Page 11 of Capturing Ava
“Audrey Belvedere, you are impossible.” I laugh.
“Ava, why haven’t you posted?”
“I—.” Picking up my hot cup of coffee, I blow across the liquid, allowing the steam to waft across my face. “Didn’t feel like it,” I mutter.
“You didn’t feel like it?” A frown pierces her brow. “Ava, that doesn’t sound like you. We worked hard to get where we are today. Nobody makes this kind of money working, but we did it.” She slides onto the stool next to mine and places her hand across mine until I look at her. “What’s going on?”
The words tumble out like verbal diarrhoea. “Has he found me?”
“What?” She shakes her head. “No, and he never will.” My shoulders relax, “Why are you asking that? Why now?”
“I—I don’t know, I’m being silly.”
“Ava, I can’t help you if you don’t speak to me.”
“It’s nothing.” I smile.
“Well, nothing has cost you a morning’s work. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“Are you sure he hasn’t found me?”
“Yes, your location is safe. We have hidden all your footprint data. He hasn’t found you, I promise. You are like a ghost who disappeared from sight. You are safe.”
Ghost? The moment those words leave her lips and my body shudders with fear. So, that’s what he was doing, hiding in plain sight. It all made sense and yet, it made none.
“Well, someone has,” I mutter.
“You’re not making much sense.” I hear Audrey sigh.
“I woke up and there were flowers and a note on my nightstand.”
“That’s sweet.” She grimaces.
“Somebody put them there while I was asleep.”
“Creepy.” She now looks the way I do and now I don’t feel like I’ve lost a sense of my sensibility because she’s right. It is creepy. “I can fix this.” She announces.
“You can?” I look at her with hope, like she holds all the answers.
“Yeah, I know a guy.” She puts her finger up to stop me from speaking and dials a number on her phone. Smiling, she waits for the elusive hero to pick up the phone. “Hey Chase, I need a favour.” Well, that was an odd name, but if he could help me get back to a good night’s rest, who was I to argue? I zone out and miss the rest of her conversation. “All done.” She smiles.
“What’s all done?”
“Chase will be by to install a security system, well, not him, but you get the drift.”
“A security system?” My mouth gapes open. “Isn’t that going a bit far?”
“Not at all. Your safety is what’s important. You will sleep, get back to work and I won’t have an aneurysm. Win, win.” She smiles.
“Your the best, you know that.”
“I know,” she smiles. “So, how about we have a girly day?”
“You mean go out?” she nods. “Where there are people?”
“Yes, go out where there are people. You know it’s not good to be in this house all the time.”
“But I like my house. Where it’s safe and—.”
