Chapter 21

Jude

Something was different about the sex this time. I gazed down at Ava to watch her eyebrows furrow in concentration. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink color from our lovemaking. It was as though she was memorizing details, soaking in the moment. I dug my fingers into her ass cheek as I slammed into her again. She let out a throaty moan of pleasure. Her neck arched back, and I took the opportunity to nibble there, the way she liked.

Those inner muscles contracted and squeezed down on me. I pounded into that flesh as hard as I possibly could without teetering over the edge, but the pressure of it was too much. I released with a grunt before collapsing down on top of her, barely catching myself on my elbows so that I wouldn’t crush her. I could feel the pounding of her heart against my bare chest.

We laid there for a long moment as night creeped in through the windows. Neither one of us moved from the tangle of our limbs. It wasn’t long before I felt Ava’s breath even out as she drifted off to sleep. The previous night, we had spent it making love whenever we both woke at the same time.

Exhaustion tugged at me, too, but I held off to watch Ava’s breasts rise and fall steadily in her sleep. I didn’t want to drift away just yet, with her body exposed so beautifully in the dark—all soft curves and smooth skin. She was exquisite. Nothing fake about her. I would never be able to love another woman the way I loved Ava. The realization hit me as I pressed a kiss to the side of Ava’s head before tucking the blankets around her naked body. I made sure to set the alarm for tomorrow morning and then settled into bed next her. I draped an arm around her waist to her pull her close. Sleep took me the second that I closed my eyes.

The arena in Las Vegas was nuts as usual. I scanned the arena seats with interest. Every single seat was occupied. We had a full house tonight, from what Chuck had gleefully told me the second the bus had pulled up to the arena.

The energy was intense as I pulled on my padded gear to grab my helmet from where it was seated on the bike. Three years ago, I had been at the back of the entrance as a nobody. No one knew my name. I barely had a hundred dollars in my bank account to cover the costs of everything. I was at the front of the line now at the entrance, while I half-listened to the announcer do his usual spiel about the merchandise being sold in the parking lot and to purchase the Games tickets while they were still relatively cheap. It was going to be an action-packed exhibition, with no one besides me and a few other racers in the entrance.

“There are going to be even more sponsors there,” Chuck was telling me excitedly from where he stood next to me. “Think about it, kid. You’re going all the way to the top this year. I can feel it.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” I muttered, pulling on my helmet to fasten the clips under my chin. “Where is Ava?”

Chuck sighed. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“It matters to me,” I snapped, scanning the crowds in the entrance. “Make sure that she gets to the arena okay. I don’t like the idea of her taking a cab out here in Las Vegas by herself.”

I swung a leg over the seat of my bike to sit down in preparation for my first run. My wrist ached horribly from two nights ago, but I focused on the stunts I planned to do while I was out there. Something that would really get the crowd cheering. Something to show Ava that I wasn’t just some stupid little kid hoping to pull off big air. I was a trained professional now. I knew what the fuck I was doing. I was in my element.

I couldn’t help the unease in my stomach, though. Something had been very different about the night before. I wasn’t sure if it was the realization of my own feelings for her, or if it was something else. Ava had insisted on staying behind to finish up an article earlier in the morning when we both rose, well before our alarms. We drank coffee together and watched the sun rise above the city skyline. She promised to be at the arena before the show started but I couldn’t spot her through the crowds streaming around the entrance while I waited for my cue to race out first.

“Your career is at a real turning point.” Chuck grasped my shoulder to gain my attention. “I’m serious, JJ. You are nearly at the top of this sport. Your brand is selling hot out there.”

“What’s your point?” I asked. “I’m aware. I’ve seen the same numbers you’ve seen.”

“I’m just saying that you should be careful about the decisions you make after Las Vegas. As in, don’t worry about what Ava James is doing too much. She’s a grown ass woman. She can find her way around here.”

Anger rushed through me, but I couldn’t say anything. Not with the flash of cameras and fans all around me. I didn’t want my personal life smeared across the headlines even more than it already was. I revved up the engine when I heard the announcer call out my name. I drove around the arena for my usual routine, while scanning the lower seats for the press and for private members only. Nothing. I couldn’t find Ava anywhere in the sea of people.

