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In the days and weeks that followed the attack, the Ava he knew and loved disappeared He tried to talk to her, to be there for her while she recovered, but she distanced herself from him He had atteh, but they both insisted she just needed time His frustration and the pain he felt at what she was clearly going through, alone, just grew When Declan had asked him to join the military with him, at first he’d said no However, in the end, he just needed to get away Ava still wouldn’t see hiured maybe they both needed some time apart He came back home to see her on every leave, but his Avie never returned The little hellcat he had once knoas now a reserved shell of her former self When his tour ended, he was in coure out what happened next for hie of the training he had received in the uys he’d served anted to come in as partners, and East Coast Security was born Now, several years later, they had been successful beyond any of their expectations He, Doe Hyatt mainly ran the day-to-day operations while their employees handled the work on-site Jason Danvers, the CEO of Danvers International and a client, had offered them space for their corporate offices, which was convenient since they were located in a high-rise in don Myrtle Beach, South Carolina East Coast also handled personal security for Jason’s family His wife and child were rarely without a security tail
Mac had also made sure that Ava was covered Since the bastard who raped her all those years ago was never arrested, Macever happened to her again After he’d been hoed to resume some part of the friendship that they’d once had A lot of their free tih So that looked like rouarded occasion, but they were gone so fast he wasn’t sure if they were ever there He had loved Ava for yearsand he had no idea how she felt about hi over Ava so closely also had a downside He knew entirely too much about her personal life Every couple ofat her house and walk out the door looking ruh It tore him up to read those reports fro the wo around on the sidelines In thoseher privacy and consider whether to continueher safety from afar, but he couldn’t take the chance that any harain
Of course, he couldn’t say that he’d been a saint either He was a man and he had needs He had slept with the occasional woman when the need was there He wasn’t vain, but he knew that women found hi woht with He and Declan had foundtheir tours of duty It had just nevera physical need Had Ava said the word, he would have stopped seeing other wole qual into a serious relationship
When Declan had surprised the in love with Ella Webber, the receptionist at Danvers, Mac suddenly took notice of the hollowness that he had felt for years Suddenly, it had become almost unbearable Then when Declan ht, it had forced Mac to make a difficult decision He had to move on with his life He wanted a wife and a faht never be at the same point in her life
There was no choice left but for hi away, inch by painful inch He had asked Gwen Day, orked at Danvers as well, out on a date She was an attractive woh she didn’t make him weak in the knees, he was attracted to her, and she see for a couple of months now and his frequent dinners with Ava had all but stopped He knew he couldn’t have both There was no way he could move past her with someone else and still spend so s he’d ever done He oing on as he had been He wasn’t doing either of them any favors Maybe without him as a crutch, Ava would be able towheels off and see if you fell on your face or made it on your own This was as much for her as for him He just had to remember that
Chapter Three
"Oh my God, what’s he done now?"
Ava scowled at her assistant and future sister-in-law, Emma Davis, as she settled into a seat in front of her desk Ava had been a vice president at Danvers International since she and Brant sold their family business to Jason Danvers Truthfully, she enjoyed the work as well as the challenge of soave an unladylike snort at E twenty questions There was no way her nosy assistant was going to let her off without explaining her shittier-than-usual ave her best innocent look and said, "I have no idea what you’re talking about Don’t you have some work to do in your own office?"
E by now that her bark orse than her bite Ava didn’t haveher, Emma was pretty much it Oh, Ava would never let the other worown to love her dearly since her engagement to her brother Brant Between Emma and her other brother Declan’s wife, Ella, faue Emma and Ella had breathed some much-needed life into the Stone fa her eyes, Ava said, "A break, huh? You seem to have a lot of those" Secretly, Ava knehy Brant had enjoyed arguing with Ee fun Emma was actually fabulous at her job and took a lot of the load fro crap What’s happening with Mac? I take it you’ve spoken to hi case of PMS"