He left the car to use the pay phone, but he refused to take his eyes off her.

She’d been taken so quickly the last time, he didn’t dare leave her alone for a second.

The image of her being shoved into that horrible van and whisked away while he watched in broad daylight still haunted him.

When he picked up the receiver, he heard the dial tone that meant it was still working. Thank God.

The police department answered, and Cole immediately launched into the story of Heather’s kidnapping and rescue. The police listened carefully and asked several follow-up questions. Then they told him the truth, and he became angrier by the minute as he heard it.

“We’ve been aware of this gang’s activities for a while now,” the officer said. “A reliable source told us their plans with Jessica Johnson, so we’ve had protection on her for several weeks now.”

Cole growled into the phone. “If you knew, why wasn’t something done about it?”

“We’re working on it,” the officer said. “We didn’t think the danger would extend to her stunt double. Unfortunately, we didn’t foresee that.”

“Unfortunately,” Cole echoed.

“More unfortunately, you’re involved now. If you’ve seen their faces, you’ll be on their hit list. We can get protection to you, but this gang doesn’t mess around. An even better option would be for you to… disappear.”

Cole narrowed his eyes at the word disappear . “What’s that entail, exactly?” he asked.

The officer sighed deeply. “Avoid going home. Avoid going anywhere they may expect you. Get yourself a couple of burner phones, and hide out for a few days. We’re close to finding the rest of them.

We just want to make sure we have all of them before we make a move.

That way none of them will have time to escape justice.

And that way none of them will come after you later.

They’re organized and vindictive. Do you understand? ”

“But what about our jobs?” Cole asked.

“We’ll inform the studio what the situation is. They can reschedule your shoots as needed.” The officer paused. “Your family, too. If there’s anyone we can contact to let them know you’re safe and under our protection, just let us know.”

Cole gestured for Heather to come to the phone. She got out of the car, and he couldn’t help noticing how tired she looked, understandably. “They say we have to lay low while they go after these guys.”

“What does that mean?” she asked when she came close enough.

“It means we can’t go home,” he said. “And we can’t call anyone. But they’ll call for us if we give them the right contact information.”

“Oh, I should tell them to call my mom.” Cole handed the receiver to Heather and listened to her give the police her mom’s contact information. When she was finished, she handed the receiver back to Cole. “Did you have someone’s information to give them?” she said.

He shook his head before taking the receiver back.

“Really?” she asked with a concerned look on her face. Why she should be concerned for him when she had just been kidnapped and duct-taped to a chair, he had no idea.

He just smiled at her, thanked the police officer, and hung up the phone.

Then he walked with Heather back to his car.

She sat in the passenger seat, but he had her keep her feet outside the car.

The duct tape was still wrapped around her ankles.

Though it no longer tied her to the chair, it would be conspicuous while they were out and about.

Also, he thought anything that helped her to feel normal right now was a good thing.

Cole gently cut away the tape, careful not to let it sting too much where it stuck to her skin. She hadn’t said much since he’d rescued her, and he assumed it was because of shock. That theory was all but confirmed when she started to shake in her seat.

“You’re going to be okay,” he assured her in a quiet, steady voice. “I promise.”

That was when she finally broke down. Cole put his arms around her and held her there while she cried.

She had been through so much, and she had been so brave.

Now, she needed to feel comforted and safe, and he was going to be the one to give that to her.

He let her cry until she was all out of tears.

Then he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a little travel bag of tissues.

“I can’t believe you came for me,” Heather said when she’d finished blowing her nose. “Thank you so much. It doesn’t sound like enough when I say it, but seriously. Thank you.”

“I just couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.” He stood up and winked at her. “I mean we never even finished our date.”

She smiled at that, and he was happy to see her smile again, even if it was a sad one. “You’re good to have in a crisis,” she said as he got back into the driver’s seat. “So where are we going next?”

He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “We’re getting me another pair of shoes, and we’re renting a new car. I don’t want to drive this one around anymore. They’ve seen it. They’ve even put a few bullet holes in the trunk already.”

“Really?” Heather turned around as though she could see it, but Cole knew she wouldn’t.

He nodded. “We got lucky. We shouldn’t test our luck again.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let’s not.”