Page 110 of Rescued Heart

Her hand shook. “There’s no connection.”

He crawled over to her original seat and pulled on the door’s handle. “It’s locked.”

She put her hand against her chest. Her lungs squeezed as if her dress were two sizes too small.

Locked inside. It was the fire room all over again.

Nathan rammed his shoulder against the door.

Except she didn’t have the right man beside her.

She licked her lips. “Maybe the limo’s phone is broken, and Justin’s only having a bad direction day. No need to panic.” But the pit in her stomach said otherwise. She banged on the glass separating them from driver. “Justin? You okay?”

Nathan held his phone and frowned. “I don’t have any cell service, LB.”

With trembling fingers, Bianca lifted her phone. Nathan was right. No service.

Lord, what’s happening?

Finally, the woods cleared, and the limo stopped by a pile of dirt.

Not a single building in sight. No people. Only trees and some kind of construction vehicles.

She’d signed up for a family-friendly movie when she’d arrived in Last Chance County, not a horror film. And definitely not in real life either.

The driver’s-side door opened. The limo rocked as a man got out of the car.

Shorter and sturdier than Nathan, he stomped down the length of the limo.

He wore a mask, just like the ones from the mayor’s auction. But it was the gun in his grip that made her gasp.

“I don’t want to die,” Nathan whispered.

Neither did she.

Bianca grabbed her heels that had dropped onto the floor. She put one in her palm and handed the other to Nathan. “Let me do the talking.”

Lord, give me the right words.

She needed to give her best performance yet.

TWENTY-FOUR

It was his time to pretend.

Maybe this moment wouldn’t end in disaster. And then after he’d spoken with Roger, Eddie would apologize to Bianca in person. Really, he didn’t blame her for not answering his earlier call.

Eddie fisted his fingers to keep from readjusting the wires Conroy had taped to his chest and followed a girl who looked barely out of high school to an office painted a dull matte brown. “Mr. Pointe will be right with you.”

She closed the door, and a painting of a flower vase fell off its nail on the wall.

Eddie picked it up as the office door opened again.

“Ah.” Roger raised his brows at Eddie. “You’ve already discovered this place hasn’t hired a proper decorator. I barely refrained from allowing my decorator to clean up this space, but no need to spend money on a borrowed office. My true office will be ready before we know it.”

Eddie hung the painting back up, but the frame tilted to the right. “Your confidence that you’ll win the mayoral race is infectious.”

Deep breath in. And out. He wiped his palms on his jeans. Pretending with Bianca had been so much easier. Then again, he’d stopped pretending far sooner than he’d realized.

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