Bruce led Sarah down the narrow hall to the studio and dropped her bag in the corner before going to the front to check the lock. Couldn’t be too careful.
“What’s that look for?” Bruce asked as he came back in the room.
“Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you.” She met him halfway, and he drew her into his arms.
“I’m the lucky one.”
She shook her head. “I’m not making your life easy.”
“Don’t say that. You’ve given it back to me.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and stood back. “The owner showed me how to work the digital recorder. I’ll set it up.”
“Thanks. It really helps when I can review my routine.” She glanced around the studio. “I can’t imagine what all this is costing you.”
“Not nearly what it’s worth.” He squeezed her arm. “Now do your thing.”
She started to stretch as he went into the observation room.
When he finished with the setup, he came back down. His breath caught at the sight of her beautiful body in motion. At least he’d been able to give her the chance to dance again.
She stopped and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I feel terrible you’re stuck here babysitting me.”
“Hey.” He framed her face in his hands. “I would have stayed every time, but I wanted to give you space. Trust me, watching you is not a hardship. Now what it might do to me, if you want to talk about hard—”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” She pecked his cheek with a kiss. “Thanks.”
“No problem. I brought my laptop. I’ll get some work done up there.” He jerked his head in the direction of the observation window.
“Sounds good. Take my phone. Anne and Maddie don’t call much, but if they do, I may not hear it over the music.” She handed him the cell from her bag.
From the observation booth, his gaze followed Sarah as she twirled around the floor to the classical music piped through the speakers. God, she was amazing. A warm sensation filled his chest. He checked the recorder. All good, still running.
Sarah’s phone dinged with a text. No name attached to the number. He clicked on the message.
It’s time for us to be together. Meet me at the Super 8 on Main Street. Room 216. Come alone. If you don’t show up, I will have no choice but to move on and find another love. Who better than Maddie? Which will it be? You or your sister?
Bruce’s stomach dove into a free fall. He gripped the phone. Now he had the bastard. Just the chance he’d been waiting for. He marched down the stairs.
Sarah glanced up at him and stopped dancing. “What’s wrong?”
“He finally fucked up.” Bruce crossed the room.
He held the phone out, and Sarah read the text message.
“Oh my God. Wh-what is this?” Her eyes widened, and she shook her head violently. “No. No. Not Maddie. I have to go.”
Bruce grabbed her arm. “No way. I don’t want you anywhere near that place. You’re staying right here, locked up safe and sound until I get the sorry sack of shit.”
“But he said—”
“I don’t care what he said. I’ll handle him.”
“What if he has a gun? He threatened to kill me. I can’t let him hurt you.”
“You have no idea what I’ve been trained to do. I’m not worried about disarming a computer geek.” He checked his watch. “The hotel is about fifteen minutes away. You stay here and wait to hear from me.”
“But shouldn’t we call the police or something?”
“No time. Please, just do what I say. I’ll be in touch.” He strode down the hall to the back entrance. “Lock this behind me.”
Sarah leaned against the metal door and squeezed her eyes shut. Her legs went weak. She had to do something.
She ran up the stairs into the observation room, turned off the music, and dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, she headed back downstairs and paced as she talked. Between shaking and stuttering, she had to come across as unstable. The dispatcher told her to stay on the line, undoubtedly to send someone to check her out. That was the last thing she needed with nothing but a fake ID and a wild story.
She hung up, but no doubt they had enough time to trace her location. Hopefully, they would at least send a unit to the hotel. God, nothing could happen to Bruce.