“I’m fine.”
“If you’re not, we can—”
“Nope. I am not spending another day looking at the four walls of the inside of the apartment.” Absolutely not. She’d lose her mind. Hell, she’d already lost part of it being home for so long.
They’d moved back into Zane’s apartment once she was out of the hospital. And Zane had been by her side the entire time, letting Stetson run the gym. He played it off like he wasn’t bored as hell, but he was. He had to be.
“It’s so unfair.”
Zane frowned at her. “What is?”
Shit. She’d meant to say that in her head. “We were kidnapped. We fought for our lives, and we survived. In a fair world, we’d have earned our right to live in a safe small town without trying to figure out who else has it out for me.”
He squeezed her thigh. “We’ll find them.”
“Maybe not. Jesse has no leads. None.”
A muscle ticked in Zane’s jaw, because he knew she was right. And it frustrated him as much as it frustrated her.
They pulled over in front of the gym. Zane frowned at the Hyundai parked in front of them. “Stetson’s here. I told him to take the morning off.”
“Maybe he forgot? He’s probably delirious after all the hours he’s worked this last week.” She climbed out of the car, immediately wrapping her arms around her waist. Man, it was cold. Another reason not to wake up at this godforsaken hour.
Zane came around the car, scanning the street before setting a hand on her back and leading her toward the gym. “Any news on the shelter?”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Two more weeks and we should be reopening.”
“Will it take time to get it back to what it was?”
She shook her head. “No. There are too many women who need a safe place. I’m sure they already have a list of peoplewho’ve been assigned a spot.” A new manager had been hired, and even though Bonnie hadn’t met her, they’d chatted on the phone and she seemed lovely. Shelley’s complete opposite.
Zane went to put his key into the lock, but as he grabbed the handle, the door opened. “I wonder what time he got here.”
“Too early.” She bumped his hip before stepping inside and flicking on the lights. The gym lit up. “Strange that he kept the lights off though.”
Zane stepped in beside her. “Where is he?”
Good question.
Zane slipped his hand into hers and moved forward, his other hand hovering over where she knew he carried a concealed gun. The smile from moments ago slipped, and nerves kicked at her ribs.
Maybe something was wrong. A few things weren’t adding up. Stetson’s car being here. The lights that were still off.
Zane led her to his office. “Stetson?”
The room was empty.
Tension rolled off Zane’s shoulders as he pulled his cell from his pocket and hit Stetson’s number. A few seconds passed before he lowered the phone. “He’s not answering.”
Hand still in his, she trailed behind him as they moved to the back hall. After passing the bathrooms and equipment room, he tried the handle on the back door. “Locked.”
She jumped at the ringing of Zane’s phone.
Jesus. Calm down, Bonnie.
She glanced at the screen, expecting to see Stetson’s name. It was Jesse’s. And that made those nerves in her belly ripple.
Something was definitely wrong. Jesse wouldn’t call so early if it wasn’t.
