AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When a harsh swallow sounds down the line, I growl, “So, help me, God. Marco, you better not tell me she isn’t inside.”
It takes him several terrifying seconds to speak, “She isn’t here, sir.”
I release a long string of curse words while dialing Oliver a third time.
It is the fight of my life not to smash my cell into a million pieces when he doesn’t answer again.
I send him a text, and he finally calls to announce that he’s on his way.
“Shut down House of Beauty and search for her. You better pray she’s inside,” I order, ending the call.
I run my hands down my face. “Fuck, can I just catch a fucking break?”
It takes twenty minutes for Oliver to arrive. We fight for a few minutes before he tells me he met a woman who claims that he and Ava are siblings.
“Diana returns and claims to be my mother on the day Ava goes missing. You do the math,” he states, sitting on the couch.
“We don’t have time to worry about this right now. Ava is fucking missing.” When he stands from the couch, I bark, “Where the fuck are you going?”
“To find Ava.” I stare at him, confused. “You know the locket I gave her? The one she wears all the time?”
“What about it?” I ask, not understanding where he is going with this.
My jaw ticks when he answers, “It’s a tracking device.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Relief washes through me as I realize that Oliver is always a step ahead.
“You’re not supposed to say anything.” He goes to my desk and starts typing on my laptop. I’ve never seen Oliver so cold. “Angus, get the SUV ready.”
“Aye.”
“What the fuck, Oliver? Talk.” I order, walking toward him.
He looks up at me, confused.
“What is it?”
His eyes dart between me and the laptop.
“Talk,” I order again.
“She’s at Max’s cabin.”
As my veins pop, I take my nine millimeter from the safe.
“Why would he have her?” Oliver asks, confused, more to himself than me.
“Ava told me a few days ago she had an awkward moment with him that made her not want to work with him anymore. It’s why she was going to the office today. This was going to be his last issue. She was preparing to terminate his contract,” I advise, already at the door.
“Why didn’t she tell me?” Oliver asks.
“Because I’m her husband.” I shouldn’t be annoyed, but I am. I am Ava’s protector.
“I would’ve thought you’d beat the shit out of him.”
“I’m trying to build a deeper bond with Ava. Trying to think before I act. I promised Ava I wouldn’t do anything. But I should have killed him then.”
We walk out of the house in silence. I knew Max was bad news from the moment I met him. If I’m honest, I didn’t think he’d have the balls to pull some shit like this. I should have dealt with him long ago. He certainly wouldn’t have kidnapped her if I had. But once again, I ignored my gut, and it bit me on the ass. All because I didn’t want to upset Ava.
