Chapter 29 Determined

Note: I hadn't originally planned Lee to propose so soon, but the writing gremlins caught hold and wouldn't let go.

Afternoon at Barney's

They woke to the smell of food wafting from the kitchen downstairs. It was unusually quiet, but they nevertheless got up and took a shower together. They decided washing each other was good, but other things were even better in said shower.

When they finally made it downstairs, Thorn was coming in through the front door. He saluted them with a smile and headed straight for the kitchen. Ava's eyes widened when she entered the kitchen. Barney was sat at the table hovering over his coffee like someone would take it from him and sending weak glares at Maggie. Maggie had found a frilly apron somewhere and was proceeding to cook everyone a full English breakfast. Food covered the table so much there was no room to sit and eat. Maggie stopped every few moments or so to sip her tea and went back to turning food in the multiple pans littering the stove. Lee walked over to her and kissed her cheek making her scoff and shoo him away with an appreciative smirk and a twinkle in her eyes.

"Morning," Lee said.

"Morning," Thorn said excitedly as he scooped massive amounts of food onto his plate.

Lee and Ava shrugged before plating up their own food and following Thorn out to the main room. Thorn was devouring his food like he'd been starved for a week. He even licked some of the plate before stopping to think. He smirked and rocketed off to the kitchen for another helping. Lee chuckled and ate at a more sedate pace. Ava slowly savored her own meal as she snuck glances at Lee. Thorn returned and plunked down on a seat nearby.

Thorn cut up some of his sausages and looked over at Ava, "I'm bringing my hacking gear over here. Having trouble keeping track of all the guys that came with Spears. I'll need a few tables for all the monitors."

"No problem," Ava said, "I can clear some off quick."

"I might need to steal a permanent space with the security we have now. My stuff would be safer here."

"I think we can manage that," Lee said.

"If you're installing shelving can you do it shirtless again?" Ava asked teasingly.

Thorn choked on his eggs and slammed a fist into his chest until he could swallow and clear his throat. Lee snickered at him before looking down at Ava who sat next to him on the couch.

"As you wish," he whispered loudly making Thorn groan.

"I don't want to imagine Christmas celebrating with the Boss's daughter. The imagery is all kinds of wrong. Sorry Ava, but you feel like a sister and not one I want to imagine naked."

"Good," Lee said smirking.

Ava elbowed him as she blushed. Lee took all their empty plates to the kitchen and Thorn turned to look at her seriously. He simply stared making her uncomfortable until his mouth twitched upward.

"Soooo," he sang, "Did he propose last night or this morning?"

Her eyes widened, "How did you know that he proposed?"

He pointed at her ring making her shake her head and roll her eyes.

"This morning," she said smirking, "You very well know that you guys didn't come back until early this morning."

"I know," he said, "Just wanted to make sure who won the bet."

He stood quickly and went outside to start gathering his equipment. He had known she'd agree and already brought it over. Lee noticed him struggling to bring in boxes and went to help him. Ava simply opened the door when it was needed so they didn't have to keep imputing their codes.

The next few days were for resting and research. Thorn hacked into the traffic cameras all around the city and followed Spears' goons around New Orleans. He made a list of places they stopped, equipment they purchased, and who they met with. The list was quite frankly shorter than he'd thought it'd be. The only confusing part he found was Spears stopping at Lee's ex's house numerous times. Was Lacy some kind of spy or did Spears get to her? He knew no one on the team liked her, but maybe it was time to check in on her. Especially since the only camera on her street didn't show her leaving. Ever. His brows furrowed before he sighed heavily. He felt like he had someone sitting on his chest. Part of him knew why she wouldn't leave her house. The other part didn't want to acknowledge he'd gotten close to anyone near the team.

He grabbed up his notes and shot a text to Barney. He wasn't sure where he was and didn't want to waste time. He wandered into the main room to find Barney already sitting on the couch. Maggie had taken over the kitchen again. Thorn sat in a chair across from the couch and sighed heavily.

