Little Fury: Book 1 of The deadly Little Thing Trilogy
Little Fury: Chapter 32

The guys get off the plane and start loading the truck, waiting for us. I make my way slowly off the plane, the stiffness in my shoulder is a little concerning, but it’s not something I can deal with for another few hours. As I step off of the plane, the heat greets me, and I smile. Matt has been to Costa Rica multiple times, and he’s the one who bought the property here for me and built the homes. It’s incredible how fast things get done when money is no issue. I realized then that Harry was right. I had an idea or a clue that this would or could happen. Matt did all the groundwork here. I asked him to do it a week after I met Liam. Everything is in his name, well, not his real name, but Ben made sure to bury any trace of Costa Rica so deep that no one would be able to replace a connection between here and us.

“Told you the heat would be everything you wanted,” Matt says with satisfaction.

“You didn’t lie, Matt.”

Once the guys have loaded the truck’s bed and everything strapped down and covered, Caden helps me into the back seat. “Ava, are you sure you don’t want to sit up front?” Ben asks me before he slides into the passenger seat.

“I’m sure Ben.”

I know my voice sounds tired. I’m exhausted, and I feel warm. There is a tingling suspicion that it’s not just the tropical weather making me feel this way. I rummage through my bag and replace the antibiotics and painkillers Jake gave me. I take two of each. We aren’t on the road long before I’m asleep again.

I wake up to the sounds of Matt and Caden discussing what to do with me. “You don’t need to do anything with me. Just help me get into the house and show me where my room is. I can do the rest,” I inform them. I don’t miss the look that passes between the two of them. “Boys, be aware, even in my current state, I’m pretty sure I could take both of you.” Caden rolls his eyes at me.

“You keep believing that, princess,” Matt says, taking my hand and leading me into the house.

“Fuck, Matt! This is spectacular!” I am awestruck by this house. You enter into a wide-open space. The stairs lead to the second floor, but the main floor is a glass masterpiece. The main room has a large U-shaped sectional. Everything is white and wood accented with grey and a deep navy throws and pillows. The kitchen has granite countertops, and the lower cupboards are a deep navy. The appliances are stainless, and the upper cabinets are white and have simple, clean lines. The main floor is open, and you can see all the way through to the back of the house. The back wall is just glass that I assume opens up to nothing. “I want to see the backyard.”

“Ava, the backyard will still be there tomorrow after you clean up, eat, shower, and sleep.”

“I’m aware, Matt, but I want to see it now.”

I hear what I believe is a grumble from him consisting of words like “stubborn,” “fucking woman,” and “do what’s best,” and I think, “It drives me crazy.” But he leads me through the kitchen and opens the back of the house for me. I audibly gasp. There is jungle around us, but an oasis is directly out the back of the house. It has an outdoor kitchen and seating areas; fire bowls are all along the walkways, and what looks like a fire-burning pizza oven, gas barbeque, and flat-top grill. All this leads you to the largest infinity edge pool I’ve ever seen. And the edge of that pool continues right out into the ocean.

“Matt, this is better than I ever could have asked for. I don’t know how you did it, but it is so close to the house in the Caymans, yet so much better. Thank you. Thank you.” I throw my arms around him to hug him, but it pulls my shoulder and side, causing a lot of pain. I school my features, and Matt doesn’t notice, his gaze still locked on the ocean before him. “Point me in the direction of my room?”

“Yeah, let me carry your bag up for you.”

“Nope, I got it.” I swing my bag onto my good shoulder, showing how fine I am. I hit my side and bite my tongue to stop the cry of pain that’s about to bubble out.

“You are upstairs. The entire upstairs is yours. Ben is in the blue house over to the right. Caden and I are in the guest rooms as we wait for the last few things for our places. So, you will have us with you for a few weeks in the main house.”

“Works for me. Again, thank you, Matt. This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”

He nods at me, not one for compliments, and I make my way inside and up the stairs. My last bit of strength is quickly draining.

I enter my room, and again, it’s like Matt stole the images from my head and made them real. I don’t know when it happened, but over the last five years, Matt has quickly become probably my best friend. Marcus hasn’t been that for a while, but I didn’t notice when Matt took over that role.

The first thing I see is dark wood floors. The stone from downstairs is not up here. The walls are dark grey, and the bed is covered in a black bedding set woven with a deep jade green thread.

