One Good Reason (2 page)

Riley nodded and walked towards the
door.

“Riley,” Stevenson said sternly.

Riley stopped and turned. “Sir?”

“This is our last chance. If we
stuff this up, it’s the end. The end of all of us. You understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” Riley replied before
quickly opening and closing the door behind him.

Stevenson looked out through the
large panelled windows to the city around him. This was their last chance to
fix this. He knew there was no way Harris wouldn’t give him what he wanted now.
What father wouldn’t for the sake of the daughter’s life?

2 DARKNESS

Ava ran into their hotel room, throwing her backpack on the floor as she
made her way to the balcony. With one quick movement, she unlocked the sliding doors
and pulled them open as far as they would go. She closed her eyes and breathed
in the sweet sea breeze.

“Holy
shit, Ava,” Olivia’s voice came from behind her.

Ava
turned to see her standing in the lounge room, still holding her bag in her
hand looking stunned.

“I…I
can’t afford this, Ava,” Olivia said, looking around at the huge penthouse
suite they were standing in.

Because
the decision to go on the holiday was very last minute and it being peak
season, Ava only had a couple of room options, and the penthouse happened to be
the best option. Ava had worked her ass off for the past few years and now she
was going to reap some of the benefits.

Ava
stepped towards Olivia shaking her head. “I told you before; you’re not paying
for this. This was my idea. I wanted a holiday. I needed a holiday. I couldn’t
just expect you to drop everything and fork out all this money at the last
minute.” She grabbed Olivia’s bag from her hand. “You’re my best friend,
Liv
. You’ve been there for me through everything. Consider
this repayment for having to put up with my cranky ass for the last three
years.”

Olivia
looked at Ava, her face still unsure.

“Please.
Pretty, pretty please,” Ava pleaded with her friend.

Olivia
closed her eyes and shook her head. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

Ava
threw her arms around her friend, jumping and squealing into her ear. “This is
going to be the best holiday ever!”

“I
have no doubts,” Olivia replied, laughing into Ava’s shoulder.

Ava
pulled herself from their hug. “Now let’s go put our bags in the bedrooms.”

Olivia
grabbed her suitcase from the floor. “So I guess that means we don’t have to
share a bed?”

“Nope.
You get a whole bedroom and bathroom to yourself.”

Olivia
turned and started to pull her suitcase down the long hall. “Good, because if
your farts smell half as bad at night as the ones you were doing on the plane,
I think I’d have to sleep on the couch.”

Ava’s
mouth dropped. “You little-”

Olivia
squealed as she dropped her bag and started running down the hall, knowing that
Ava was going to come after her, kicking and screaming.

Ava
gave her a second’s head start before smiling and running after her.

***

Hayden
pulled the buzzing phone from the pocket in his pants and held it up to his
ear.

“Price,”
he answered into the phone.

“Are
you on schedule?” a man’s voice asked.

“About
to board the flight now, Sir.”

“Good.
You will be briefed upon arrival.”

“Yes,
Sir.”

The
line went dead. Hayden pushed the phone back into his pocket and readjusted his
duffle bag on his shoulder.

He
looked out at the commercial jet planes unloading and loading passengers. He
was as prepared as he could be. The order was clear: Leave for Phuket, Thailand
immediately. Pack little, and tell no one. In his line of work that was not an
unusual request to receive. He had no knowledge of what his mission would be in
Thailand, but he knew by the end of the night, he would know, and he would use
every skill and tactic he had learnt over the years to ensure the mission was a
successful one. After all, he had never failed before, and he wasn’t about to.

***

“
Wakey
,
wakey
.”

Ava squeezed her eyelids tighter
together. Whatever was pulling her from her sleep was not welcomed.

“Ava,” Olivia’s voice sounded into her
ear.

Ava groaned. She had just gone to
sleep hours ago. What on earth was Olivia waking her up now for?

“Go away,” she croaked, pulling the
pillow over her face.

She felt Olivia jump onto the bed
beside her.

“Come on,” Olivia whined. “I want to
go shopping.”

Ava didn’t move or reply, in hopes
that Olivia would give up.

“If you think I’m just going to
leave, you’re wrong. I’ll sit on your bed all day nagging you until you get out
of bed and come shopping with me.”

Ava knew Olivia was right. When it
came to stand-offs, Olivia would win by a mile every time, so Ava reluctantly
gave in and pulled the pillow from her face. She slowly opened her eyes to a
beaming Olivia sitting over her.

After they arrived at the hotel,
they had decided to head down to the pool and take advantage of the swim up
bar. Although they had agreed only to have a couple of drinks and take it easy
on their first day in Thailand. A couple turned into seven cocktails, and
before they knew it, they were both standing on their kitchen table in their
room singing 80’s music at the top of their lungs at three in the morning.

Ava rubbed her temples. She could
feel a headache coming on. “Why are you up so early?”

“Well, it’s not early for starters,”
Olivia replied. “It’s nearly lunch.”

Ava sat up. “No way.”

“Yes, way. You’ve been passed out
for nearly seven hours. I’ve already eaten everything in the mini bar waiting
for you to wake up.”

Ava stretched her arms out above
her. “Wow. I must have been drunk. I don’t think I’ve slept past eight a.m.
since I was a teen.” She looked at Olivia. “You’re a bad influence.”

Olivia looked shocked. “Me? You’re
the one who kept buying drinks and insisting that ‘you only live once’.”

“
Mmmm
. I
did say that, didn’t I?”

Olivia nodded.

Ava’s stomach let out a loud
growl.  “Looks like you woke me just in time. I’m starving.”

