Page 66 of Protect My Heart

He grinned. White straight teeth flashed at her. “Call me Romeo.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, Romeo. I’m retrieving my key, so could you back off?”

She jingled the keys at him and he scooted back a foot.

Once inside, her eyes darted around the room looking for a way to fight him. He poked her in the back with the gun, and her hopes burst. She couldn’t overpower him. Breath backed up in her chest. The panic clogged her lungs. Not now. She couldn’t panic now. Beads of sweat formed on her brow. She blew out a breath. She could do this.

She turned to Romeo. “The knife’s in the bedroom. Upstairs.”

He waved the gun for her to lead. She started up and he followed just out of her reach. No kung fu kicking him down the steps. The tremors that shook her body grew in intensity with each step.

Remembering her calming techniques, she leveled her breathing. In one, two. Out one, two. It didn’t help much, but enough to give her time to think.

In the bedroom, she moved around the bed and slipped the knife from the night stand. Twisted it in her hands.

Romeo stood in the doorway with his gun trained on her. “Bring it to me.”

No way in hell she was giving it to him. He could peel it from her cold dead hands. She gulped. Liz really hoped that didn’t happen. “Your boss told me to bring it to him.”

His gaze turned dark, but he nodded.

In a calculated move, she stumbled forward as she shoved the knife in her purse, spilling the contents of her dressing table onto the floor. “Oops.”

She dropped to the floor—her back to him. With frenzied movement, swept the powder side to side, and picked up the makeup bottles.

“Dumb bitch. Leave it.” He stepped closer to grab her arm.

“Yes. Fine.” Slipping the key from the knife compartment into the powder compact, she stepped in front of the secret message she’d scrawled in the powder. As he pushed her out the door, she glanced back to make sure his attention was focused on her.

“Get the journal and let’s go.” He propelled her towards the stairs.

“I have it. Where are we going?” She paused at the door to grab an old coat.

He nudged her with the gun. “You ask too many questions. Just get in the car.”

He had no idea.

Chapter 20

The time spent at the café was way too long in Jim’s estimation. He should be finding the bastard that took Liz. The odds of finding her alive lessened with every minute that passed. He blew out a breath––he couldn’t think that way. He needed to use his head, his training, and he had to trust the process.

He glanced over at CJ, Joy, and Rosa. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to see some action. Jim turned back to the server, who hadn’t seen anything. Handing him a business card, he said, “If you remember anything, please call me.”

“Swenson, over here.” Officer Larson waved to him. She was standing with the hostess. She introduced him to the girl when he approached. “Selena came out of the back room as Doctor Garcia was exiting the ladies room.”

The girl couldn’t be more than seventeen. She brushed her ponytail over her shoulder as she talked. “I saw her coming out of the restroom with a white guy, couple years older than me. He slipped an arm around her and she walked out with him.”

“Can you describe the man?” Jim asked.

She shrugged. “He looked like a typical guy. Cargo jacket and a buzzed head.”

“A tattoo or a scar?”

“A couple tear tats on his face. Here.” She touched the corner of her eye.

Ice formed in Jim’s belly. Gang member. Tear tats were for his kill count. What had Doc gotten into? Could this have to do with Noah’s killing? He pulled his attention back to the teen in front of him. “Anything else?”

She started to shake her head then stopped. She pulled her pad from her apron. “It might be nothing, but I was waiting on this guy at the corner table. He only wanted a coffee, but sat reading a book. I didn’t even know people still read books. I thought it was all online.”