Alex didn’t bother to respond. He stared up at the resort, furious with himself. He should’ve never agreed to let her come to this. He’d known it was a huge risk from the beginning. He should’ve stuck to his gut even after hearing about Bruce’s bogus plans for Monday. His other line beeped again. That same number he hadn’t recognized earlier. Just then, Romero came back on the line.

“Answer your other line. It’s Valerie. She’s okay.”

Alex’s breath hitched, and he almost missed the button to click over.

“Hello?”

“Alex, I’m okay. I lost my phone in the hotel, and I couldn’t remember your number. I’ve never memorized it, so I called the restaurant…”

The mixture of emotions he felt after hearing her exclaim she was okay was something he’d never experienced in his life. He’d hardly caught anything else she said after that. Something gripped his windpipe he couldn’t get a damn word out. He sucked in air, finally able to speak but he strained to get the words out. “Where are you, baby?”

“I’m in the front by all the fire trucks.”

A newfound emotion took over. His need to be by her side became overwhelming. Alex glanced around trying hard to gather the might to speak without choking up. “I’m here too, just outside the barricades at the front entrance.”

He heard her say something to someone then came back on the phone, “Where? I’m looking for you.” Her voice broke. She must’ve been holding it together also, but she cried now. “They’re going to let you in.”

Alex started to explain where he was when he saw her by one of the fire trucks, looking around. She had a phone to her ear and her a shoe in her free hand. She was barefoot and looked so small and helpless. Something gripped at his windpipe again. He waved and called out for her. When she saw him, she ran to him. He pushed past the guard, flicking him aside like a flea. As soon as she was close enough she jumped into his arms. Alex held her tighter than he ever had, burying his face in her neck.

With a deep breath he pulled back to look at her face. The hot tears he felt in his own eyes surprised him but even more surprising, he wasn’t embarrassed. He didn’t care about any of that. All he could think of was how much he loved her and thanked God she was alright. He gulped hard, searching her face. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, I got away when he was talking to you on the phone.”

Alex slipped his phone into the holster on his belt easily holding Valerie still in the air with one arm. He brought his hand back to move the strands of hair away from her face. “Tell me the truth, baby. Did he touch you?” Alex remembered the rough way he’d tried to put his hand on her at the bar the night he knocked him out. If Bruce had so much as put a finger on her, Alex would hunt him down and kill him, himself.

Valerie stared at him the tears beginning to subside. “No, he didn’t,” she whispered.

He kissed the tip of her nose, still not loosening his hold on her even a bit. “Do you know if they got him?”

She shook her head and leaned her face into the crook of his neck. “They haven’t told me anything, except someone got shot.”

Alex inhaled her familiar scent. A scent so unique only to Valerie if he could bottle it he’d keep a bottle of it on him at all times. “Yeah, I heard about that to.” He decided he would worry about Bruce later. For now he was just eternally grateful that Valerie was okay and out of harms way. From here on, she’d never be out of sight until Bruce was caught or dead.

His phone had been vibrating in his holster from the moment he hung up with Valerie. Reluctantly he put her down and answered it. He let Romero in on where he was and told him to update everyone. Then he and Valerie went back to where the detectives were waiting for her.

***

That evening, Valerie came home with Alex. He stared at her as she slept, her face against his chest. For days, he had tossed and turned, his body yearning, starving for hers. Now all he wanted was to sleep next to her, hold her knowing she was safe. He figured she’d be exhausted and she knocked out almost as quickly as she’d cuddled up next to him. It had been such an emotionally draining day for both of them.

Valerie told her story so many different times—first to him, then the detectives, then her father and Norma when they went back to his house. Alex had tired of telling it himself. Everyone had been concerned and eager to know what had happened. He’d also heard about the bomb squad evacuating the restaurant right in the middle of the lunch rush. Valerie told Angel about Bruce threatening to blow up the restaurant when she called to get his number. Before Angel could even decide what to do about it, she informed him that the bomb squad was already on it’s way. After searching for hours, they found nothing. It was a complete bluff. When questioned by police about it, Bruce denied ever saying anything of the sort.

It turned out Alex wouldn’t have to hunt Bruce down. He’s been shot when he pointed a gun an officer. They weren’t even looking for him yet. The idiot pointed the gun when the officer tried to stop him from going into the closed-off area. In his crazed attempt to catch up to Valerie, he thought pulling a gun out in a middle of a hotel full of cops would somehow fly.

It wasn’t life-threatening. The bullet just shattered his shoulder. Alex thought he deserved at least that much. After hours of interviews with Valerie, Luke and other witnesses, Bruce was not only going to need a doctor, but a good lawyer. The list of charges they slapped him with was as long as his rap sheet. He’d held Luke against his will, at gunpoint, gagging and tying him up in the suite’s closet, tried kidnapping Valerie, planted a fake bomb at the hotel, and pointed a gun at an officer.