Perched on the guy's shoulders, she held out the phone and started taking photos – or maybe video – of the vandalized sedan. For herself? Or for someone else?
Did it matter?
No.
Watching her, I was powerless to move. Not too long ago, I'd held her. She'd been mine – the girl I'd been wanting for years. But like a dumb-ass, I'd lost her in the space of a few short hours.
I'd taken punches that didn't hurt half as bad.
I was still watching when something else caught my eye – movement just behind Shaggy. It was the older guy, edging backward until he stood a couple of paces behind Chloe. After a quick glance around, the guy looked up, zooming in on Chloe's backside.
He gave a sly grin and craned his neck for a closer look. What the hell? Was he looking at her ass? And just howgoodof a look was he getting, anyway?
Before I knew it, I was on the move, jostling my way forward until something made me freeze in my tracks. It was the sight of Chloe, motionless now, looking straight at me.
Our eyes met across the distance. Her lips parted, and she lowered the phone. Around me, the noise of the crowd faded to nothing. Their faces blurred, and time stood still. She looked straight into my eyes.
And then, a split-second later, she was gone.
Son-of-a-bitch.
That idiot had dropped her.
Chapter 3
Frantically, I scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of her. One minute she'd been there. And then, she'd been tumbling forward out of sight.
The pavement was hard. The crowd was massive. She was small and underdressed, with bare legs and a thin, short coat that would do nothing to cushion her fall.
I could hardly breathe. Was she okay?
A split-second later, I was on the move, dodging bodies and vehicles as I took the only route not blocked by police tape. Unfortunately, it was thelongway, around the nearest tour bus. I was halfway past it when a male voice called out from somewhere behind me, "Hey! Aren't you–"
"No!" I called back, and kept on going.
Because right now, I wasn't Lawton Rastor, the guy everyone thought they knew. I was something else, a maniac on a mission. Ihadto find her. Now.
But when I reached the area where I'd seen her last, there was no sign of her – or of the asshole who'd dropped her. Near the spot where she'd been standing, I spotted the pervert who'd been ogling her ass. I shouldered my way toward him and said, "The girl who fell – where is she?"
At something in my expression, he backed up, hard and fast, bumping into the side of a nearby Chevy. "Where's who?"
"The girl who'sassyou were looking at." I gave him a hard look. "My girlfriend. That's who."
The guy swallowed. "Your girlfriend?" He glanced around as if looking for a quick escape.
In this crowd? It wasn't gonna happen. I leaned closer. "Whereisshe?" At this point, his earlier ass-ogling was the least of my concerns. "Tell me," I demanded. "Was she hurt?"
"I, uh, don't think so."
"You don'tthinkso?" It wasn't good enough. Ihadto see for myself. "Where'd she go?"
"Uh, the car, I think."
"Hercar?"
"Yeah. Maybe." He glanced around. "I don't know. The guy's phone got busted up, so…"
Screw the phone. Those things were replaceable. Chloe wasn't. I was already on the move. From our history, I knew exactly where Chloe parked. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the building, in the employee parking lot.