I pulled up to the starting line with a pounding heart. I flexed my stiff wrist to work the kinks out of it, while I tried to keep focus on the counter in front of me. There had to be a reason for Ava’s absence, or she was somewhere I couldn’t see. That little thought was comforting as I took off for the first hill when the green light flashed for me to go.

I couldn’t focus, no matter how hard I tried. It was impossible because I constantly wanted to search the crowd for Ava. The only thing that seemed to go right for me was my muscles remembering how to do the stunts. I was on autopilot while I drove around the arena, completely numb to what was going on around me. My wrist ached horribly by the time I drove back around for a victory lap. Chuck was practically dancing in excitement when I pulled back into the entrance.

“Good fucking job, man,” he said, thumping his hand on my helmet. “Good riding. Very good riding.”

“Where’s Ava?” I asked.

Chuck didn’t get a chance to answer. A swarm of fans excitedly surrounded me for photographs and autographs. I tried my best to get through the next couple of hours with the meet and greet, along with an interview on live television. I couldn’t blow my fans off, even if it was tempting to rush outside to the bus to see if Ava was there like I hoped. I forced a smile on my face every single time a fan came up to me.

After making sure that the bikes got locked up in the trailer, I darted up the bus steps to find it dark and empty. The bunks were empty. My back bedroom was empty as well. I pulled my phone out to call Ava’s number while fans surrounded my bus, with Chuck trying to steer them in the opposite direction. After six rings, my call went straight to her voicemail.

“It’s me,” I said, glancing at the clock above the small kitchen sink. It was just after midnight. “I hope you are asleep at the hotel because I couldn’t find you out here tonight. Give me a call if you get this message or wake up to it. I’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes.”

Chuck climbed up into the bus as I pocketed my phone. He shut the bus door behind him to block out the frenzy of cameras that followed him.

“It looks like I’m driving Big Bertha to the hotel tonight,” he said. “Our driver retired for the night at the hotel after I told him we would take a cab back.”

“Hold on a second,” I said, pulling the shades up to look outside. Camera flashes nearly blinded me in the process. “You’re positive that Ava didn’t come to the arena tonight, right?”

“Positive.”

I sat down on the edge of the couch while Chuck started up the bus to pull out of the parking lot. I didn’t hear a damn word Chuck said the entire time he drove back to the hotel. Blabbering away about more sponsors after returning to Chicago for a brief break. There wouldn’t be a break for me, though. Not until I figured out where the hell Ava was.

I didn’t even wait for Chuck to park the bus. I jumped out when he slowed down in front of the hotel to hurry through the quiet lobby in the direction of the elevators. I waited impatiently for the doors to open before jamming my thumb into the fourth button. My heart pounded anxiously in my chest the entire time. I knew she wouldn’t be there, even if I didn’t want to believe it.

The lights were off when I pushed the door open. I clicked them on. Anger coursed through me as I walked through the hallway to the master bedroom to click on the lights there. Nothing. Ava’s suitcase was gone. Her purse. Her personal belongings that had been spilled on the bathroom counter this morning. Her laptop was gone from the dining room table. Gone.

I sank down into the chair that Ava had been sitting in earlier that morning. The maids had come through the room to clean because I no longer could smell her sweet vanilla perfume. I pulled out my phone to call, but it went to voicemail again. I texted her this time. Where the hell did you go? Is this honestly how you want to play this out? Wtf, Ava?

Minutes ticked by until it was two in the morning when I checked my phone. The text message had been delivered but not read. I decided to call down to the front desk, just to make sure that she had left of her own free will.

“She left around eleven this morning, sir,” the clerk told me. “That’s when my staff members noted that she had left the room, but you were still checked in. She took a cab from what I was told.”

I set the phone down after thanking the clerk for the information. It occurred to me that our night before had felt different because Ava knew ahead of time that she was going to leave me. She had planned this all along. I grabbed the phone from the table and tossed it angrily at the wall. She had planned to leave me all along.