Every Waking Moment(60)
Author: Brenda Novak

“I know. Listen, I’m running a little late. Do you mind if we meet in an hour or so?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Great. Sorry for the inconvenience. Some guy just came to my room, looking for his wife and kid—” He glanced up to see that Manuel had left the bedroom and was watching him. “Hang on,” he said, and made a show of covering the mouthpiece. “All done?”

Manuel’s gaze raked over him. “Did you touch her?”

The other end of the line fell silent as Preston let his eyebrows shoot up. “Excuse me?”

“Did you have sex with my wife?”

Who the hell did Manuel think he was? Preston wanted to beat him to a pulp, to vent his rage over everything Emma had told him. But he needed to get Manuel out of here. “Listen, pal, I’m on a business call here.”

“Did you touch her? Answer me and I’ll leave.”

“You’ll leave anyway.”

“Preston, be careful,” Emma said.

“I’ve got to go,” he told her. “I’ll call you right back.” He hung up and stood so Manuel would know he was willing to enforce his demands. “I’ve been more than accommodating. Now get out.”

Manuel didn’t move. “What airline did she take? Did she say where she was going?”

“Go to hell. I don’t owe you a damn thing.”

That muscle twitched in Manuel’s cheek again, and his eyes nearly glowed red with rage. “You’d better hope we don’t meet again.”

Preston held the door. “Yeah, next time I might not be so nice.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

SITTING IN ONE of the stalls in the restroom located off the main lobby of the Hilton, Emma hugged Max tightly. She’d been about to step onto the elevator when Preston called. If she and Max hadn’t spent so much time at the Maverick Mini-store, picking out his sucker…

“Mom—”

She immediately covered her son’s mouth. “Shh.” Luckily, they were alone in the restroom. The hotel was experiencing the usual midday lull between checkout and check-in.

He pried her hand away. “But I’m hungry,” he whispered loudly.

Emma knew it was his way of pressing her for the sucker she had in her purse. He wouldn’t leave her alone until she gave it to him.

She stopped worrying about making him eat lunch first and handed him his treat. She didn’t want his blood sugar to go low—especially now. And she thought having something in his mouth would keep him quiet.

“Why are we sitting on the toilet if we don’t have to go potty?” he asked as he eagerly accepted her offering.

Because sitting on the toilet was better than sitting on the floor, which was their other option.

Preston’s cell phone rang, giving Emma a good excuse not to bother with an explanation. She hurried to silence the noise. “Hello?” she murmured softly.

“He’s gone.”

“Are you okay?” Her words were barely a whisper because she feared Manuel might be standing outside in the lobby. He always seemed to be a half step behind her. Why? How? It was uncanny how he dogged her every move; it undermined her confidence.

“I’m fine,” he said. “And you?”

She released her breath. Preston was safe. After what Manuel had said to her on the phone…“We’re okay.”

The elevator was just a few feet from the bathroom. She heard the bing, bing of the bell and imagined Manuel getting off. Had he left the building or only their room? Was he hovering right outside the door? Hiding behind a potted plant? Lurking outside in the lobby?

“I’m sorry,” she said to Preston.

“Don’t apologize. Listen, he could still be in the hotel, so stay away.”

“Stay away? We’re trapped in the lobby bathroom,” she murmured, terrified that Manuel might somehow be within earshot.

“Good.” There was a pause. “Okay, stay there. Wait fifteen or twenty minutes, then meet me at Temple Square. It’s right in the middle of town, within walking distance. If you haven’t heard of it, ask someone on the street. Almost anyone can direct you. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“I’ll be waiting at the entrance on North Temple. I can’t remember if there’s more than one gate, but if so, go to the one farthest west.”

He’d told her to wait fifteen or twenty minutes, but she sat in the bathroom for another half hour, just to be safe. Then she led Max cautiously through the lobby and out a side door, onto the street.

THE SPIRES of the Mormon temple rose up from the block called Temple Square, which served as the very center of the city. Inside the gates, Preston glimpsed beautifully manicured trees, lawns and flower beds, as well as several elegant buildings. But he had eyes only for the two figures huddled outside the square, near the stone fence. Finally, Emma and Max had arrived. Preston had circled the block fifteen times already—until he was crazed with worry that Manuel had caught up with them, after all.

Pulling to the curb, he opened Emma’s door. “Get in.”

“Hi, Preston!” Max acted as though they hadn’t seen each other for days.

“Hi, Beast,” he murmured. “Put on your seat belt, okay?”

Emma made sure Max obeyed, then climbed in the front, and Preston merged into traffic.

“You okay?” he asked, glancing over at her pale face.

She nodded. “What did—” She lowered her voice. “What happened?”

Preston checked over his shoulder to see Max staring curiously out the window at people moving along the wide sidewalk surrounding Temple Square. “He came to the room.”

“How?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

“What did he say?”

“He wanted to know where you were, of course.”

“How did you respond?”

“I told him I gave you a ride from Ely and that you stayed with me last night.”

“You did?”

“I wasn’t sure what he already knew, so I wanted to keep as close to the truth as possible.”

“How’d you get rid of him?”

“I told him I dropped you off at the airport. I even let him come in and nose around, hoping to convince him that I didn’t have anything to hide.”

Relief eased the tautness in her face. “That was smart.”

He turned right on State Street. “I’m not sure he bought it completely, but it was plausible enough to get rid of him for the time being.”