Chapter Five
“You can ask me, you know,” Marshal said.
Ava turned to look at the man she was staying with. She pulled down her sunglasses, as he’d insisted they go out by his pool and bask in the last of the day’s sunlight. She didn’t have the head to argue with him, so that was exactly what they did. She looked at him and frowned.
“If I’ve heard from our boy Knox.”
“I know you haven’t,” she said. “Trust me, our boy Knox will turn up when he’s dealt with the threat.”
She pushed her glasses back up and laid down on the sun lounger. Knox had insisted on taking her to a safe house. She figured he had another place in the middle of nowhere that she didn’t know about, or hidden in some mountains. Instead, he’d brought her to Marshal’s place.
This was not a safe place, at least not to her.
It felt like the epitome of a nightmare.
Marshal hadn’t left the house since Knox had left her.
She’d begged her boss not to leave her. She was not going to cause trouble, but he’d cupped her face and told her she was staying here.
There was no time for him to ask, not that he would.
This was a direct order, and she had no choice.
“So, I saw you and Knox shared a look, does that mean you guys are taking it to the next level?” Marshal asked.
“Are you always this way?” Ava asked.
“What way?”
“Friendly? Somewhat intrusive?”
He shrugged. “Some people might think so. I like to think I’m ... helpful.”
“How is your divorce going?” Ava asked.
“Oh, that is going swimmingly. Who would have thought your wife trying to plot your murder and hiring men to do the killing would help in divorce proceedings?” He let out a little smile and leaned back.
“I’m finally at peace, and besides, I don’t know exactly how the divorce is going, just that my lawyers are handling absolutely everything, and I don’t need to worry. ” He sighed.
Ava glanced down at her watch to see it was after four.
Her cell phone remained silent. She wasn’t quite sure what was driving her crazy more—spending time with Marshal, or Knox’s silence.
She was not going to bug him. He’d taken care of whoever had invaded his home, but it had concerned him enough to get her the hell out of there.
She just couldn’t believe she was in Marshal’s mansion.
In the last two days, she’d come to learn that he’d removed every person who was close to his wife. Anyone she hired was fired. His home was somewhat barren. Ava had started to clean up for him, because sitting around all day by the pool was simply not fun.
So, after another ten minutes, she excused herself, made her way up the long garden path, and went into the kitchen. She pushed her glasses into her hair and got to work on making dinner. He’d also ditched the cook, which wasn’t a problem. She had taught herself to cook a long time ago.
Of course, she got the sense that Marshal was lonely.
The moment he opened the front door to her and Knox, he’d thrown his arms around the two of them and given them giant hugs.
It had felt like he missed them. If Knox had any doubt who had sent that bounty hunter, they were wiped out by how welcoming Marshal had been.
All the pictures had been removed from the walls, and Marshal was attempting to replace them. However, artwork was not something Marshal was passionate about.
“What’s for dinner?” Marshal asked, stepping into the kitchen.
She’d tried to get some peace and quiet, and he was intent on following her.
“Spicy marinated chicken, and pasta salad.”
She had already prepared the pasta salad earlier, and it was currently in the fridge, getting all juicy and flavorful.
The griddled pan was on, and the chicken cutlets were in a spicy rub she’d concocted, that included chipotle chili powder.
She loved things spicy. Marshal didn’t seem to mind.
It seemed, since they had left him, he’d been surviving on takeout.
Depending on how long Knox was going to take, she was tempted to do some meal prep for Marshal, so he was able to take care of himself. She hated seeing him like this. With the griddle pan hot, she put the chicken on top and stepped back.
“Sounds good,” Marshal said. “You know, before I came to live with you and Knox, I had convinced myself I was a vegetarian.”
This made her frown. “You never said anything about being vegetarian.”
“I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”
She rolled her eyes. “It wouldn’t have been any trouble. “Do you not want the chicken?” she asked.
“Actually, I do,” Marshal said. “My wife was the one that convinced me to go vegetarian. I was being a bit of a rebel when I was at your place.”
This made her chuckle. “It’s Knox’s place.”
“I don’t think he sees it like that. I imagine he sees it as your place too.”
Ava looked over to Marshal and he threw his hands up. “I know, I know, you don’t want me talking about your relationship.”
