“Follow my lead.”
“I’ve been doing that ever since you dragged me out of the lab.”
“Any complaints?”
“I’m alive, aren’t I?”
So far they both were and he intended to keep it that way.
Following her directions, he maneuvered the car through a well-heeled neighborhood. Looked like being employed as a mad scientist had its rewards.
Ava pulled a slip of paper from the pocket of her hoodie and peered at it. “Have we hit Hopi Drive yet?”
“Nope.”
“It should be coming up.”
“I’m not driving up and parking in front of the house. I’ll drive by first and tuck the car away somewhere.”
“Good idea, considering it’s stolen.”
“Any complaints?”
“Considering our car had been...disabled, none at all.”
She directed him to Dr. Arnoff’s house, and he slowed the car down to a crawl as he passed in front of it. Lights burned somewhere in the house and a late-model Mercedes crouched in the driveway.
“Do you know if that’s Arnoff’s car?”
“It’s his wife’s. He drives a Caddy and as far as I know it’s still at the lab.”
He wheeled around the corner, made a U-turn and parked at the curb. “I’m going to leave the doors unlocked and the key in the ignition. If anything happens in there, make a run for it. Take the car and don’t look back.”
Her tongue darted from her mouth and swept across her lower lip. “I’d wait for you.”
“That might not be an option.”
He cracked the door and she put a hand on his arm. “Are you really expecting trouble?”
“I always expect trouble.”
She slid from the car and dropped to the ground on silent sneakers and then pushed the door closed. Good. He didn’t have to tell her to be quiet. She was a fast learner.
“I hope nobody steals the car.”
A dog barked in the distance and another howled an answer. Max put a finger to his lips.
He held out his hand behind him and she took it. Then he hunched over and crossed the street, pulling Ava close in his wake. Might as well not make it easy for someone watching to distinguish two figures in the night, even though they planned to knock on the front door.
When they reached the other side of the street, Max followed the hedges bordering the sidewalk, the shoulder of his jacket brushing the stiff leaves.
He tucked Ava behind him as he edged around the corner, glancing up and down the block. Lights dotted the houses along the quiet residential neighborhood, but everyone must’ve turned in early for the night.
He kept to the available shadows and Ava stuck close to him, the flowery perfume she’d gotten at the department store tickling his nostrils.
They made their way up the driveway, skirting the luxury car. The porch light created a yellow crescent, encompassing the porch and a flower bed under the window. The fragrance from the colorful blooms matched the scent wafting from Ava.
Funny how smells could distinguish a place and time. Whatever happened, the particular smell of those flowers would always remind him of this night with Ava. No drug could take that away from him.
She whispered, “Are we going to knock? Unless she’s already heard about the lab, she won’t be surprised to see me.”
“Go ahead.”
Max turned and faced the street as she rang the doorbell. A footfall from inside the house had Ava standing up straight and plastering a smile on her face.
A muffled voice reached them through the heavy door. “Who is it?”
“Mrs. Arnoff, it’s Ava Whitman—from the lab?”
A chain scraped and the door eased open. Mrs. Arnoff, a robe wrapped around her body, peered at them. “I thought that was you. Is everything okay at the lab?”
Mrs. Arnoff didn’t know.
Ava widened her smile until her cheeks hurt. “Everything’s fine. Dr. Arnoff is hard at work and sent me over to pick up a few things for him.”
The door swung open. “I’ve been trying to call him for two days. He didn’t mention that he was spending the night at the lab this time.”
“You know how it gets there sometimes—crazy and our cell phone reception is nonexistent.”