Page 130 of Destiny

Chapter Forty-Two

Ava

Once we’re back, we find Mom sitting with—is that Dr. Sheraton, the veterinarian?

“Doc?” Dad narrows his gaze. “What the hell are you doing here in my house?”

“I’ve already been in touch with Jonah and Bryce,” Doc says. “I came because that’s what my instructions told me to do.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Easy, Ry,” my mom says. “He’s not here to make trouble, are you, Doc?”

“No.” Doc Sheraton shifts uneasily in his chair. “I’m here to answer some of your questions.”

“So it’s all related,” Dad says. “You, Wendy, everything.”

Doc looks at his hands clasped in his lap on top of a manila envelope. “I don’t expect you to understand why I got involved.”

Dad shakes his head. “I know exactly why you got involved. You were mad at Joe for not giving you the veterinarian position on staff at the ranch.”

“That was my initial reason, yes. But it was pretty clear, once things escalated, that I had gotten in way over my head, and for all the wrong reasons.”

“Yeah. I can’t think of any right reasons to get into human trafficking.”

Doc holds up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t know what was going on, and I stand by that.”

“Sell it to someone who believes you,” Dad says.

But I walk forward. “My grandmother chose me to clean up her mess, Doc, so I want you to level with me.”

“That’s what I came here to do, Ava.” He holds up the manila envelope. “It’s all right here in this packet I received this morning at my office.”

“Another contingency,” I say. “Just like the one the law firm received upon Wendy’s death.”

“She always did dot her i’s and cross her t’s,” Dad says. “That’s how she kept my father in line. Why he never went to the authorities, why he never got Talon the help he needed as a boy.” Dad clenches his hands into fists. “I’m not interested in apologies, Doc. I’m interested in seeing you behind bars.”

“Hear him out, Ryan,” Mom says.

Dad plunks down in the seat directly across from Doc Sheraton. I take a seat next to Mom.

“I’m not here to talk to you, Ryan. I’m here to talk to Ava.”

Dad sneers at Doc. “Then why didn’t you go to Ava’s place?”

“I did, first. She wasn’t there, so I came here.”

“Well, when you’re in my house, I’m going to listen to everything you have to say. So is Ruby.”

Doc nods. “I don’t have a problem with that. I’m sure Ava would tell you everything anyway.” He sighs. “First of all, I’m going to need your assurances that you won’t have my daughter arrested.”

“I’ve talked to my brother, Doc,” Dad says. “I’m well aware of Brittany’s involvement… Not just in the recent activities, but also in her mother’s death.”

My jaw nearly drops.

Clearly there’s a lot I still don’t know. A lot Brock hasn’t told me.

“You’ll have to start at the beginning, Doc,” I say.