Alex didn’t wait for a response before spinning around and rushing away. She ignored the strange looks from those she passed as she hurried toward the restaurant’s entrance.
Her chest was tight, and her heart ached with worry for her only sibling. If she lost her?—
No, no, no. Don’t let yourself go there, Al. Avery is going to be okay.
Her vision blurred, but she blinked away the well of unshed tears. Crying wouldn’t help. In fact, it would only make things worse. She needed to be strong.
And she needed to make a plan.
Get a cab, buy a plane ticket, pack my bags, and get a ride to the airport.
Those were the events that needed to take place. In that order and as fast as she could.
What about Colt?
Alex burst through the restaurant’s glass doors,sucking in a long, deep breath as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. She’d find a cab first, and then she’d call Colt and tell him what happened. After that, she’d work on booking a new flight.
Her gaze swung to her left, and then she looked right in a frantic search for a ride back to the hotel. There’d been at least four here earlier, so surely?—
There!
She started to move. Her legs shook with worry, her new heels clicking loudly against the sidewalk as she practically jogged toward the awaiting car.
“Miss Webb?” A woman called her name from behind.
Alex halted her steps and turned back on reflex. When she did, she saw a woman with dark, bouncing curls approaching her with equally swift steps.
“Yes?”
Speak fast, lady, because I don’t have time to waste.
The pretty brunette came close—real close—and she spoke with a lowered voice. “Miss Webb, I’ll explain later, but right now, I need you to come with me.”
Alex sent the woman wearing jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a black leather jacket an incredulous stare. “I’m sorry?”
The stranger glanced around as if she were ensuring no one overheard. “My name is Agent Swensen. I work with Coulter Morgan, and I have orders to drive you back to the hotel.”
Shock had Alex taking a step back. “You know Colt?”
The woman claiming to be CIA retrieved her ID from her back pocket. Alex immediately recognized itas the same kind Colt and Agent Paulsen had shown her the night before.
“Please, Miss Webb. Any second now, Gordan Crawford is going to come outside those doors, and you and I both need to be gone before that happens. Do you understand?”
Did she?
Not even close.
“But my sister?—”
“Avery is safe and sound, at home with her husband, Garrett.”
Wait, what?
Dizzying emotions ran rampant as her mind worked overtime to make sense of what she was being told. “I don’t understand. I just got a call from a nurse at Atrium Health. She, uh . . . she said her name was?—”
“Brenda Ross.” Agent Swensen nodded. “That was me. I’m the one who called.”
Disbelief and confusion warred with the realization that the other woman’s voice matched the one from the phone.
