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“Wait! What if they’re down there?”
He cupped her cheek with his palm and foolish as it was, she wanted nothing more than to sink into the warmth of his touch and the imagined security of his arms.
“Ye have tae trust me, Tait. Can ye do that?”
She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to, but could she?Shouldshe?
She wasn’t sure if her nod was proof of her trust, or part of the trembling she couldn’t control. But it didn’t matter. He was already gone.
Time stood still as Tait listened for any changes in the sounds and voices from below that might indicate a disruption by her pursuers. Just as desperately, she tried to pick out Marcus’ deep brogue from among the various languages, wondering when her determination to not involve the stranger any further had turned to a growing sense of dependence.
It was just until she could get back to civilization, she told herself, trying to tamp down her nagging sense of guilt.
What could be taking him so long?
Tait chewed mercilessly on her lower lip. Surely a simple phone call couldn’t take this long. Painful minutes passed. Too many, she told herself as she belly-crawled across the balcony floor. Moving past the massive stone chimney of the fireplace, she peered through the twisted log railing at the lobby two floors below. Luckily, none of the tourists had come this high to witness her strange behavior. At least not yet.
Where are you, Marcus?
She couldn’t see him, but the taste of bile soured her mouth as a man in a blue shirt stopped a group of tourists to show them a picture. Not far away, his tall, blonde companion was doing the same.
On her belly like a snake, Tait slithered backward into her dark corner and waited, imagining the pointing finger of someone who’d seen Marcus and her run toward the stairs. With dread twisting her gut, she listened for the tell-tale footfalls of someone following that same path.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Chapter 4
Curled into a ball, Tait hunkered as low as possible behind the set of leather chairs, wincing over her stiff and sore muscles as she listened to the muffled footsteps coming closer. Each step was like a door slamming shut on her freedom. Her life.
Carefully peering beneath the low-slung seat of the chair, she could see a few inches of black pants above square-toed shoes as the wearer took the final step from the stairway onto the balcony and paused. Which one was it? The tall thin one? Or the shorter one? Not that it would make any difference. Their plans for her were the same.
He paused, then slowly made his way toward her, seemingly stopping to check every nook and cranny along the way.
She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her breath and stifle the cry lodged in her throat.
“Elliot!” someone yelled from below.
Tait watched the legs move toward the railing. “What?” the man growled.
“Get down here. I’ve got something!”
The man turned and raced toward the stairs.
Still too frightened to release her stifled breath, Tait listened as he descended, and their voices mingled with all the others in the lobby. Had they gone outside, or were they still lurking down there? Or was all that just a trick to pull her out of hiding?
She couldn’t take a chance. She had to stay put.
Where was Marcus?
Time stood still. She didn’t dare pull out her phone. If it really was a trick and her phone lit up, they’d find her. She had to wait, despite her cramping legs and back.
If only Marcus would come!
Finally, her breathing slowed, and her heartbeat no longer pounded in her ears. But a cramp began to knot in her right calf. Swallowing a whimper, she tried to move her leg enough to stretch the muscle. She’d only gained a couple of inches when she heard more footsteps on the stairs.
Had the one calledElliotcome back?
Frozen, she sucked in a breath as her muscle constricted with excruciating pain. The only way she knew to relieve it was to stretch out her leg. If she did that, Elliot, or whoever that was, would surely see it.
