hand, she sagged against the support of the building. If the watch Galloway needed was in her bag, it was long gone, leaving her nothing to trade for Renata.
A trade which was supposed to happen in less than fifteen minutes. Without her phone, she couldn't even call and explain the problem to Galloway. He wasn't the patient type. Hell, he wasn't the sane type. It felt selfish to be worried about her business – she had insurance – but it made her stomach roll, imaging what he might do to her showroom as well as her cousin if she didn't show up on time.
With the watch. "Dear God. I might be sick." She looked back toward Renata's building, then in the general direction of her showroom.
"You'll be fine. Just breathe."
Breathe ? Impossible. She'd broken her moral code – for good reason, but it was still in pieces – and managed to get robbed in the process. Galloway wouldn't believe she'd lost the one thing he wanted her to retrieve which meant people she loved would suffer anyway.
Ideas, desperate, crazy ideas raced through her brain. She would go to the showroom and stall and Adam could bring the police. But she knew in her gut Galloway would retaliate in the ugliest of ways.
"What the hell am I doing?" She didn't have a clue anymore.
"Getting through pretty well from my perspective," he said.
If he only knew. "I have to get back to the showroom."
"Why? I thought the keys were in your purse."
"They are." The fear started as a quiver in her knees and quickly accelerated into full blow quaking. Her teeth clacked together. She'd never felt so helpless. "M-mm-maybe the purse snatcher is there, compounding his take."
"You want to make a citizen's arrest?" He rubbed his palms lightly up and down her arms.
She nodded, shaking enough to make her feel like a bobble-head doll. Looking up into his face, she wondered about the timing of this stranger who'd come to her aid. Well, he wasn't quite a stranger. They had a passing acquaintance at his food cart. And he'd purchased a tie from her today.
Still, wasn't it more than a coincidence that he was delivering pizzas in Renata's building at the same time she'd been there? He could be anyone. From Kansas? That just sounded wacky. For all she knew he was part of the problem, someone working with Galloway to make sure she did what she'd promised.
It was a sneaky, Galloway thing to do. She jerked away from Adam's touch, taking another two steps toward the showroom.
"Keep breathing," he said gently.
The shadows were playing with his features, painting him with an air of mystery. She couldn't call him striking, his features were too normal, too boy-next-door for that. His mouth curved up into another smile. A friendly expression, but not overdone.
Odd how that small, sincere detail put her at ease. Maybe he really was from Kansas. She imagined anyone connected to Galloway would give off a more deceitful vibe. Right here with Adam, the only vibe she picked up was genuine. She blamed it on the dimple. The feature was a fine distraction she might want to explore if circumstances were different.
But this wasn't a speed-dating event. Not even a blind date. And her circumstances couldn't get much worse. She clutched the watch in her pocket, the one that felt like a Rolex and might just be one, though she hadn't had time to confirm it. Considering she'd found it in Renata's small wall safe behind the landscape painting, odds were good it was what Galloway wanted. But if it wasn't… if the watch he wanted was in her purse…
She had to think positively. There was still time to save her cousin if she could hold herself together long enough to make the exchange.
"Can you please just walk by the showroom with me? If I'm being robbed we can call it in. You do have a phone? "
"Sure," he said, patting his pocket.
She didn't think that flat Midwestern voice had been so pro nounced when he'd been in the showroom earlier today. "Can I use it for a minute? Please?" She had Galloway's
A trade which was supposed to happen in less than fifteen minutes. Without her phone, she couldn't even call and explain the problem to Galloway. He wasn't the patient type. Hell, he wasn't the sane type. It felt selfish to be worried about her business – she had insurance – but it made her stomach roll, imaging what he might do to her showroom as well as her cousin if she didn't show up on time.
With the watch. "Dear God. I might be sick." She looked back toward Renata's building, then in the general direction of her showroom.
"You'll be fine. Just breathe."
Breathe ? Impossible. She'd broken her moral code – for good reason, but it was still in pieces – and managed to get robbed in the process. Galloway wouldn't believe she'd lost the one thing he wanted her to retrieve which meant people she loved would suffer anyway.
Ideas, desperate, crazy ideas raced through her brain. She would go to the showroom and stall and Adam could bring the police. But she knew in her gut Galloway would retaliate in the ugliest of ways.
"What the hell am I doing?" She didn't have a clue anymore.
"Getting through pretty well from my perspective," he said.
If he only knew. "I have to get back to the showroom."
"Why? I thought the keys were in your purse."
"They are." The fear started as a quiver in her knees and quickly accelerated into full blow quaking. Her teeth clacked together. She'd never felt so helpless. "M-mm-maybe the purse snatcher is there, compounding his take."
"You want to make a citizen's arrest?" He rubbed his palms lightly up and down her arms.
She nodded, shaking enough to make her feel like a bobble-head doll. Looking up into his face, she wondered about the timing of this stranger who'd come to her aid. Well, he wasn't quite a stranger. They had a passing acquaintance at his food cart. And he'd purchased a tie from her today.
Still, wasn't it more than a coincidence that he was delivering pizzas in Renata's building at the same time she'd been there? He could be anyone. From Kansas? That just sounded wacky. For all she knew he was part of the problem, someone working with Galloway to make sure she did what she'd promised.
It was a sneaky, Galloway thing to do. She jerked away from Adam's touch, taking another two steps toward the showroom.
"Keep breathing," he said gently.
The shadows were playing with his features, painting him with an air of mystery. She couldn't call him striking, his features were too normal, too boy-next-door for that. His mouth curved up into another smile. A friendly expression, but not overdone.
Odd how that small, sincere detail put her at ease. Maybe he really was from Kansas. She imagined anyone connected to Galloway would give off a more deceitful vibe. Right here with Adam, the only vibe she picked up was genuine. She blamed it on the dimple. The feature was a fine distraction she might want to explore if circumstances were different.
But this wasn't a speed-dating event. Not even a blind date. And her circumstances couldn't get much worse. She clutched the watch in her pocket, the one that felt like a Rolex and might just be one, though she hadn't had time to confirm it. Considering she'd found it in Renata's small wall safe behind the landscape painting, odds were good it was what Galloway wanted. But if it wasn't… if the watch he wanted was in her purse…
She had to think positively. There was still time to save her cousin if she could hold herself together long enough to make the exchange.
"Can you please just walk by the showroom with me? If I'm being robbed we can call it in. You do have a phone? "
"Sure," he said, patting his pocket.
She didn't think that flat Midwestern voice had been so pro nounced when he'd been in the showroom earlier today. "Can I use it for a minute? Please?" She had Galloway's
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