Page 10 of Finding Amanda

She nodded and began walking.

Gabriel's deep voice called after her. "Amanda."

She wanted to bolt, but Alan and Brenda stopped. She froze, trapped, and slowly turned.

"You forgot your bag.” He stood beside the chair. Her leather laptop case dangled from his right hand, the novel she'd dropped he held in his left.

Fear paralyzed her.

Gabriel closed the space and held out the items.

She grabbed them , stuffed the novel into the bag, and slid the leather strap over her shoulder, trying not to think about what would have happened if he'd kept it. Inside were her laptop, her hotel key, and her wallet. He'd have had access to everything.

"Thanks."

Alan, still holding her upper arm, led her and Brenda away. They'd gone only a few yards when he tried to steer her toward the elevators. She couldn't bear to stand there and wait for the infernally slow doors to open.

"Escalator, please," she whispered.

Halfway there, Brenda turned to Amanda. "You okay, sweetie? You look terrible."

Amanda couldn't answer.

Alan held her arm tighter and looked at Brenda. "Why don't you go ahead to your meeting? I'll see you tomorrow."

Brenda looked at Amanda. "I'm sorry, but I do have to run. I have a meeting with my agent. Do you need me to stay with you?"

Amanda managed to shake her head, and Brenda peeled off toward the restaurant.

Alan led her to the base of the escalator. They were just stepping on the moving staircase when she heard Sheppard's deep voice.

"See you soon."

CHAPTER THREE

Amanda gripped the handrail as if it were her only link to safety. Halfway up the long escalator, she whispered, "Is he still watching us?"

Alan glanced behind them. "Uh-huh."

The last session of the day must've let out, because writers milled about on the second floor, sipping drinks and chatting in clusters along the wide corridor as if the world hadn't just stopped spinning. Alan must have felt her tense, because he maneuvered her onto the escalator going to the third floor. He watched behind them. "He's out of sight now."

"Thank God." Her whole body was trembling. "Thank you. I'm sure you don't even know who I am. I've seen your picture, but we've never met."

"Nice to meet you."

She heard a smile in his voice but couldn't look up from the moving staircase beneath her feet. "I'm sorry. I know this is weird, but I didn't know what else to do." She glanced at Alan. "I haven't seen him in years, and I couldn't get away. And he was sitting so close, and I didn't want to scream and cause a scene but he wouldn't move and I was trapped, andthen I saw Brenda, and . . ." She gasped. "Oh, my God, he found me."

She couldn't get air. Squeezing the handrail tighter, she sucked in another breath, and another. She was suffocating. Her lungs burned, her vision darkened around the edges. Her knees weakened. If she passed out, she'd tumble backwards, down the long escalator to her death.

Alan wrapped his arm around her back and held her until they reached the third floor, where he eased her toward a sofa in front of the windows.

"Exhale," he commanded, lowering her to the seat. He kneeled in front of her and grabbed both her shoulders. "You're safe now. Exhale."

She blew out air and sucked in more.

"Again. Exhale. You have kids?"

She tried to nod. She couldn't get enough air.

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