“Oh, we’re fine,” Emma, blurted out before Brant could clamp his hand over her mouth.
Ava looked at her brother, seeing the tension from the evening still sitting heavily on him. Mac was right; they needed to have this discussion somewhere else. As it was, Brant would probably be popping antacids for days after this. He certainly didn’t need to hear her argue with Mac. Nodding once, she said, “I’ll meet you back at your house.”
She had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping when Mac said, “Just leave the truck and I’ll have one of the guys pick it up tomorrow. I don’t want you driving this late.” Ava knew it was probably petty and maybe she needed to learn to pick her battles, but if he didn’t think she was capable of driving herself less than ten minutes down the street, then would he ever be able to see her as a strong, independent woman? Her personal life might have been a complete wreck for years, but professionally she was at the top of her game. Surely that counted for something. Regardless of how minor it seemed, she needed to win this small concession tonight from him.
“I’ll be fine, Mac. There is no need for anyone to make a trip tomorrow to pick up the truck when I can drive it home tonight.” Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath, including her, as Mac opened his mouth with the clear intention of arguing with her. At the last moment, he snapped it closed again and rubbed a weary hand across his eyes.
“Sure, whatever you want, Avie.” They said their good-byes to Brant and Emma before walking out into the dimly lit driveway. Mac opened her door, waiting for her to get settled behind the wheel before shutting the door without another word. He then motioned for her to pull out onto the street, and he followed in his Tahoe. She was drained from her talk with Brant and wanted nothing more than to crawl into Mac’s bed and go to sleep in his arms, but this conversation couldn’t wait. She only hoped that afterward he didn’t feel that she was more trouble than she was worth. She was counting on the fact that they were in this together for the long haul.
Chapter Twenty
Mac kept his eyes on the truck in front of him as they drove through the now-deserted streets of his neighborhood. His shoulders were tense, and his gut was still twisted. When he had walked into his house earlier, he was whistling, ready to see Ava. As he called her name and walked from room to room, he had gone from happy, to puzzled, and finally terrified. He had even resorted to looking under beds and in closets thinking that maybe something had scared her enough to hide.
Next, he had called her phone. When he got closer to the kitchen, he found it ringing faintly in her purse, sitting on the countertop. He had really lost it then. He had ripped back through the house and then taken a flashlight and walked the grounds. The garage was the last place he searched, and he had stopped in surprise when he found his truck gone. He had thought for a moment that maybe she just needed something from the store. But a quick look in her purse showed her wallet containing her money and credit cards along with her license.
Then he ran back to his Tahoe, dialing Declan as he headed across town to her apartment. She probably needed clothes for tomorrow or some of those endless toiletries that women seemed to have by the dozens. Declan’s puzzled tone when he asked if Ava was there was answer enough. He quickly ended the call, assuring a now worried Declan that he would let him know when he found her.
When he opened the door to Ava’s apartment, he knew instantly she wasn’t there. Everything was dark and quiet. He knew if Ava was there, her scent would still linger in the air as it did whenever she was near. He made a quick search of her home anyway but wasn’t surprised to find no one there and nothing disturbed. By the time he left, he had already called Gage, asking him to check in with their sources at the local hospitals and police department. From the sound of the female voice in the background, Gage had company, but he readily agreed to make some calls ASAP and get back to him.
Mac tried Brant a few more times, still getting only his voice mail. At that moment he’d wished he had Emma’s number, but there had never been a need to contact her directly before. He vowed to get the numbers of everyone that Ava knew tomorrow. Brant lived about ten minutes away, which gave him just enough time to call Gray on the outside chance that Ava had decided to do something crazy with Suzy again like night surf. He was both relieved and disappointed that Ava wasn’t there, nor had they spoken with her since earlier at Declan’s. However, Suzy did have Emma’s number and Mac wasted little time in calling her.
He’d breathed a sigh of relief when she answered after a couple of rings. “Emma, it’s Mac. Have you seen or talked to Ava since we left Declan’s earlier?”
“Hey, Mac, yeah, she’s here now.”