“See, I know you and your stomach
too well,” Olivia joked, jumping up from the bed and heading to the door. She
stopped at the doorway and turned back to Ava. “Oh, and don’t forget to give lover
boy his clothes back, he’s waiting out on the lounge.”

Ava’s eyes grew wide as she quickly
patted her body down, looking at the clothes she was in. Olivia looked on,
laughing out loud at her.

Ava scanned the room while trying to
remember last night.

When did I meet a guy?
She thought to herself.

She looked up to see Olivia still
smirking at her. “
Ohhh
!” Ava screamed, grabbing the
nearby pillow and throwing it at her. “There was no guy! You’re such a liar!”

Olivia laughed. “Had you thinking
there for a while though, didn’t I? No, there were no guys last night. But that
doesn’t mean there won’t be tonight,” she said winking at Ava, and then walking
out the door.

Ava rolled her eyes. The only thing
she was interested in right now was food. Lots of it.

***

Ava
watched on as Olivia finished the last bite of her meal.

They
had just spent the last half hour eating anything and everything on the
restaurant’s menu, avoiding only the foods they were warned against eating.

Ava
wasn’t used to such a variety of foods. Living in a small community meant no
real restaurants, unless of course, you classed the truck stop’s restaurant as
a ‘fine dining experience’ when fast food fries was just about all they served.

Ava’s
mum had taken her into the city several times and they were able to experience
different foods. However, neither her mum nor she were very good cooks, so
meals at home generally consisted of basic meat and veg, and pasta dishes.
Simple enough and it never worried Ava too much anyway.

“So…”
Olivia said, sucking the juice off the tips of her fingers. “Tell me the
goss
. Grace still a bitch?”

Ava
laughed at her friend. Yes, Grace was still a bitch. However, it never seemed
to bother her as much as it bothered Olivia.

“You
still hung up on the whole Logan thing, hey?” Ava teased.

“Logan
thing? You mean the thing where she slept with my boyfriend?” Olivia snapped.

Ava
sighed. “Olivia, you were seventeen years old.”

“And
he was my first!”

“Olivia,”
Ava said with a tone of disapproval in her voice.

Olivia
sighed. “I loved him.”

Ava
laughed. “You were infatuated with him. You weren’t in love with him. Plus, you
broke up that night. He only went with Grace because he was heartbroken.”

“Oh,
please, we only dated for a few months. I doubt he was heartbroken.”

Ava
laughed at her. “And yet, you were in love with him,” she mocked.  

“Ha.
Ha.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “What’s she up to now anyway?”

“Well,
she’s actually engaged to Ethan now.”

Olivia
slammed her hands on the table. “What?”

Ava
smiled and nodded.

“Are
you serious? That slut!” Olivia shouted in disgust.

Ava
looked around at the people popping their heads up from their meals at her
outburst.

Olivia
must have recognised Ava’s discomfort, and relaxed back in her chair and spoke
more calmly, “I can’t believe she stole Ethan from you.”

“She
didn’t steal him,
Liv
. We weren’t even together.”

“But
still.”

“I’m
happy for them. If that’s who they want to be with for the rest of their lives
and they seem happy, then good on them.”

Olivia
swore under her breath. It seems no matter how much time or space passes
between them, Olivia would still, and probably always, hold a grudge.

They
sat in silence for a few minutes before Olivia spoke. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“I
never went anywhere.”

“You
know what I mean.”

She
did. Ava knew exactly what she meant. If she could do it over, she would, the
time she had wasted. Nevertheless, it was something she had to experience, and
something she knew she would never go through again. She was going to change
her life. No longer would she pity herself. Wish life was different. Wonder
what if? And why life was so cruel. No, Ava wasn’t that person anymore. She
would fight through it, and be dammed if she wasn’t going to live the very best
life she could live.

“Things
are going to be different now,” she stated.

Olivia
agreed. “Your mum would be proud, Ava.”

Ava
smiled at her words. “I hope so.”

Ava’s
memories of her mother were no longer sad and miserable. She would only
remember her mum as the person she was; the best mother and friend anyone could
ever ask for.

“Anyway,”
Ava said, pushing her chair back, “ready to go shopping mad?”

Olivia
jumped to her feet. “Always.”

They
paid their bill and walked out onto the busy streets of Phuket. They strolled
down the street looking at the shops as they passed. It wasn’t until they
passed the fifth or sixth shop, did Ava feel a sudden rush of fear. She noticed
a van travelling slowly on the busy road near them when they walked out of the
restaurant. She brushed it off, thinking nothing of it until she watched it
slow and come to a stop at the third shop they walked in. Ava continued to shop
with Olivia like nothing was wrong, and the van seemed not to move until they
came out of the fifth shop, when it came to a screaming halt in front of them.

“Do
you see it?” Ava whispered to Olivia loud enough for her to hear.

“Yes,”
she replied, their eyes watching the stationary van ahead.

“It’s
followed us since the restaurant.”

“It
could be nothing.”

“It
could be everything,” Ava said, not wanting it to be true, but knowing you
could never be too safe.

“Let’s
just keep walking. Nothing will happen; there are heaps of people here. It’s
just a coincidence.”

Ava
wanted Olivia to be right, but her instincts told her different.

Ava
looked around her surroundings, thinking of what they needed to do.

“Okay,
let’s just-” Ava cut herself off as the tires on the van screeched and reversed
towards them.

The
next few seconds happened so quickly that they barely had time to react. The
van pulled up and two men jumped out in ski masks. Olivia’s face flashed in
horror, as the men grabbed Ava around her shoulders and aggressively pulled her
towards the sliding door.  Olivia ran towards them trying to get them to
let go, but instead, one of the men grabbed her and threw her across the
pavement.