Page 108 of To Believe In You
He drove to the nonprofit, half expecting to find her in the middle of interviewing his replacement. If not, he might convince her to put it off. Shifting his lessons ninety minutes later would put his last session around eight or eight thirty, but his older students—and hopefully their parents—might not mind. The change would prevent him from having to leave the studio early. As long as he was present when required and completed whatever checklists Awestruck threw at him, they couldn’t complain about how he spent his off-hours.
Since changing the schedule at the non-profit involved more than his and his students’ lesson times, convincing Lina would take negotiation skills to rival Tim’s. Good thing there was no one he’d rather spend time winning over than her.
The plan failed on arrival, though, because he found her desk empty.
30
Lina stood in Gannon and Adeline’s foyer, her suitcase at her side and a probably lethal man in front of her.
“We’ll have someone on the road within two minutes.” The head of Gannon and Adeline’s security team was muscular, his face a study in serious lines. His posture and manner of carrying himself suggested a military background, and coming from him, the promise to send assistance if one of her home’s new sensors went off meant something.
The home security technician had done as she’d hoped—finished the work on her house and called her away from Key of Hope in time to spare her from seeing Matt. He’d shown her the window and door sensors. When movement triggered one, an alert would go off on her phone. If she didn’t clear the notification, law enforcement would call. If she didn’t answer, they’d check on the property.
Satisfied, Lina had packed her bags to move back home. Adeline had intercepted her before she made it out the door and roped in Gannon’s security team.
With Shane still on the loose, Lina didn’t protest the added precaution, but she also didn’t want to unnecessarily call in the cavalry. She intended to arm her system religiously—whether she was leaving the house for a few hours or tucked away inside. At some point, she would forget to turn it off before she opened a window or took the trash out. “What if there’s a false alarm?”
“We’ll call you on the way.” He crossed his arms, biceps flexing.
“But what if her ex is in the house, forcing her to say what he wants?” This cheery thought came from Adeline.
The guard didn’t miss a beat. “If you’re not at liberty to talk, tell us it’s all clear. Use that wording—all clear.”
Lina adjusted the strap of her laptop case on her shoulder. “All clear.”
Would Shane put her in the position to need a code word? He’d grabbed her arm a couple of times and fought with Matt, but he’d never done worse. If he had stolen the jewelry, he’d avoided confronting her.
And now she needed secret ways to ask for help? What was next? A safe room?
“He can follow you home,” Adeline offered.
Lina forced a smile as she accepted.
“I’ll meet you at the gate.” The guard set off.
Even with the precaution, uncertain lines squiggled across Adeline’s forehead. “You could wait until they locate Shane. He can’t hide forever.”
He had managed to hide for weeks already. She wouldn’t impose on her friends that long. Besides … “We don’t even know it was Shane. Whoever broke in probably did it on Friday, when they had plenty of time to take whatever they wanted. And if they did miss something, the house was empty all weekend. No smart thief would wait until now, when there’s a new system, to go back. Besides, the installer and I activated the system when we left, and not even a raccoon has stepped foot near the house so far.”
Adeline quirked her lips. “I guess there isn’t much else to do, huh?”
“We’ve taken all the precautions.” Lina led the way outside.
Adeline quietly followed to the car and supervised as Lina packed up and pulled out.
True to his word, the guard waited in a black SUV by the gate, and he followed closely out to her house. While he waited in the driveway as Tim had so many times before, Lina pulled directly into the garage, shut the garage door, and entered the house, rolling her suitcase behind her. She deposited her purse on a hook by the door, her luggage in the bedroom, and her laptop case on the counter. Hands free, she armed the security system from her phone app.
Had the guard left, or was he waiting for some signal?
She parted the living room curtains and waved. A moment later, his vehicle backed onto the road. Lina turned to her refrigerator.
Food hadn’t been on her mind when she’d left on Saturday, and the meat she’d meant to cook had passed its expiration date. She took a couple of raw chicken breasts from the freezer and started defrosting them in the microwave.
While the appliance hummed, she took her laptop bag to the living room and powered up her computer. She had tried to pick applicants to interview for the bass instructor position before she’d been rescued by the installation tech. As she’d reviewed the resumes they’d collected last time they’d posted the job, distrust had haunted her—distrust so strong it might have qualified as anxiety. Plenty of the applicants looked fine on paper, but what were these people really like?
They might interview well and turn into problematic employees. She’d also seen the opposite—poor interview skills in people who turned out to be excellent instructors. A half-hour conversation wasn’t nearly enough time to judge a person.
But what choice did she have? Given the tight deadline, she needed to get started.