I carry my bag with me into the bathroom and close the door. I start the shower and let it run while I peel off the clothes I’ve been wearing for two days. “So gross,” I tell the empty room. Standing in front of the mirror, I carefully remove the bandage on my side, instantly knowing it’s infected. It’s red and hot and leaks less than appealing fluid. I reach behind me to remove the bandage from my shoulder, and I smell the infection there when I pull the bandage off. Jake would be so mad. He would slap my ass to remind me that this is why we go to the hospital when we get shot.

I shake my head, not letting thoughts of Jake in. I’m too tired and drained to let him invade my thoughts; if I do, I know I’ll break.

I climb into the shower. I know I shouldn’t get my stitches wet, but I need to clean the wounds more than anything. I have a bar of antibacterial soap that I stole from Jake and use it to clean both bullet wounds. I hiss, and a few tears fall because it hurts worse than I would like to admit. “Ava?” I hear Matt as he enters my bathroom. He looks at the bandages I left in the sink. “You could have asked for help, you know.”

“I’m aware! But what’s the fun in that? This way, I can inflict more pain than necessary to wash my hair and clean the infected areas.”

“Fucking Hell, Ava!” Matt pulls his phone, keys and wallet out of his pocket, toes off his boots and removes his socks, t-shirt and jeans. He steps into the shower with me. “Turn around.”

I do, and he grabs the showerhead and helps me wash my hair so that the shampoo doesn’t run over my shoulder and side. He then runs a bit of conditioner through it, quickly rinsing it out.

“Do you need me to wash your back?” he asks me cheekily.

“Matt, you’d be so lucky to be able to wash my back. I mean, you’re still super hot for an old guy.” I laugh back at him.

“Shut up, Ava; we don’t make sex jokes about each other; let’s try to remember that.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. “You sure? Cause I am pretty sure we both just made one.” I tell him amusement lacing my words. “I washed my body before you came in.”

He reaches around me and turns off the water. He steps out, dripping wet, and hands me a towel. I wrap my body, taking another towel and wrap my hair in it. I step out of the shower and head towards the vanity. Matt towels himself off quickly, drops his boxers, and steps into his jeans.

There is a level of familiarity with Matt that I have never had with another. We have always been at ease with each other. He rummages in the bag, replaces everything he needs, and cleans my shoulder. I can’t help the hisses of pain or the whimper here and there. It hurts badly, and I have no energy to hide it. “Ava, I’m going to remove the stitches. I need to clean everything better.”

“Matt, I don’t think I can handle being re-stitched with how bad it hurts right now.”

“I know. I won’t restitch you if you promise me you will move around this place like a 90-year-old who just broke her hip. I can bandage you. But if you do anything that causes them to bleed, I’ll have to stitch them back up.”

“Okay,” I say quietly. I feel the tears stinging my eyes. I suck in a breath and bite my cheek until they pass.

Once he’s done and my shoulder has a new bandage, I grab a pair of panties from the bag and slip them on. I hold a tank top, and Matt helps me slide it on, careful not to jostle my arm.

“I’m going to go change. You good?”

“Yup, thank you. I’m going to go to sleep. Thanks again for all of it, Matt.”

“It’s why you pay me so well.”

“A bit, yeah.” I laugh. I follow him out of the bathroom, and he walks out my door.

“The switch on the bedside table will lower blackout curtains for you,” he calls to me over his shoulder as he makes his way back to the stairs. Once I’m in bed and the curtains are drawn, I sleep. I sleep for 18 hours. I get up to use the bathroom and go back to sleep for another 12. I know Matt and the guys woke me a few times to take painkillers and antibiotics, but I don’t remember much.

When I finally wake up, I feel a lot better. My side and shoulder still hurt, but the pain from the infection is gone. I head into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I see clean clothes laid out for me, so I change and pull my hair into a ponytail.

I open the blackout curtains, and I see the patio doors for the first time. I step out in the mid-morning sun. I can hear the waves up ahead, knowing this will be one of my favorite spots. I sigh, not wanting to go in, but my stomach is being terribly rude and won’t settle down for me to enjoy the view a bit longer.

I leave my room and carefully go down the stairs. I remember Matt’s threat about the stitches, so I won’t do anything that will make him think he needs to restitch them.

