Chapter Two
“If you want to go, just say the word,” Knox said.
Marshal let out a sigh and started to pace the main floor of his office. Ava was not saying a word, and instead, working on her knitting. They’d been going around the same track for the last two days.
There was a charity function coming up this Friday.
It was a huge event, and Marshal’s wife would be there.
There was a chance she was going to take a lover, or someone, and if he didn’t want to kill his wife, this was the perfect opportunity to create a very public breakup which would also expose her for hiring people to kill him.
There would be police present, and all it would take was a phone call, and the right kind of people would be there.
“But what if she has men there who will ... kill me?” Marshal asked.
“That’s why Ava and myself will be there,” Knox said. “Protecting you is my highest priority, and Ava can look pretty on my arm.”
He glanced toward the sofa to see her green eyes on him.
She didn’t say a word, and he wondered if he’d pissed her off.
Sometimes, he really couldn’t read what was going on in Ava’s mind.
Her knitting needles began to work together, and he listened to them, as Marshal continued to pace. This was his decision.
For the last couple of days since his return, Marshal hadn’t stepped foot out of his home. Now, Knox was more than happy to continue being paid for protecting Marshal, but this was starting to feel like a never-ending job. The guy was getting more terrified the longer he refused to make a decision.
“Do you seriously love this woman that much?” Ava asked, suddenly speaking up.
“What?”
“This woman, who claims to be your wife, who has put multiple hits out on you, do you love her? She’s trying to gain access to your funds. There is no love here, yet you’re acting like this is a hard decision.”
“I don’t love her, okay? I don’t,” Marshal said.
“What’s the problem then?”
“I didn’t think she was capable of trying to kill me, yet that is what happened on multiple occasions. Forgive me for feeling a little ... nervous.” Marshal ran fingers through his hair. “I’m a businessman. I thought all of this was confined to movies or special military tactics.”
Knox couldn’t help but laugh. “We’ll keep you safe. I’ve got people who owe me favors. You have all you need to expose her, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
He wanted Marshal out of his home. The night he returned and was in the process of eating his burger, he felt this connection with Ava, and he’d been about to talk to her when Marshal walked in.
The last few days, every time he’d been alone, it hadn’t lasted long enough before Marshal, with his moaning demeanor, would walk right into their space and ruin the vibe. He was getting irritated by the man.
“Fine, you’re right. It’s time to face the evil witch or die trying, and I don’t want to keep living here.” Marshal nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“I’ll go and make the necessary arrangements,” Ava said, getting to her feet.
“Make sure my presence is not known,” Marshal said. “That way, it can be a huge surprise to her. I don’t want to risk her finding a way to escape this.”
“You’re going to be our plus one,” Ava said. She looked toward him, and then left the room.
“She’s scary,” Marshal said. “I don’t think she likes me very much.” Marshal sat down, where Ava’s knitting had been left.
He seemed to be a little twitchy, but Knox had already checked and there was no history of drug use in his life.
Reaching for Ava’s knitting, he wrapped it up, being careful not to accidentally slide the needles out. He’d done that before when she’d been close to finishing something she’d been working on for months. He’d never felt so damn bad in all his life.
Once that was put away, he sat down on the coffee table as Marshal sat back. “Do you have this trouble?”
“No.”
“No, of course not. You and Ava have this weird energy vibe, and do you know she refuses to call me by my real name?” he asked, then burst out laughing. “I’m Blondie’s husband. I’m sure she’s just doing it all in jest now, right?”
“What weird energy?” Knox asked.
Marshal sighed. “Come on. You don’t see the way you two dance around each other?”
Knox was not one for gossip. He glanced toward the open doorway, expecting to see Ava standing there, but there was no sign of her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He got to his feet and moved away from Marshal, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Look, I get that you two have this weird friendship, and that’s all great, and I, like, totally get it, but clearly there is something bubbling beneath the surface with the two of you. Anyone can see it, or sense it.”
Knox looked at him and Marshal once again let out an overdramatic sigh.
“You’re always watching her,” Marshal said. “No matter where she is, even if we’re like fifty feet away in the yard and she suddenly makes an appearance. You can sense her. You know she’s right there.”
“I’m aware of my surroundings.”
“Ava is not a piece of furniture.” Marshal shrugged. “All I’m saying is between the two of you, you can cut the tension with a knife, and that will be explosive. You’ll make a cute couple.”
“Do you seriously think you’re the best person to give me relationship advice?” he asked.
“Probably not, seeing as I have a wife intent on killing my ass.” He flopped back on the chair. “Does it make me a loser because I don’t want to stoop to her level?”
“No,” Knox said.
“I bet it makes me weak.”
“It makes you a man who doesn’t want to resort to death to fix your problem.” He shrugged. “Some people do, some people don’t.”
