“She is?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Marshal gave a fist bump.“I wonder if she’s making my favorite meat spaghetti.She likes to keep me guessing how she is going to serve it, and she changes the cheeses to keep it exciting.”
“Meat spaghetti?”
“Yeah, I love it, and I don’t know why, I just do, and I don’t question my taste buds.”
Knox pulled the car into Marshal’s drive and stopped.
“What’s going on?Come on, it doesn’t take long to make meat spaghetti, and I’m hungry.”
“I closed this gate,” Knox said.
“What?”
“I closed this gate when I left to keep Ava safe.”He turned to Marshal.“Did you open it?”
“No.Once it’s set, you can only open it from the inside.Ava must have opened it,” Marshal said.
“To who?You don’t have guests.Your lawyer doesn’t turn up.”
Knox didn’t like this.
“You’re getting that look on your face, and I think you need to stop because there is nothing going on.Ava is fine, okay?Remember, you’re the target here, and Ava and I don’t have enemies.”
Knox pressed his foot to the gas.Ava had no reason to open the gate.
“Dude, be careful,” Marshal said.
“Something’s up.”
“Not everything is bad, okay?Some people open gates and perhaps Ava has opened the gate to be ready for us to come home.”
Knox parked the car, and then rushed inside.The front door was closed.
“Ava!”He yelled her name, and no response came.
He went straight to the kitchen, and when he got there, he saw the stove had been turned off.Onions, garlic, and some seasonings were in the pot.The meat was in a different pan.The tomatoes were open, but not in the sauce.
Knox reached into his boot and pulled out his gun.He always kept a weapon on him at all costs.
Moving around the counter, he saw the back door, and on the floor, a knife.
Marshal entered the kitchen.“She’s not in the study, my office, the sitting room, the library, or the game room.”
“Someone took her,” Knox said.
“You don’t know that.”
“You leave random knives on the floor?”Knox asked.
“Well, no, and besides, I left this morning.I have nothing to do with any of this.Who could have taken her?”
Knox picked up the knife, but it was cold.He didn’t know what he was hoping for, maybe to find the handle warm from Ava’s grip.He was being fucking hopeful.
“Your security cameras,” he said.
