“Details,” Rojas countered. Then he cleared his throat. “Look. It’s not just about how much I’d like to get to know you better. And believe me, I would. There’s also something off about the way your ex has chased you. His texts to you to mess with your head. The unidentified creep messing around with your car, who I’m guessing is employed by your ex. A normal stalker is bad enough, but this is taking it up a notch in terms of money and resources invested in getting you back. I really do think your best chance of staying out on your own is to let us help.”
He was right. Part of her wanted to scream at moving backward, at admitting there was something she couldn’t do for herself. The other part of her, the part with the survival instinct, admitted pride wasn’t her best defense at the moment. Learning was. And Joseph Corbin Junior had found her a couple of times already. It was time to change the way she made her choices, break the pattern.
“You all can help me learn what I need to know to prevent him from finding me, right? Even if I decide to leave eventually.” It was important to her, being the person to decide when to leave even if she’d been feeble, wobbling about whether to or not all this time.
Alex nodded, serious. He wasn’t laughing or belittling this point, and she appreciated it. Everything about this conversation had become close to unreal in her head, and she was absolutely going to replay it in her mind over and over tonight, wherever she decided to go to sleep. Dissecting a conversation for every nuance and every possible way she could’ve chosen to handle it was sort of like counting sheep for her.
“I’m all about teaching a person to fish for themselves.” Alex glanced at her to see if she caught the reference.
She raised an eyebrow at him. Duh.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. “And I have a lot of respect for those who recognize they need some help to get to where they need to be going. People helped me along the way, and I consider it paying it forward.”
Fair. She looked down at Souze. “You are a really patient dog.”
“He is,” Alex agreed. “And he’s been paying more attention to this conversation than he has to his training sessions for weeks. It’s interesting.”
Huh. Elisa studied Souze more closely. The dog returned her regard with an enigmatic doggy silence. “He does seem to like to be part of conversations, or at least listen to them.”
“Could be part of it,” Alex agreed. “Why don’t you stay here with him for a couple of minutes while I go inside and make sure Boom’s settled? Then we can walk him back to the kennels and you can tell me what I’m getting into with Boom’s project.”
Sounded simple. “Okay.”
Alex handed her the loop on the human end of the six-foot leather leash. She took it and slid it over her wrist, hoping Souze didn’t suddenly try to charge off across the yard. The big dog simply sat again.
“Elisa.” Alex reached out to touch her hand.
She looked back up at him. “Hmm?”
“I’m glad you decided to stay a little longer.”
Chapter Twelve
Gary and Greg had a date tonight, but we stop in a lot to check on the school or help out with the computers. They already said it was fine for us to review the security feed.” Even though they were coming in through the back entrance, Rojas entered first with Souze, visually clearing the room once he’d turned on the lights and watching for signs from the big dog.
Souze first sniffed the floor, then lifted his head to catch the scents in the air. This was the dog’s first visit to Revolution MMA, so he didn’t expect Souze to signal a stranger’s scent, but the big dog would alert him to the presence of a live person.
Once he and Souze had stepped inside, they continued on to check the few rooms on this floor including the office, bathroom, changing rooms, and supply closet.
Elisa entered after them with Cruz bringing up the rear. As much as Rojas enjoyed Elisa’s company—and he intended to explore their chemistry more once she’d had time to catch her breath—it was easier to travel off kennel grounds with backup to help watch their six. Souze could come in handy both inside and out, plus he needed the exposure to areas off the kennel’s property for his training, anyway. Cruz was the wiz with the computers.
Inside the MMA school, big blinds were drawn down over the front windows facing the parking lot, so they didn’t have to worry about observers for the moment. Rojas made his way around the center matted class area to Gary and Greg’s office. He could’ve cut straight across, but school rules were no street shoes on the mats, and he wouldn’t disrespect those guidelines even after hours with no one to call him on it. Besides, dogs weren’t allowed on the mats at all on the rare occasions they visited.
“This place seems a lot bigger with no one here.” Elisa trailed along behind him and Souze.
The big dog didn’t show any notice of her. Souze was in working mode and focused on the task of sniffing out any strangers present. Rojas was glad to see the big dog’s attention to his work even with people he liked nearby. A good working dog didn’t get distracted.
“The space fills up fast once you pile two dozen sweaty bodies in here actively moving around.” Cruz passed her and proceeded into the office to sit at Gary’s desk. He immediately brought the computer online and started tapping away at the keyboard, ignoring the mouse as much as possible.