was I ought to let Dyson handle it. Since she’d wanted him involved from the beginning, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Anyway, since we’d talked about it, Dyson was busy with the team.
I wasn’t done voicing my displeasure about what I expected would happen to Gene. While he hadn’t confirmed or denied it, I wasn’t altogether sure Gene wasn’t in serious trouble. If Dyson did something to hurt him, I just knew it would make things so much worse for me—and Simon. I had to find a way to get through to Dyson before he met up with Gene. And so, late in the afternoon on the day they were to meet at the bar, I waited for Dyson.
He and Marco had been testing all day long. Right around the time they were scheduled to finish, I waited outside the team garage, pacing back and forth like a nervous cat. Eventually, he and Marco emerged and walked in my direction. I tried to greet them with the most pleasant attitude I could, considering the situation. I smiled at both of them as they drew near.
“How was testing?” I asked, looking at each of them.
“Not bad,” Dyson replied, eyeing Marco. “Especially if you’re this guy.”
Marco smiled and nodded. “Yes, not bad at all.”
I looked at Dyson’s teammate. “So things are going well for you?”
Dyson reached over and slapped his teammate on the shoulder. “Let’s put it this way. If I wasn’t in the race this weekend, this man’s your winner.”
Marco chuckled at Dyson’s jab. “We’ll see what happens this weekend.”
Dyson winked at him before turning his attention towards me. “I just gotta grab a quick shower, and we can go.”
Before I could respond, Dyson glanced at Marco. “See you there, right?”
“Absolutely,” Marco said. Looking at me for a second before walking away, he continued, “See you in a bit.”
I smiled at him, caught off guard by the sudden revelation. He walked away moments later. Afterward I looked at Dyson.
“What was that about? Why is Marco coming with us to the bar?”
Dyson shook his head. “Actually, he’s not the only one. Most of the team is going to be there. I’m going to go get ready. Come with me. You can wait inside my motor coach.”
Just about an hour later, Dyson and I sat together in the bar, waiting for Gene to arrive. He’d already downed a couple of beers and was working on his third. After a large gulp, he set the beer mug down on the table and looked at me.
“You seem tense.”
Tense? Was he serious?
I’d been nursing the same cocktail since we sat down, barely able to take a single sip. “Yes, Dyson, I’m tense. Give me a reason I shouldn’t be.”
Dyson leaned back in his chair and placed his hand on top of the table. He rolled his fingers, tapping the surface of the table with an easy rhythm.
“Ava, look around,” he began, gesturing towards the guys from his team who were spread all around the bar. “We’ve got this guy outnumbered fifteen to one. There’s nothing to worry about.”
I glanced up at the clock on the wall, noticing the time. He’d be here any minute. What had I done? I lifted the cocktail glass to my lips. My hand trembled when I tilted it upward. Seconds later I lowered it to the surface of the table once again. Dyson reached for me, wrapping his large fingers around my hand.
“Everything is going to be fine. Okay?”
I glanced up at him and was about to speak, when the front door to the bar opened. Streaks of fiery orange from the setting sun spilled inside. I hadn’t seen him in years, but I’d recognize him anywhere. I stared at him in silence, and Dyson took notice, following my line of sight with his own.
After the door closed behind him, Gene stood there scanning the bar.
“That him?” Dyson asked, picking up his beer.
I nodded. “Mmm hmm.”
With that, he tilted the mug up, taking several big gulps before placing it back down on the table. After, he glanced in Gene’s direction and nodded. A couple of team mechanics were playing pool near the entrance, apparently waiting for Dyson’s signal. Because no sooner had he finished than they put their sticks down on the table and headed straight for Gene.