Ava's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she stared at him. To say she was shocked was an understatement.
'Has he... had his eyes on me since the party?' Ava wondered.
Did that mean that him saving her from that assualt just minutes ago was a planned move? No... he couldn't have predicted that but just how much did he know?
'I fell for his kindness... and now I'm trapped.'
She almost scoffed out loud at her stupidity and she wondered what in the world the man seated beside her was truly after but her lips curved into a pained smile.
"Unfortunately, it's different this time…" She answered, "I can't tell you. That information… is reserved for my client alone."
She closed her eyes tight. He was probably going to take her somewhere some shady people would torture her to make her release information now.
Ava clasped her trembling hands together. She didn't mind revealing everything she knew but she didn't like pain either…
"I see…" Eitan nodded, as his index finger drummed on the steering wheel. "How very interesting…"
Ava looked at him like he was slowly losing it. What was so interesting about what she just said?
The silence that followed in the moving car afterwards was so deafening that it made her want to crawl into a hole and hide.
'Will he let me say goodbye to Kiera for the last time?' She thought, chewing on her lip. 'I'll probably never see her again once he hands me over to the authorities…'
All of a sudden, the car came to a halt and Ava looked outside the window to find a very familiar neighborhood.
She swallowed. "You're not… taking me to the police?"
Eitan raised a brow at her, genuinely confused. "Why would I do such a thing?"
Ava's brows furrowed. "Why… why wouldn't you? I'm way too suspicious!"
"Oh, so you know…" Eitan remarked indifferently. "I wouldn't do that though. I'm trying to make a deal with you, you see…"
Ava stiffened and her heart began to race. "Make a deal with… me?"
"You must be an informant for some kind of organisation…" Eitan continued, glancing at her briefly from the corner of his eye. "I want you to do that for me instead."
Ava pursed her lips, her gaze on the shaking hands rested on her lap. 'Informant…' She thought. 'I wish…'
She wondered what made him come to that inaccurate conclusion and how he knew she belonged to an organisation in the first place.
'He must have noticed something odd about me at the party...'
She turned to look at him. "How… do you know that?"
Eitan tilted his head slightly to the side in thought. "I know a lot of things…" He drawled as he traced the steering wheel with his fingers. "Like how I know that you were part of the group that was sent to kill Evie the other night."
Ava's eyes widened and she nearly stopped breathing. She held her bag tighter and seemed to want to enter into her seat. "How… how did you…?"
"It doesn't matter." Eitan cut in flatly. "I was able to stop the worst that night thanks to the tattling of a little bird."
Ava closed her eyes and turned away from him, trembling. "What… exactly do you want from me?" She whispered.
Information... it had to be information.
"I already told you." He stated matter-of-factly. "I want a deal... be my wife."
Ava froze.
Wife?! He wanted her to be his Wife?!
"That doesn't make any sense!" Ava burst out. "You want me to pretend to be your Wife?! A murderer like me?! I shot that gun that night, I almost killed Evie Alrosa and yet you say you want to make a deal with me?! Do you think I'm a fool?!"
What exactly did this man take her for?!
Eitan remained silent for a long moment, then he quietly placed his hand on the car monitor and swiped at it with two fingers, revealing a video footage that looked like it was taken just seconds ago.
Ava reeled forward, a hand over her mouth as her head buzzed and her eyes clouded over.
It was her! The confession she'd just made, he had gotten it on video, all of it!
He'd definitely planned all of this from the very beginning! And she'd stupidly exposed herself.
"Now," Eitan voiced, holding up a business card. "Shall we negotiate?"
...
A few minutes after their 'discussion', Eitan watched as Ava bolted up the stairs to her studio apartment, slamming the door loudly behind her when she entered.
Eitan leaned back on his chair and sighed. 'Looks like I've gotten more than I bargained for.'
He took out his phone and stared at a message that was sent to him more than an hour ago.
A life for a life
You owe me.
The girl working at the café, she was part of the murder crew.
Take her in… Please… by any means necessary.
She'll be useful to you…
Eitan scoffed. "Useful..."
...
The moment Ava shut the door behind her, her knees buckled and she slid down to the floor
Kiera rushed over. "Ava! What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Ava forced a trembling smile. "I… I don't think I'll be going back to that café…"
Kiera sucked in a breath. "Vince came after you again, didn't he?"
Ava nodded and Kiera pulled her into a gentle hug. "Did you… did you manage to escape alright?"
"Yes, I–" Ava paused, wondering if it was okay to tell her or not. "Someone helped me."
"Someone helped you?" Kiera asked, curious. "Who?"
Ava pursed her lips for a moment. "Eitan Berger." She said flatly.
Kiera blinked once, then her eyes widened. "The Eitan Berger?"
Ava nodded again.
"But… but that doesn't make any sense!" She spat. "What in the hell was he doing in a regular neighbourhood like that?!"
"I don't know either, but Kiera," Ava started, grabbing onto her friend's arm tightly. Her eyes were wide, unblinking. "He knows…"
"He knows?" He knows what?" Kiera asked, confused.
"He knows that I tried to kill Evie!" Ava yelled, tears streaming down her face. "He probably tried to feel me out at first since he wasn't sure, but I panicked and I… and I spilled everything!"
Kiera froze, dumbfounded. It took a while before she opened her mouth to speak again. Her tongue seemed to hang heavy in her mouth. "C–calm down, Ava. Calm down." She spoke softly. "Did something else happen?"
Ava answered, her voice trembling. "He got everything on video… my whole confession…"
Kiera swallowed the urge to curse. At a point, even she began to tremble slightly as she patted Ava's hair gently.
"Did he tell you anything after that?" She whispered.
Ava sniffled. "He said I should... I should come work for him…" She laughed humorlessly. "Gosh… it sounds even more ridiculous saying it out loud."
"What?!" Kiera screeched as she pushed her back by the shoulder. "That's way too suspicious! You can't possibly believe him!"
"I know but what choice do I have?" Ava asked her. "He has evidence of my crime and if worse comes to worse, he'll involve the whole group, including you!"
"Ava…" Kiera called softly.
"I don't want that." Ava whispered. "You're the only family I have."