Howie blew out a breath. “I’m the only other person who has access. If I do, he’ll know it was me. I may go down for this anyway, but someone else has to be the one to carry her out of that room.”
“Well . . . how about this,” Sara said, thinking on the fly. “Could you leave a key for me somewhere?” Marz’s pencil flew over the pad of paper. Sara read it and nodded. “Like maybe somewhere in the big party room?”
“Uh, oh, Jesus. Yeah. I could maybe duct tape it under the bathroom sink in there. But how will that help you?”
“It just will, Howie. Thank you so much,” Sara said, pressing her hand to her mouth.
“This whole thing is just wrong. Who your father was, you girls ought to be treated like princesses around here. I’ll keep an eye on her, Crystal. Don’t you worry.”
Totally impossible, but she appreciated the sentiment and the protectiveness. “Okay,” she managed, as her eyes scanned over a note Marz had written. Sara nodded. “One last question, Howie. Do you know where Bruno’s meeting’s happening tonight?”
“Oh, lordy.” Howie’s sigh was troubled yet resigned, a sound she’d heard from him many times before when he’d learned about bad things going on around the club. “Parking garage at Wicomico and Ostend,” he said in an almost whisper. The line went dead.
“Holy shit,” Marz said. “You did great, Sara. And we’re in business. I’ll call Nick and Beckett and tell them to get their asses—”
“Tell us what?” Nick asked, walking in the door with a briefcase in his hand. Becca and Beckett joined them at the island.
Now that the urgency of the call was over, Sara’s body wouldn’t stop shaking. And though the news was mostly good—Jenna safe for now, the location of the delivery for the team—adrenaline left her feeling like she was going to cry. Not something she wanted to do in front of all these people. “I’m gonna . . . go,” she whispered to Shane, pointing back down the hall. She didn’t give him time to stop her. As she retreated, she heard Shane and Marz recount the conversation and the other men’s animated responses.
Back in Shane’s room, Sara sank onto the edge of Shane’s bed. God, Bruno was really serious about selling Jenna. Sara’s worst nightmare come true. A light knock against the door. “Um, come in?” she said.
“Hey,” Shane said, stepping into the room, a concerned expression on his handsome face “You okay? I’m sorry I didn’t come back right away.”
She smiled. “I’m okay. Actually, Howie’s call was kinda reassuring.” And it was true. If she could just forget what happened if they weren’t successful.
“Yeah,” Shane said, coming closer. He rubbed her arms. “I wish I could spend the day with you, but now that we have this location intel, we need to scout it.”
“Oh. Of course.”
“Becca will still be here, though. And Jeremy’s downstairs in the tattoo shop. Don’t hesitate to let either know if you need something. Okay?” He leaned in for a soft, slow kiss.
“Okay. I’ll be fine,” she said, even though she hated the thought of Shane’s leaving. Part of her yearned for the bubble of happiness and love they’d stepped into early this morning. Silly. And selfish. Jenna’s return and the team’s safety were the most important things here.
“Can I see your phone, please?” he asked. She handed it over and, while she watched, he programmed his number in, then called himself so he’d have her number, too. A buzz sounded from his pocket. “Call me if you need me for anything.”
“I will. But if you need to go, go. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay,” he said, cupping her face and kissing her again. “I won’t be long.” He smiled as he left, shutting the door behind him.
For a few minutes, Sara stood there, staring at the door. The silence and solitude of the room closed in on her. Maybe there was something she could do, some way she could help. Determined, she left the room in search of something or someone who might need her, so she could avoid going crazy.
Sara found Becca sitting alone at the breakfast bar, a pile of stuffing and fabric in front of her. “Did they leave already?” she asked.
Becca looked up and smiled. “Yeah.”
Sara’s stomach growled. After skipping dinner last night, the bagel she’d had for breakfast wasn’t holding her. “Do you mind if I find something for lunch?”
“Of course not. There’s stuff for sandwiches and salads. Cans of soup in the cabinet. Maybe some leftover Chinese.” Becca shifted to slide off the stool.
“No, please. I can get it. Do you want something?” she asked, opening the fridge. All the fixings for sandwiches were right in front, so Sara grabbed those and brought them to the island.
“Actually, yeah. I would, thanks.” Becca matched two pieces of plush fake brown fur together.
Sara tried to figure out what Becca was doing as she made the sandwiches, asking Becca her preferences as she built them. Finally, she settled a plate with a sandwich and some chips in front of the other woman, careful not to mess up her project. “Something to drink?” Sara asked, grabbing a Sprite.
“I’ll have the same, thanks,” she said distractedly.
Sara brought the drinks and slid on to the seat next to Becca. “What are you working on?”
“This used to be a teddy bear, but it got dissected.”
Sara chuckled. “I’ll say. Are you trying to reassemble it?” she asked, wondering if she should offer to help. This was actually something she could be useful for. Sara took a bite of her sandwich and savored the crusty roll, savory ham and cheese, and crunch of the lettuce.
“It was from my dad, so . . .” Becca shrugged and pushed the fabric away as she pulled her plate closer.
“Well, I really love to sew if you want me to take a shot at it,” Sara said. It’d be a great distraction, too. Something to do with her hands while the man she loved put himself in harm’s way to get ready for saving her sister tonight. Where he’d do it all over again.
Becca’s expression brightened. “Really? That would be awesome. What do you sew?”
“I make a lot of our clothes. And occasionally I quilt.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. I’m not very creative,” she said.
As the women ate, they chatted about Becca’s job, Charlie and Jenna, and everything that had happened in the past week from Becca’s perspective. Sara liked Becca’s openness and friendliness, and it made her feel less awkward about being here without Shane. Becca cleaned up their lunch mess and fixed bowls of ice cream, and Sara savored every sweet spoonful. When they were finally done with their leisurely lunch, Becca tidied up while Sara sorted through the parts of the bear.
She could totally put this thing back together. Having something to do made her happy, especially since it was for Becca. “Do you have a sewing kit?” Sara asked.
“A very sad one, yes,” Becca said, pointing to the small tin that included two needles, a thimble, and three colors of thread, white, black, and brown.
Sara chuckled. “I can make that work.” She reassembled the legs first, then attached them to the body. Turning the torso inside out, she sewed the back seam closed, then turned it right-side out again. “Look, I made you a headless bear,” she said.
“Thank you so much, Sara. The poor thing would’ve been deformed if I’d tried to put it together.”
“You’re welcome,” Sara said, smiling. “If you stuff the body, I’ll sew the head back together; and then I’ll just need to reattach it.” Becca dove into the task of stuffing as Sara looked at the fabric for the head. It hadn’t been opened cleanly along the seam, so she’d need to figure out how to hide the tear without puckering the back of the head. She flipped the material around to look at the bear’s face. “Oh, his eye’s loose.” Sara looked closer. “I think this was glued on rather than sewn.”