Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“She doesn’t know who you are,” Ryan says.
“She reached out to Ava. And she reached out to my family. She knows.”
“I agree,” Ruby says. “She kept your great-uncle’s sperm for some reason. My theory on that is that the future lawmakers all those years ago might’ve seen some money in cryotherapy and sperm freezing.”
Ryan nods.
“It was fairly new at that time. That would make sense. But of course, there was much more money in human trafficking.” Ruby shakes her head. “It’s just all too much.”
“Come on.” Ryan rises. “Let’s go, Brendan. Time for you to meet my mother.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ava
The contractor canceled, so I find myself pacing around my apartment, thinking.
My gaze falls on my tarot deck.
The wheel of fortune card.
What is my destiny?
Does it lie with Brendan? In my bakery? With my family?
Or is there even such a thing as destiny?
Perhaps I make my own destiny.
In which case… What the fuck does the card tell me then?
The fact that all three cards are in the major arcana is in itself odd. Those cards tend to show up when something is pulling a person toward something.
I can’t deny that I feel pulled toward Wendy Madigan.
It frightens my father. This whole thing has frightened him, but not because he’s frightened of his mother.
He’s frightened about what this may mean for his family.
The gold bracelets from my grandmother clink against my wrist.
And I feel very strongly…
I feel very strongly that they have some kind of significance.
I take the bracelets off, set them each in front of the tarot spread that still sits on my table.
Three cards. Three bracelets.
Three golden rings.
Rings symbolize commitment. Eternity.
Then I pull out my grandfather’s future lawmakers ring.
Gold, like my bracelets.
I pick up my bracelets one by one, look at them.
On the inside, something is etched. Probably 14k or 10k for gold. Mom did say they were real gold, though not worth much. They’re lightweight, so that’s probably what she meant.
I run my fingers on the inside of them, and I feel…
I feel something else etched on the inside.
I take a look, but whatever it is isn’t visible to my naked eye. I need a magnifier of some sort. Maybe a jeweler’s loupe, but I don’t have one.
We don’t have a jewelry shop here in town, but Lucy at the antique shop probably has a loupe.
I leave the apartment and head to the antique shop.
“Ava!” Lucy looks up from a magazine. “Such a slow day today. It’s good to see you.”
“Hi, Lucy.”
“Are you looking for anything special?”
“I actually was wondering if you had a jeweler’s loupe I could borrow,” I say.
“Sure.” She pulls a loupe out of the drawer and hands it to me.
“Thanks, Lucy.”
First I take my grandfather’s ring out, take a look at the ridiculous symbol that Wendy Madigan created. Creative as well as evil. A painter, she said. Taking credit for Gina’s artwork.
Then I see the GPS coordinates etched inside along with my grandfather’s name. Bradford Steel.
Time to take a look at the bracelets. I grab one, view the etchings.
Turns out they’re just scratches. Nothing.
Then the next one.
The same. Simple scratches.
The third one then.
And I nearly drop the bracelet.
Clear as day, there are initials.
WM.
This doesn’t make any sense. These came from my mother’s mother, not Wendy Madigan.
Must be some bizarre coincidence.
Yet I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all.
I place the loupe back on the counter. “Thank you, Lucy.”
“Sure, Ava. Anytime. I sure miss your croissants in the morning.”
“We’ll be back open soon.” I leave without saying goodbye and walk across the street to the tattoo shop.
“Hi, Kiki. Does Cy have any open appointments today?”
“He’s free right now.”
“Good. Book me.”
Cyrus comes out front. “Ava? I thought I heard your voice.”
“Kiki says you’re available.”
“I am.”
“Remember that design you created for me? Ink me. Now.”
“Are you sure, Ava? Last Friday you seemed to really want to think about it.”
“I have. I want the tattoo, Cyrus.”
“All right. You decided on the triquetra in black with the yellow lightning bolt cutting through it, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“All right, Ava. Come on back.”
I follow Cyrus back to his studio, where a seat resembling a dental chair beckons.
He flattens it out. “You said you wanted it on your hip, right?”
“Yes.”
“Right hip or left hip?”
“I don’t care. Pick one.”
He shakes his head. “That isn’t how this works, Ava. You need to know where you want the image, and yes, right or left matters.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“It matters to me.” He cocks his head, twisting his lips. “I don’t think it’s the best idea for you to get the tattoo today.”
“I’ll pay you double.”
This time he laughs, shaking his head. “Who are you, and what have you done with Ava Steel?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I might expect to hear those words from Donny. Or Brock. Maybe even your sister. But from you?” Cyrus shakes his head. “You have never been one to throw Steel money around.”