"I think we should go check on Lacy," Thorn said lowly, "Camera footage places Spears at her house. She hasn't left the house in days and he's back in New York. I'd rather Lee and Ava stay here. In fact I'd rather not say anything until we know for sure."

"You think Spears killed her," Barney said bluntly.

Thorn nodded.

"I'll let Maggie know we're heading somewhere on a lead."

Outside Lacy's

Thorn and Barney looked around the neighborhood carefully before leaving Barney's truck parked alongside the road. They walked towards the house and tried to peer into the windows. All of the thick, curtains were pulled shut tight. They frowned at each other before knocking on the front door. When no answer came, Thorn leaned down, pulled something out of his back pocket, and picked the lock before slowly opening the door. They kept their hands close to the guns at their waist as they carefully walked through the house. Thorn found her black, laptop still sitting on the dining table with a screen saver going and gestured to it. Barney nodded and Thorn sat down before trying to crack her easy code. It wasn't hard to guess Lee Christmas before he was in.

Barney continued to check each room carefully. When he made it to the last one, her bedroom, he took a deep breath and eased the door open. The first thing he saw was the ivory carpet had bloody boot prints heading towards her private bathroom. He followed them backwards with his eyes until the door was completely opened to reveal her cold body laying on her bed. A large pool of blood had soaked through the sheets enough to run down the comforter and soak the floor. Dried, dark red sprays of blood decorated the wall by the headboard. Her blouse was ripped open and her skirt was hiked up around her waist as her lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling. Her legs were spread open with dark bruises riddled around her thighs where handprints were easily seen. Barney closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before letting out a large sigh. He opened his eyes before turning and leaving the room. He opened his phone and called Church to update him. After all, he'd know who to call to investigate this properly, even if they already know who murdered her.

He paused in the hallway before the dining room and rested a hand on the pale yellow wall to take his weight. He let out a shuttery breath as he imagined Ava in her place. This bastard was hunting his daughter. The only one he could truly say he loved. He'd move the Earth for her if he could. Hell he'd kill anyone for her. And he planned to. One Mike Spears had a short span to live. And one Barney Ross was going to be the man to do it. He straightened up in determination and smirked with a deadly glint in his eyes before joining Thorn in the dining room.

Barney's

Thorn and Barney arrived back to see a decent sized group gathered around in the main room. They looked at each other grimly before joining them. They sat down and remained silent as the group talked. As some of them left to go home, they looked at Ava and Lee cuddled on the couch. Maggie sat straight in her chair and lifted a brow as she looked at them. Barney's lips thinned in a grimace making her eyes narrow.

"Well, spit it out," she said, "Something is obviously wrong."

Ava and Lee looked over at them in concern.

Thorn looked to Barney before looking back towards the other three, "I noticed Mike spent an awful lot of time at a certain address. Barney and I went to check it out."

Barney clenched his fists as his eyes settled on Lee, "I know this isn't what you want to talk about, but we need to know everything Lacy knew about us. Mike found her. She's dead."

Ava's eyes widened before looking up at Lee. Lee looked surprised.

"How in the world is she connected?" he asked.

Thorn pulled her laptop of the bag and held it up, "Lacy was looking up Ava's history. Whatever system Mike has access to created a backdoor into her computer as soon as her search was entered. He tracked her from that."

"It looked like he'd been there for a few days," Barney said crossing his arms, "He played with her before he killed her."

Ava's eyes dove to her lap in fear. Barney sighed with eyes closed.

"I'm sorry to be so blunt sweetheart," he said softly.

"No," she whispered loudly before looking over at him, "I need to know. I need to know what he is capable of."

Barney uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to put a hand on her knee, "I am NOT going to let this bastard touch you."

Ava gave him a small smile before leaning forward enough to hug him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her just as tightly and breathed in deep. Today she smelt like chocolate and chamomile tea.

They let each other go slowly and leaned back in their own seats. Lee wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side before giving her forehead a kiss. Maggie smiled softly at them before her stern look returned and she looked at Barney.

"Well," she said with her thick, British accent, "Let's find the bastard."