Looking at Elisa, there wasn’t any doubt that she stood ready to run. And in the short time he’d come to know her, he decided he didn’t want her to.
“I have to go.” The words came out as a whisper, controlled and measured. “I thought I could give this a try, and I owe you and your friends a lot already. I’ll have to find some way to pay you someday. But I should leave as soon as possible.”
Rojas blinked. He’d been willing to give the woman some space, but hearing her sound so defeated made him want to tell her, show her, she didn’t have to be on her own. More importantly, Boom had been with her when whatever had happened to change her mind had hit. “Was my daughter in danger at any time?”
Elisa swallowed. She didn’t shake her head or immediately blurt out a denial. She thought about it and met his gaze directly. “I don’t think so. As soon as I realized there was an issue, we got in the car and I brought her back. Safe.”
Well, it might’ve made more sense not to come straight back, but it all depended on how much danger there had been to make Elisa add that last qualifier on the end of her statement.
He let out a slow breath, reining in his anger. “Start from the beginning. Tell me exactly what happened.”
She did.
For a nasty second, he wanted to rage at his own stupidity in entrusting his daughter to this woman and to shake Elisa for placing Boom in danger. But Elisa hadn’t. Under normal circumstances, the trip should’ve been fine. Hell, he’d known Elisa had been running from something and they’d had friends nearby just in case. Elisa and Serena should’ve been safe and Elisa shouldn’t be blamed for the persecution she was subject to. He needed to make sure the people he cared about remained protected. “I’ve respected your privacy up to now, but I do need to know if we should be expecting any unwanted company.”
“I hope not.”
He stared at her. “We’ll plan for the worst-case scenario.”
She bit her lip. “Which is also why I should leave. The stranger I saw didn’t seem to have noticed us. He was too busy looking over my car, under it. I got us back to your car while he was down there so I don’t think he saw us.”
“Take me through it one more time.” He needed to see if the details were consistent, if she was remembering clearly. And he wanted her to get some distance from what’d happened by thinking it through.
He’d warn Cruz to keep an extra close eye on the security feeds tonight, just in case. Gary and Greg had security cameras with line of sight to the first couple of rows of cars in front of their school, so he could also check into the identity of this guy. Could be someone who’d dropped something between cars and made Elisa jumpy. But Elisa had demonstrated a presence of mind and practicality thus far, so he was guessing she’d really seen what she thought she’d seen. He wasn’t going to doubt her until proof presented itself to say otherwise. And he had the means to verify what she’d told him.
His daughter was safely upstairs and about to take a nap, happy about the help and ideas Elisa had given her.
Elisa clasped her hands in front of her. “I’ll call a cab, get back to my car and head out. Hopefully he didn’t do anything to it and I can sell it in the next town I stop in.”
Alex studied Souze. Souze continued to watch Elisa. The dog’s ears were still swiveled to catch every nuance of what she said. His posture was tense, and his shoulders almost trembled with the tension he was sensing from the woman. As composed as she appeared, chances were she was frightened out of her mind.
His daughter was safe. He could help Elisa be safe, too. The men of Hope’s Crossing Kennels had better means to protect the people they cared about than most. They didn’t just keep their old military habits close; it was a part of who each of them was.
“You’re not going back to your car.” He pulled out his smartphone and sent a text to Forte and Cruz.
“I have to.” She said it quietly. “I know he could still be there watching, but everything I own is in that car besides the overnight bag I left upstairs at Revolution.”
He nodded. “Which is exactly why he’ll stay out of sight and follow you until you feel safe. Then nab you. You’re too attached to what’s in that car.”
“It’s still afternoon. Broad daylight.” Elisa unclasped her hands and held them in fists at her sides. “It was a busy parking lot with plenty of people walking back and forth. I can slip to my car and drive away. He wouldn’t be able to grab me in front of all those people without me making a racket and drawing unwanted attention.”
“True.” And good for her for having thought of those things. “Do you know how to check your car for anything he might’ve attached to the bottom? You said he spent some time looking under there. What if he wasn’t just looking?”