Gone

Chapter 4

I follow him into his house. His house is also pretty big. We weave through plain white hallways. The house is neat, tidy. Simple. I pass a table in one of his hallways and there's a couple pictures on it. I'm guessing his family and friends. I pause when I see one with a girl on his back, hugging him from behind. They're both smiling widely.

"Is this your girlfriend?" I ask.

He looks at the picture and laughs. "Oh, no, Mackensey. I don't have a girlfriend. That's my sister."

My cheeks flush in embarrassment. Now I see a resemblance. She looks younger too.

"Come on." He leads me into the kitchen and motions for me to sit down at his kitchen table.

"What would you like?" He asks.

"I'm down for anything. I'm not hard to please." I smile.

"How about we go simple? Spaghetti with meat sauce?"

"That sounds wonderful."

He moves around the room, fetching tools and ingredients. He stops and turns to me. "I use vegetable noodles, you like those right?"

"Yeah those are my favorite." Those are the only noodles Harry and I would use. They taste the same but are better for you. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"No, no. Just sit." He reassures me.

I sit and wait and pretty soon the spaghetti is done.

"I would pour some wine but I know you don't drink." He sets a full plate down in front of me.

I cock my head to the side. "How did you know that?" I laugh.

"What? Oh, you said it yesterday. At the station."

Oh. Did I? I shrug. "Water is fine."

He sits beside me and we dig in. I moan into the green noodles. "This is amazing."

He chuckles and nods, trying to swallow before he talks. "Thank you."

"So how long have you been on the force?" I ask.

"I've been in the FBI for about 3 years. I actually jump around a lot. I work with other teams in the country and in The States. This is my third case with Asher's team." He takes a drink of water. "Actually, I was an extra for the last team you hired for Harry's case."

My eyebrows raise in surprise.

"I didn't play as big of a role in the search, I just stood and watched, basically. I'm happy to be more involved now."

Did Asher's team know about this? "Why didn't you tell the team?"

"I mentioned it. But like I said, I wasn't as involved. I wasn't much help."

I nod in understanding.

We converse about some of the cases he's been in and where I've been around the world with Harry. He's delicate with the subject, trying to show interest but not make me sad or uncomfortable.

"So where's your favorite place you've been?"

I look up into the air as if that's where I'll find my answer. "Brazil is beautiful, but I love Paris."