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)
“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.
Chapter Three
There were two bounty hunters at the party.
Knox couldn’t be distracted, even though he had the most beautiful woman on his arm. Ava looked stunning. Her blonde hair had been curled, she had left it down, and it seemed to frame her whole body. He had no idea her hair was so long. The glasses she sometimes wore were gone, replaced with what he assumed were contacts. The red dress that molded to every single curve drew men’s eyes.
He loved her curves. Ava refused to starve herself, and he was a man who appreciated a woman with some meat on her bones. He also knew there had been periods of Ava’s life when food was taken from her. She always needed a stocked fridge and freezer, and always get a little irritated when they were getting low on groceries. Knox knew that had more to do with her experience when she was younger, needing to keep a supply of food.