The gas station. Grocery store. Through the drive-thru at her favorite fast-food place. Her apartment.
Everywhere I went.
And like then, Janie wasn’t going to let some nameless, faceless shadow keep her from seeking the truth. A missing youngwoman may not matter to anyone else in this town, but she sure as hell matteredto Janie. If only they had some answers to the many questions rolling through her head.
What happened in those few short minutes when her security system was down?
Was she hurt?
Worse?
Amy’s youthful, timid face appeared in Janie’s mind’s eye.Her chest tightened from the horrifying scenarios that kept filling her imagination, and she prayed those answers would come very, very soon.
“Janie?”
She blinked to find Emmett staring down at her expectantly. From the look on his face, it was clear he’d been talking, but she hadn’t heard a word he’d said.
“Sorry, what?”
He stopped walking and pointed to the door on their left. “This is you, right?”
“Oh, uh . . . yeah.” Janie mentally shook her wandering thoughts clear. “Sorry.”
She reached for the keycard, which was still in the back pocket of her jeans and started for the door. Before she could insert the key into its thin slot, Emmett put his hand over hers to stop her.
“Let me.”
The struggle was real, but Janie somehow managed not to outwardly react to his electrifying touch. She handed over the card and waited. He unlocked it with ease and began pushing it open with obvious caution.
With the toe of his Oxford shoe, the attractive security specialist kept the door ajar long enough to reach for the pistol he had concealed at his hip. Her heartrate spiked at the sight of a weapon she hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying until that very moment.
“Stay close.”
The tall, dark, and apparently deadly man was inside the room before she could formulate a response. Janie’sbelated steps hastened, and she rushed over the metal threshold, putting her back to the wall just inside the room.
It took Emmett all of forty-five seconds to check every space of her hotel suite, and yes . . . she’d counted.
“All clear.” His imposing form appeared from the shadows.
The sound of his weapon sliding back into its hidden holster was decidedly loud in the otherwise silent room.
“You, uh . . . ” Janie pushed herself off the wall and flipped on the entryway lights. “You didn’t really think someone was in here.” She crossed her arms at her chest, adding an almost hesitant, “Did you?”
The stoic man walked over to where she was still standing. “No.” He slid his hands into the front pockets of his pants. “But I wasn’t going to take that chance, given the tail you picked up earlier.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for doing my job.”
“To be fair, I hired you to help me find Amy Weaver. Not to be my personal bodyguard.”
“You’re a client, Janie.” He gave the slightest of shrugs. “Doesn’t matter why you hired us initially, keeping you safe is part of the deal.”
“Good to know.” She smiled back at him as the room grew quiet once more.
Staring back at him, she couldn’t help but feel as though he was searching her gaze. For what, she had absolutely no idea because his dark stare was as unreadable as the expression on his ruggedly handsome face.
There’s a story there.