I enter the kitchen, heading for the fridge. I open it and start pulling things out. I see breakfast sausage, so I get that in a pan on low. I grab a couple of potatoes, quickly chop them up, add them to another pan and put the lid on them, leaving them to cook. I grab a brick of cheese out of the fridge and cut off a slice, then I see a loaf of fresh bread and cut a piece off, slathering it in butter. I’m pretty sure I moan when I bite into the bread. It’s so fluffy, and it’s still a bit warm. I silently thank Parker for replaceing Caden for me; the man makes good bread.

“Hey, boss lady, look at you up and about,” Ben says as he walks inside.

“Have you eaten?” I ask.

“No, I have not.”

I nod and grab another couple of potatoes. I chop them up quickly and put them in the pan. I add water to the pan to steam the potatoes before I get them crispy. “I’m just doing scrambled eggs. Is that okay?”

“Yup, I’m not one to complain about food someone else makes me,” Ben says, watching me.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just good to see you up and about.”

“Worried about me, were you? Where are the other two?”

“Town to pick up more groceries. I was voted to stay here and keep an eye on you.”

“Well, now you get food, so it’s win-win.”

“How are things? “

“Marcus is still looking for you. But we got out fast enough that we’re nice and lost.” Ben smiles to himself, clearly pleased with his ability to outsmart Arthur. Arthur is the tech guy Marcus has. Marcus felt Ben was too young and mouthy—his loss. Ben is one of the best there is. Parker will tell you Ben is better than him now, so there is no better compliment than that.

“Are you going to miss showing him up?”

“No, it got very boring. But Marcus is pissed, so I think, unfortunately, Arthur will be replaceing himself with a hole in his head very soon.”

“Fair. You can only take so many fuck-ups before it’s time to cut your losses.”

“Is that what you would have done with me? Cut your losses?”

“Yes,” I say matter-of-factly. “If you or any of you three had turned out not to be as good at your jobs as you are, I would have cut my losses. But I wouldn’t have waited two years like Marcus. I would have done it the first time any of you fucked up. That also would have meant the likelihood of you guys getting a bullet in the head was significantly less. You knew way less sketchy shit about me back then.”

Ben laughs. And I smile at him. I love to hear the guys laugh.

“Did Matt mention a sound system?”

“Pay up, Caden. She’s been up for less than 40 minutes and is already asking about the sound system,” Matt says as he and Caden come into the house.

Caden puts his bags down and digs into his pocket, dropping $50 on the island for Matt.

“If I knew you were cooking, we wouldn’t have eaten in town,” Matt says.

“I’m sure it was better than what I’m throwing together.”

“Ava, your phone is hooked up to the house systems already. You can talk to the system, and it’ll respond.” Ben informs me.

“Like Alexa?” I ask.

“Yes, but your system name is B.O.B.,” Caden says with a grin.

“What am I missing?”

“Those two old men think they were funny naming the system BOB.”

“Ava, ask him what it stands for.”

“What does it stand for, Ben?” I ask as I turn back to stir the potatoes.

“Fuck off, I’m not telling her. It’s not even funny.”

“Can’t you just change the name to whatever?”

“No, he can’t actually. He lost a bet.”

“Hey Bob, can you tell us what your name stands for?”

“Good morning, Caden; my name is an acronym for Ben, only better. BOB”

I look at the three of them, and I can’t stop my grin. I look at Ben and roll my eyes because he’s right. It’s not nearly as funny as Matt and Caden think. I also realize how lucky I was to replace them.

“Hand me my phone, please.” Ben slides it over to me, and I open it and connect it to BOB. I select a playlist.

“Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads fills the house, and I smile. Caden barks out a laugh.

“It seemed fitting,” I say, going back to cooking.

Once the food is ready, Ben and I sit down to eat. Caden and Matt have gone to talk to the guys working on the property and finishing up their homes. I got a text from Matt saying the woman he hired for housekeeping and cooking would be here at 1 to meet me and go over what I would need from her. That gives me a couple of hours, so I grab my headphones and head out to walk along the beach.

My ears are filled with “The Nature of Daylight” by Max Ritcher as I walk along the beach, letting the water lap at my legs. I need to decide what my plan is. I must decide if I want to retaliate or just let it be. Just walk away, let the hurt and the anger go, and let Marcus go. I know he’s been gone for a while, but until a few days ago, I still hoped he would snap out of it. Or Yuri would die, I would kill Alexi, and Marcus would be Marcus again.

