Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Going to the latch in the floor, he felt the whole building creak.
“Ava! Marshal!”
He was just about to jump in the water when Marshal and Ava cleared the water.
Knox had never been so damn happy to see both of them. Reaching down, he grabbed Ava, pulled her up into the shed, then he reached for Marshal.
“I swear I felt a fucking shark,” Marshal said.
Knox didn’t know if sharks came this close, but it was an old-looking dock that didn’t have a lot of money flowing through it.
Once Marshal was clear, he turned to Ava and didn’t even have to wait. He pulled Ava into his arms, and she cupped his face, kissing him.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I knew you were going to come for me. I knew you weren’t going to let me die.” She kissed him.
He cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him. “I love you,” he said. He was not going to let another moment slide where she didn’t know the truth. The smile on her lips was going to stay with him forever.
“I love you too,” she said. “Let’s not allow that to happen again, yeah?”
She was shaking just a little, and he knew that was from shock.
“Look, guys, I find this touching, but we’re still in a damn fish shed, with two dead guys, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at fishing the same way again, or movies. We could have been shark food, and I think we should leave and actually get that pizza, what do you say?”
He heard the quiver in Marshal’s voice.
Getting to his feet, he banded an arm around his woman and turned to Marshal. “You did good tonight,” Knox said, holding his hand out for him to shake.
Marshal looked down at his hand, and then he turned to look at Ava. “You heard that, right? I did good?”
“I heard it.”
“Good, good. I will treasure this moment forever, but can we get the fuck out of here?” Marshal asked.
Knox was more than ready to do that. He gave Marshal his woman as he grabbed what he needed from the car. He was always prepared for everything. Dousing the fishing shed in gasoline, he pulled out a match and set it on fire. Stepping back, he took Ava into his arms and watched the shed as it burned.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Don’t get me wrong, I thought I was going to die when I fell into that water, but Marshal untied me.”
Knox looked over to Marshal with a frown. “You untied her?”
“Years of being bored, I learned how to tie knots and untie them. For a long time, I wanted to be a pirate, own my own boat. Then I watched shark movies, and decided I like land. Guess what, I still like land, and I swear there was a shark in there. Do you think he was keeping it as a pet?”
“No,” Knox said.
“Who was that man?” Marshal asked.
“Someone who was paid by your ex-wife, and promised riches,” Ava said. “He was pissed with Knox for taking his meal ticket away, so he wanted to kill Knox.” She shrugged. “It was kind of lame, to be honest, but he sure can punch.”
Knox tightened his hold around his woman and knew he was not going to let her go.
“What now?” Marshal asked.
“Now, I marry this woman and fill her with lots of babies,” he said.
“I feel this is a private moment,” Marshal said. “I will give you some privacy.”
“You want to marry me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I want to marry you and have lots of babies,” Knox said. “This will never happen again.”
Ava cupped his face. “Don’t talk about it. I knew when I agreed to work for you, there was a risk. It’s why I agreed to the GPS, that way, we cut out all the panic and crap. I knew you were coming for me, and I just had to stay alive until then.”
“So, what do you say?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, and yes, I’ll have your children.”
“You do know I don’t think we’re ever getting rid of Marshal.”
This time, she laughed. “That’s okay, I’m sure our kids with love Uncle Marshal.”
Epilogue
Five Years Later
“And then what happened, Uncle Marshal?” Ben asked, clapping his hands.
“I defeated the shark and saved your mother, bringing her to your father, where they confessed their love.”
Knox couldn’t believe how elaborate the story had become. He’d not been wrong, though. Marshal was his friend, his best man, his children’s uncle, and his and Ava’s constant guest.
After saving Ava from the amateur bounty hunter, Marshal refused to stay at his place alone. He sold his home and moved in permanently with him and Ava. At first, Knox wasn’t sure it would work. However, Marshal lived his own life, continuing to run his company from the comfort of their home. From time to time, he left to go and have some vacation time, but more often than not, they were all together.