To say Ava was dumbfounded was an understatement. She wondered what in the world the man seated beside her was after but her lips curved into a pained smile.
"I'm sorry…" She said, "But I can't tell you. That information… is reserved for my client alone."
She closed her eyes. 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 nervously. She didn't mind revealing everything she knew but she didn't like pain either…
"I see…" Eitan nodded, then his lips quivered. "How very interesting…"
Ava looked at him like he was slowly losing it. What was so interesting about what she 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 Kyla 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 recruit you, you see…"
Ava stiffened and her heart began to race. "Recruit… me?"
"You must be an informant for some kind of organisation…" Eitan started, glancing at her briefly from the corner of his eye. "Come work 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 somewhere in the first place.
"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 caressed the steering wheel. "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 clutched her bag tighter and seemed to want to retreat 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 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 you to work for me."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Ava yelled in disbelief. "You want to recruit me, a murderer?! 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?!"
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 blabbed.
"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. 'What have I gotten myself into?'
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… huh."
...
The moment Ava shut the door behind her, her knees buckled and she slid down to the floor
Kyla rushed over. "Ava! What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Ava forced a smile. "I… I don't think I'll be going back to that café…"
Kyla sucked in a breath. "Vince came after you again, didn't he?"
Ava nodded and Kyla pulled her into a gentle hug. "Did you… did you manage to escape alright?"
"Yes, I–" Ava paused, womdering if it was okay to tell her or not. "Someone helped me."
"Someone helped you?" Kyla asked, curious. "Who?"
Ava pursed her lips for a moment. "Eitan Berger." She said flatly.
Kyla 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 Kyla," Ava started, grabbing onto her friend's arm tightly. Her eyes were wide, unblinking. "He knows…"
"He knows?" He knows what?" Kyla asked, confused.
"He knows I was part of the group that tried to murder 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 revealed everything!"
Kyla 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…"
Kyla 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 come work for him instead…" She laughed humorlessly. "Gosh… it sounds even more ridiculous saying it out loud."
"What?!" Kyla 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…" Kyla called softly.
"I don't want that." Ava whispered. "You're the only family I have."