“We don’t have a relationship.”
“Please, you guys have something.” Marshal rolled his eyes. “Sure, there’s no exact label, but you guys have it.” He let out a cute little laugh. “You’re going to try and convince me you don’t have feelings for him?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to shut up, but instead she started to serve the pasta salad. She would not talk to Marshal about her feelings with Knox. That was not happening.
This was all a big mistake. She shouldn’t even be here, and she could totally survive on her own, back at Knox’s. Although, she didn’t like the fact her cell phone hadn’t rung. Knox hadn’t called to let her know he was going to be all right.
“I do have feelings for him, and if you say anything, I will kick you in the balls until you can’t father children.” She pointed a fork toward him. “Got it?”
Marshal smiled and held his hands up. “So you’ve got feelings for him?”
She nodded.
“Would you say you’re in love with him?”
She looked up at him.
“Is this one of those moments when I need to be quiet, otherwise you’d kick me in the balls for fun?” Marshal asked.
She nodded her head.
He laughed. “See, you and I, we’re already on the same page. You’ve got the hots for hottie boy, and I bet he has the hots for you.”
“We never had this conversation.”
“You know, what if I attempted to play matchmaker?” he asked. “That could be a lot of fun.”
“No.”
“Come on. I can help.”
Ava looked at him. She was not going to say anything nasty about his current relationship and how that really didn’t work out for him. It was just cruel to bring that up. So, instead, she smiled at him.
“How can you help me?” she asked.
“Well, I’m a guy, maybe we can talk about techniques for you to get close to him?”
She couldn’t even believe she was considering this. This is what her life had come down to. And it sucked.
“I don’t think so,” Ava said.
“What do you have to lose? I’m here. I’m a friend, and do you want to act on those feelings or not?” he asked. “Come on, it will stay between us.”
She took a deep breath and flipped the chicken. They had some lovely griddle marks on one side of the cutlet.
She couldn’t believe how tempted she was. This was not like her at all. But she looked at Marshal, and that temptation was not going away. It was in full force.
“Okay, how do you think Knox would react if I just ... initiated a kiss?”
****
Knox glanced through the cell phone and messages.
Bob was a bounty hunter, and not a very good one.
He tended to go for women who had skipped out on parole.
Easy targets he was able to find and take right back to jail.
This was not the kind of man who would take on a job of killing a hired assassin. He was way out of his depth.
His cell phone didn’t have anything to offer, other than a wire transfer of twenty-thousand dollars.
As far as Knox could tell, that was the sum of money offered to kill him.
He was majorly insulted by that price tag, as he felt he was worth a lot more.
Bob was now dead, as he’d been attempting to hunt him in the forest. It had been an easy fight.
Knox felt kind of bad. Apart from this little problem, Bob had been a good guy.
This went against his character, but looking through the man’s banking records, he had a little gambling problem, which his bounty-hunting didn’t quite pay for.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to find the account, however, he did have a tech genius, and he sent all the necessary details to him so he could get this matter resolved quickly.
He didn’t want to be apart from Ava much longer, and this had already taken longer than anticipated.
After dealing with Bob’s body, Knox moved on and made his way toward his cabin in the middle of nowhere. This is where he came to hunt, to go off the grid. It was a place he’d yet to take Ava. He rarely came here, but it was the one place that offered solace.
There was cell-phone reception and most times he didn’t bring a phone, so he was completely off the grid.
Sitting down on his porch, he glanced down at his cell phone.
It would be easy to call Ava, but she would ask if she could come home, and right now, he wasn’t ready.
Since the night of their kiss, no one had attacked their house, however, he didn’t like how close the intruder had gotten.
The fact he’d been able to climb the fence and avoid getting zapped by his electrical current suggested the house had been monitored.
He didn’t like that. He had a feeling this was backlash from his dealing with Marshal.
He’d already talked to the cops handling Patricia’s incarceration, and other than her lawyers, she didn’t have access to anyone else.
He’d then checked out her lawyers, and none of them had contacted any of the hit men or put out questionable funds.
This brought it back to a fellow hit man, especially as the cash fund seemed to be so low. He was a good target to take out.
Leaving Ava’s number, he went to Marshal’s and clicked on the button to call him. He put the cell phone to his ear and waited. Three rings was all it took before Marshal answered.