“You do, right?”
“I do my job,” Knox said.
“It would be so much easier if I would be happy to see her ... dead.” Marshal shrugged.
“But putting her behind bars seems like the most ideal way to go. At least then I will know she is not spending her way through my fortune. Trust me on this, Knox, find a woman who wants you for you, not for your money and the lifestyle you give her.”
Ava stepped into the room. “Everything is organized for Friday.”
****
Tomorrow night was going to be hard. Ava looked up at the ceiling as she swam backward.
Knox had an outdoor pool that was also in a heated room.
The whole building was covered in glass, which meant she could spend many nights swimming and looking up at the stars, like she was now.
She could do the breaststroke, but where was the fun in that?
It was Thursday night, and tomorrow, she would have to get all dressed up and be on Knox’s arm, which was always a lot of fun.
There were times she loved and hated being his plus one.
She was a reclusive type by nature. Spending her life in his home was a dream come true.
Dressing up and being on his arm, although fun, took her out of her dream and placed her out there, where it was fucking dangerous.
The world was not all sunshine and roses. The place was a dark hole of hell, with rare gems of light. Knox was one of those men who could be hell and heaven at the same time.
“You’re up late.”
She jumped, falling beneath the water, and within seconds she was able to gain her bearings.
There was a time, when she and Knox had first met, she couldn’t swim.
She’d sit at the edge of the pool, terrified of climbing in, in case she drowned.
Knox taught her to swim. He’d been so patient with her.
“Is there something you need?” she asked, looking toward Knox. He’d stepped into the room in a pair of swimming trunks and nothing else, his perfectly defined body on clear display for everyone to see. She couldn’t help but lick her lips as she glanced over at him.
“No, there’s nothing I need. I was just looking for a late-night swim.”
“Would you like me to leave?”
This made him laugh. “Why would I want that?”
She shrugged. “It’s your pool. If you want privacy, you can have everything you want.”
Again, this seemed to make him chuckle and that wasn’t her intention.
Knox sat on the edge of the pool and slowly lowered himself into the water.
“Is there something on your mind?” he asked.
“No, nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded as he swam closer to her. “Everything is arranged for tomorrow night. All we have to do is keep an eye on Marshal, and there will be an opening where he can expose her.”
“Has he given you the key?”
“Yes.” Ava was to use a distraction that Marshal was going to cause, take a laptop, and load up all the data for the whole party to see.
It was a way of exposing his wife, and hopefully, putting an end to the man’s misery.
It was in that moment she realized that she had stopped referring to him as Blondie’s husband, and called him by his actual name.
“Fuck,” she said.
Knox threw back his head. “I knew you were starting to like the guy.”
“This is not about liking him.”
“Why do you refuse to call anyone by their real name?” Knox asked.
She moved her hands across the water, keeping herself afloat.
Knox loved the pool he had installed. One end was deeper, like an actual swimming pool.
He had told her it had helped him train to take on harder targets.
She was not going to judge, because she happened to like this pool.
However, that meant she had to stay afloat, seeing as they were both in the deeper end.
“It’s simple. I don’t like to become too familiar with people. If something happens to them, I don’t want to be able to recognize their name. It helps to keep them at a safe distance.”
“That makes sense.”
Why did his lips suddenly look so good and appealing? She hated how familiar she was starting to feel with this man. He was her boss. She shouldn’t be so acutely aware of him, yet that was exactly how it was.
He moved in a little closer.
“Is there anything else worrying you?” he asked.
“No.”
“You don’t want to talk through the potential hazards of tomorrow’s party?”
She knew the risks. Blondie’s wife might have some contract killers. It was why she and Knox were going to be there, to keep Marshal alive.
“It’s not going to change what we need to do. Marshal needs to get his life back, and she needs to pay for almost killing him. I don’t know why he just doesn’t put the kill out on her.”
“Some people have what it takes, and others do not.”
“Would you do it? If he asked you to?”
“And paid the right price. She is not a good person, Ava,” he said.
“I know.” She looked at Knox, and he was one of the few people she couldn’t get a read from.
Marshal was a good guy. He was looking for love in all the wrong places, because he wanted to be someone’s savior. It was why he had been married three times. This was the only wife who had attempted to kill him to get his fortune.
Over the years she had seen the greed, the hunger, the anger, in all different faces. Knox was not readable. She didn’t know what his end game was, or what he wanted. He was just a man, that was all. It was nice not knowing, but at the same time, scary as well.
Knox was an enigma to her. She knew what he was capable of, but she also knew he was never going to hurt her. She had no idea how she knew that, considering she didn’t completely know him. It was that feeling deep in her gut, the same feeling she had come to rely on that helped her survive this.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Knox said.
And she believed him without a shadow of a doubt.