AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Didn’t hear anything to indicate Davies was waiting for them.
Spence clenched his fist. “I wish I could get into his brain and figure out what his plan is,” he said, forcing himself to relax his fist.
“You think he has one?”
“Definitely. Davies is a smart guy. He’s going into that conference with a plan. Trying to grab you from this parking garage this afternoon? Probably one of his backup plans.”
“Well, that’s cheery news,” Zoe muttered.
Spence touched her arm. “It is good news,” he said. “This is what I do. My job is guarding people, and I work up worst case scenarios all the time, based on the circumstances. Figure out all the ways the bad guy can get to my principal. Then come up with every possible way to stymie them.”
“And you’re doing that for me?”
“I am. And so is Nico. Knowing Mel, she probably has anyone who’s not out on a job right now coming up with scenarios, as well. We’ll go over them tomorrow. Figure out which are Davies’ most likely plans. Then make sure we’ve got them all covered.”
Zoe drew in a deep breath. Blew it out. Spence’s conclusion -- that Ethan was hanging around, trying for another chance at her, was logical. And he might very well wait in the parking garage for them to return from the urgent care center.
“How long are we going to wait in the car?” she asked quietly.
“Not much longer. If he’s here, he’s anxious. Nervous. I doubt he’ll be able to sit and wait for a long time. If another five minutes go by without any signs of him, we’ll go inside.”
After five minutes that felt like five days, she glanced over at Spence. He nodded once. Held up three fingers. Curled them down one by one. When he put the last finger down, they both opened their car doors at the same time.
She was careful to be as quiet as possible, and Spence was, as well. As they slid out of the car, they both eased the doors closed.
She stabbed the button to summon the elevator, and the doors slid open immediately. She and Spence stepped inside, and she jabbed the lobby button several times. The doors closed excruciatingly slowly.
As they snicked together, she caught a glimpse of movement from the garage. Spence had seen it too, because he froze. But the doors locked and the elevator began to rise.
She didn’t take a deep, steady breath until they stepped into her condo. As she reached to push the button to close the doors, Spence put his hand on her arm. “Stay here. Let me check the place. Make sure nobody’s waiting for us.”
She opened her mouth to point out that they’d seen someone in the parking garage a few minutes ago, but she bit her tongue and didn’t say a word. If it made Spence more comfortable to check the condo, she’d wait by the elevator.
A few minutes later he reappeared, tucking his gun into its holster. “All clear,” he said. He studied her for a moment. “You must be hungry. We never had a chance to eat dinner.”
“Honestly? I haven’t even thought about it,” she said. But now that he’d mentioned it? She was hungry. “What would you like? I’ll order something.”
“That pizza we had the first night,” he said immediately. “It was quick and delicious.”
“Okay, I’ll call and order. Pepperoni and giardiniera, right?”
He looked surprised. “You remembered my pizza order?”
“Of course.” She remembered everything she’d learned about Spence in the past week. “Go take some ibuprofen and sit down. I’ll call in the order.”
She turned her back and punched in the number for Madeline’s. Ordered the pizza, then slid her phone back into her pocket. Finally she lowered herself onto the other end of the couch from Spence.
He had his head tilted against the back of the couch, his eyes closed. She studied him while she could get away with staring, and realized he still looked pale. Drawn. Thank goodness the conference didn’t start until Friday. They could spend tomorrow here in her condo, taking it easy. Looking at his plans.
She’d never had anyone she needed to take care of. As she looked at Spence, she realized she’d be happy to take care of him. Do whatever she could for him. Pamper him as much as he would let her.
Which probably wouldn’t be much. Tomorrow, Spence would insist he was fine. That his head didn’t hurt anymore. That he was back to normal.
She was pretty sure none of that would be true.
The doorman called to let her know that her food was here, so she hurried over to the elevator. When it dinged its arrival and the doors slid open, she was surprised to see Nico holding the bag with the pizzas.
“How is he?” Nico asked, handing her the bags.