I sit down in the sand and stare out at the waves. Water has always calmed and centered me and it does so for me now. I realize that I don’t want revenge. I want to be. I want to wake up in the morning and read. I want to sit on my balcony and watch the waves roll in. I want to let Marcus and that life just be. I don’t need the money; I have more than I can ever spend. I don’t want revenge. I want Marcus to replace some peace. And maybe me disappearing from his world will do that for him.

I know I will never stop loving Marcus. Our bond will outlast anything he puts me through. I will always want that seven-year-old boy I offered Mr. Waffle to, to replace peace, to replace a place in himself that his demons both inflicted upon and caused by him to no longer torment him. That beautiful boy with those intense green eyes flecked with gold, who grew into a man with a shattered soul, grew into a man whose past traumas won the majority of the battles that shaped him.

I know I made a mistake when I let our relationship progress from friends. But back then, I would have done and given Marcus anything. He was my family, and I loved him more than anyone. When things started to shift between us, I honestly thought we loved each other enough that we would make it work.

I head back to the house to tell the guys what I’ve decided and meet my new housekeeper and cook.

Marguerite is a lovely older woman who had her only child later in life. She has raised her daughter alone her whole life. Her daughter, Anna, is 17. I loved Marguerite the moment I met her. I’m excited that she will start tomorrow. I asked her if she and her daughter would like to live on the grounds, but she said no, they have a small apartment in town. I introduce her to Caden. She had already met Matt, and I let her know that either of the guys would be happy to pick her up in case of bad weather as she drives a little scooter, and we are a solid 30 minutes from town on that thing.

We say our goodbyes, and then I wander. I wander around the house looking and learning it. There are three guest bedrooms. Two are occupied with Matt and Caden. There is also a home gym with sparring mats and heavy bags, a treadmill, a rowing machine, free weights and a few other things. It’s a well-stocked gym. I did give Matt free rein, and he has his priorities.

Matt BBQs us all steaks with grilled veggies and sweet potatoes that evening. We sit outside enjoying the breeze off the ocean, laughing and talking about nothing and everything. The guys clean up after dinner, and I say good night and head upstairs. I sit on the balcony in an overstuffed chair that makes me feel like I’m sitting in a marshmallow. I grab my Kindle and read for a couple of hours.

Marguerite shows up the following day before I’m even awake. She gets started on many things I never would have thought to ask her to do. When I go downstairs around 10, she smiles and tells me to sit, and she will feed me. Her English is broken, but I know more than enough Spanish so we have no trouble communicating. I like her even more. She is the kind of person everyone should have in their lives. She is just genuine and open and kind. And in my life, that is not something I’m used to. It’s pretty much trained out of you by Harry very quickly.

The following four months pass fast. Caden’s house gets finished, he moves out leaving me and Matt in the big house. I like living with Matt. He’s quiet but is always up for a workout buddy, or to play crib, or another board game. We share very similar tastes in music, so that’s a massive plus for me as far as roommates go. Action and sci-fi movies every Thursday night. The guys and I have found a good rhythm. Ben still works, but because of the nature of his work, he does it under a different name. Matt and Caden have decided to open a gym in town. They need to be busy. We all need to be busy.

The sun is starting to go down as I make my way back to the house. Ben is on a date, and Matt and Caden went into town for a beer with some locals they met surfing a couple of months ago. No one should be in the house. So, I replace it a little odd, seeing a guy in there.

What is with men breaking into my beach houses and trying to kill me?

It seems ridiculous that this has happened twice in my life.

I make my way towards the house and in through the glass doors. This situation is too close to what happened in the Caymans a few years ago. I reach into my bag and grab my gun. When Caden gets home, he owes me $100. I told him it was necessary to carry a gun to the beach with me. Pretty sure I said, “Fuck that; you never know,” but the point is, I was right.

I slowly make my way towards my intruder. Once I’m close enough, I move at him fast, sweeping his legs out from under him. He goes down hard. He recovers quickly, but I expect it. No one is going to send a half-ass hitman after me again. My gun is against his head before he can get back to his feet. The guy raises his hands, and I run mine along his sides, checking for a weapon.

“Ava.” I’m not done checking him for weapons yet when he says my name. Ignoring him, I finish checking when he repeats my name. This time, I’m 90% sure I heard what I thought I had heard.

“Ava, could you put the gun down? “

I stop moving. I stop breathing. I press the gun harder into his head.

“Jake?”