He reached out as if about to lift the cap off her head; then he appeared to change his mind. “You look good, Val,” he said. “The Hollywood lifestyle must agree with you.”
“Believe me, the so-called Hollywood lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For now, it feels good to be away from there.” She’d said enough, Val cautioned herself. It was time to cut and run before he started asking questions, forcing her to lie.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you this long,” she said. “You must be anxious to change your clothes and get out of here. Good to see you, Casey. Maybe we’ll bump into each other again.”
Before he could respond, she spun away from him and fled up the lower flight of stairs to the nearest exit. The double doors at the top were closed, but she was able to push one open. It clicked shut behind her as she plunged out onto the concourse.
Only then did she realize her mistake.
She’d meant to head back behind the chute area to find her sisters. But the encounter with Casey had thrown her off balance. Gazing into his earnest brown eyes, she’d realized that she couldn’t deceive him with casual talk. He knew her too well. Stay, and he would strip away her disguise. He would see her for what she was. Just wanting to get away, she’d fled up the stairs and out through the exit doors.
She could hardly go back the way she’d come. That would only mean more questions and more lies. For now, all she could do was walk around the concourse and give him time to leave before she went in to find her family.
The concourse was almost empty. The overhead lights had been dimmed, the concession booths and ticket windows closed for the night. Here and there, custodians were sweeping up fallen debris and emptying the trash receptacles into a wheeled cart. None of them paid her any attention as she passed. From somewhere out of sight, she could hear the whirr of an industrial floor polisher.
After ten or fifteen minutes, Val paused to get her bearings. By now, Casey would’ve had plenty of time to leave. It would be all right for her to go back inside. But all the doors looked the same, and all of them were closed. The stenciled section numbers were of no help because she hadn’t taken notice of where she’d started. But never mind. All she needed to do was open any door and step back into the arena. She would see at once where she was and know where she needed to go.
She walked to the nearest set of double doors and pushed the handle.
Nothing moved. The doors were solidly locked.
Fear trickled upward from the pit of her stomach. Turning back the way she’d come, she walked to the next set of doors and pushed the bar. Locked again.
As the next set of doors also failed to open, Val realized her mistake. To exit the arena, she’d pushed a door open from the inside, but once she’d gone out, the door had closed and locked behind her. It could only be opened from the inside or with some kind of key. She was locked out of the arena.
Taking a deep breath, Val told herself not to worry. She’d seen people cleaning up. Surely one of them would be able to open a door for her. If all else failed, she had her phone in her jacket. She could call Tess to come and let her in.
But she could no longer hear the floor polisher. And when she walked partway around the concourse, she couldn’t see any of the custodial staff.
As the lights darkened overhead, Val pulled her phone out. Dead. When was the last time she’d charged it?
Feeling like a fool, she thrust the phone back into her pocket. There had to be something she could do. The outside doors were made of reinforced glass. Beyond them, she could see streetlights and hotels, glittering in the night. She could probably get out that way. But she wouldn’t be able to get in again. She’d be stuck outside, with nowhere to go except back to the hotel.
Val was weighing her options when she heard it—faintly at first, then growing closer and more distinct, the sound echoing along the concourse—the sharp cadence of footsteps.
“Hello,” she called in the direction of the sound.
There was no reply. But the footsteps kept coming closer, their rhythm steady and unchanging.
Val felt the gooseflesh rise on her arms. Fear crawled along her nerves. “Hello!” she called again. “Who are you? Answer me.”
Again, there was no reply, only the sound of footsteps, ringing through the silent concourse.
Was she losing her mind? Maybe. But after what had happened at lunch today, she couldn’t dismiss any possibility.
Fear exploded in her. She pounded on the nearest door. Surely there had to be someone inside the arena who could hear her. “I’m locked out!” she shouted, pounding harder. “Let me in!”
Seconds crawled past. She could still hear the footsteps, coming closer. She could feel her heart hammering her ribs. Should she run, try to hide, or just scream and pray that she’d be heard?
At that moment there was a sound from the other side of the entrance, metal parts moving, the creak of a hinge as the door opened. Casey stood there in the glow of the exit light. “Val, are you okay?” He’d changed into jeans and a leather jacket. “Your sisters were worried when you didn’t show up.”
“Close the door!” she gasped, stumbling over the threshold. “Somebody’s out there!”
“Wait.” Casey opened the door wider. Now Val could see the glow of a flashlight. It came closer as a security guard walked up to them. “Is everything all right?” The guard, young, with an acne-scarred face, was wearing earbuds. The rap music coming through them was so loud that Val could hear it from where she stood. That would explain why he hadn’t heard her shouting.
“Everything’s fine,” Casey said. “The lady just locked herself out.”
The guard walked away, the sound of his footfalls a match to the ones that had terrified Val earlier. Relief buckled her knees. Shaking, she stumbled toward the steps that led back down to the chute level.
“Val, what is it?” Casey had paused to close the door. He crossed the distance between them in a single stride, caught her shoulder, and pulled her around to face him. His eyes examined her face in the glow of the exit light. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you sick?”
“No, nothing like that. Just a little scare out there when I discovered I was locked out.”
“A little scare? You looked terrified when I opened that door.”
“It was nothing. Just a silly mistake. I heard that guard coming and I thought he might be somebody else.” As soon as the words were out, Val realized she’d said too much.
“What do you mean, somebody else?” Casey demanded. “Val, are you in some kind of danger?”
“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine. Just let me go, Casey. Forget you even saw me tonight.”
Before he could reply, Casey’s cell phone jingled. Releasing her, he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID before answering.
“Hey, Tess . . . Yes, I found her. Everything’s fine. She just took the wrong door and got locked out . . . No need to wait. Go on back to the hotel. I’ll see that she gets there.”
Val knew she could walk away now; and maybe she should. But she also knew Casey. He wouldn’t be satisfied with the crumbs of information she’d tossed him. Protection was his livelihood and to him, it wasn’t just a job. It was ingrained in his nature.