“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” Marshal asked. “You know, I was just thinking about you. I’m starting to wonder if we’re sharing a deep and meaningful connection.”
Knox rubbed his temple with his other hand. “How’s Ava?”
“You don’t want to hear more about this deep, meaningful connection? I mean, I was holding my cell phone and wondering if Knox would call, and then, in, like, a second, your name appeared.”
“A second?” Knox asked.
“Yeah, about that.”
“Marshal?”
“Okay, so I’ve been looking at my phone for the last hour, but it counts. Maybe I can control you with my mind powers. Have you been thinking about me for the last hour?”
“No,” Knox said.
“Damn it. You know there is no shame in thinking about me. We’re buddies. You know that, right?”
It was true. Marshal had entered the realm of friendship. He was the only person he imagined would keep Ava safe for him. It was fucked up, but that was the way it had to be.
“Yes, I know, how is she?”
“She’s doing okay. You know how she can be, and I don’t think she is happy with ... well, you know, being here. But don’t worry, we’ve been watching movies and having some fun.”
“You and Ava have been having fun?”
“Yeah, like you and I are besties, I don’t think Ava can resist my powers either. It’s a natural gift.”
He could imagine Marshal smiling.
“Would you like to talk to her?” Marshal asked.
He wanted to, more than anything.
“Put her on,” he said.
He heard movement, and then her soft voice.
“Knox?”
“Hey, babe,” he said.
“Why did you call Marshal’s number and not mine?” Ava asked.
“I didn’t know if you’d be sleeping. It’s late.”
“We’re enjoying some ice cream,” Ava said.
He thought about the last time he had seen her eating ice cream. It had ended in that kiss. The one where he finally got to feel her close to him, and fuck, it had felt so good. It had felt better than he could have imagined.
“What are you up to?” Ava asked.
“Just sitting around, waiting.”
“Waiting for what?”
“Shit to happen.”
“That does not sound like you.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t, but I’m close. Do you know some fucker put a hit on me for twenty-thousand dollars?” Knox asked.
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, it was some bounty hunter, but even still, that is a fucking low amount. I’m insulted.”
“Do you think Blondie’s wife is responsible?”
“No, I’ve done all the necessary checks, and this is not her.”
“What about someone else associated with her?” Ava asked. “Someone who might have been set to get a whole lot of money if Marshal died?”
Now that was a thought. “You know, I’d been having similar thoughts myself.”
It would explain the private account, the twenty-thousand dollars, and why it had come now, after Blondie’s wife, also known as Patricia, was arrested, and any power over Marshal’s fortune had evaporated.
“I could help you,” Ava said.
“Staying with Marshal, and staying out of trouble is helping me,” he said.
“I, uh, I miss you.”
He smiled. “Marshal tell you to say that?”
“No,” Ava said. “I am missing you.”
He heard her get up and move away. In the background, he heard Marshal complaining, but then there was silence.
“I want you to come back for me, okay?”
“I am coming back for you, Ava. Trust me, we’re not ending at that kiss.”
“You promise?”
“I guarantee it.”
There was silence, and neither of them knew exactly what to say.
“Marshal’s banging on the door, wanting his cell phone back. I’ll see you when you’re done killing people,” Ava said.
He was so close to telling her he loved her, but he stopped himself at the last minute. Now was not the time.
“Hello,” Marshal said, pulling him out of his brief thoughts when it came to telling Ava how he felt.
“You take care of her. Do you understand?” Knox asked.
“Yeah, I’m doing all I can to take care of her. You can count on me. I promise.”
With that, Knox hung up and shoved his cell phone back into his pocket.
The night was so still. This is what he loved about his hunting cabin. There was a light breeze, but not something to cause issues. Just enough to rustle the leaves on the trees. In the distance he heard the hoot of an owl.
Nature.
Calm.
In control, ready to do anything or cause any trouble.
This is what he loved. Nature was beautiful, yet deadly at the same time. Plants gave life, and took it in equal measure. The animals were the same. This is why he loved to go hunting, to get back to nature, to hone his skills. It was what helped keep him the best at what he did.
At the ping of his cell phone, he pulled it back out of his pocket, and he had a little crumb to go and find.