“I do love him,” Penny admitted. “I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to see it.”

“It takes as long as it takes.” Julia patted her hand. “Now, let’s take a moment to hope for him.”

*   *   *   *   *

THE SOUND OF gunshots had Tank and Matt on their feet. They glanced at each other while the girls huddled closer together, and he could hear one of them crying softly.

“He would want us to stay here,” Tank stated. It was clear the other guy didn’t like it any more than he did.

“I can go outside the door. Technically, I wouldn’t be leaving the client.”

Tank glanced back at the girls. “Do it. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on. Those guys could be building a bomb in the hallway. I feel like we’re sitting ducks if we stay here.”

Matt moved the dressing table from in front of the door. Tank stood to the side, his gun at the ready. Matt eased the door open to peer into the hallway.

“I don’t see anything,” he muttered in a low voice.

They opened the door wider. Matt stuck his hand out. Nothing happened. So he stepped out into the hallway. Something slammed into his side. He pushed it off and swung around. The man who’d tried to stab him earlier looked just as surprised to see him. He must have been running from something else.

Before the guy could react, Matt punched him in the face. He dropped like a stone. Matt took his weapon and unloaded it, tossing the gun to the side.

“Nice one.” Tank grabbed the guy by the shirt and dragged him in the room where he handcuffed him and pushed him against the far wall. The girls looked horrified to have the guy in the same room with them, but it was necessary. They couldn’t chance leaving him outside where his partner could possibly find and free him.

“Okay, I’m going back out. Maybe the other one will show up.”

“Or maybe I’ll show up.” Eli appeared in the doorway. Both Matt and Tank were so startled they drew their weapons, then immediately lowered them.

“Sorry, boss.” Tank went back to securing the suspect. He tied something around his feet so he couldn’t move even if he woke up.

Eli came farther into the room and closed the door. When he saw the man hog-tied in the corner, he immediately pulled out his phone. “My men caught one suspect. We have him detained. I’ll wait for further instructions.” Eli listened for a moment, then hung up.

“They’re sending a SWAT team in. They want us to stay put until—” Shots splintered the door behind them, then started coming through the wall. It was obvious the dressing room wasn’t solidly constructed because bullets were tearing through the drywall like it was tissue paper.

“Get down! Get down!”

Eli threw himself on top of Kaylee and took her to the ground. They all covered their heads as more shots exploded through the wall. When it finally went silent, they all drew their weapons.

“Girls, get in the bathroom,” Eli ordered.

Kay jumped up and ran for the bathroom, the other girls close on her heels. The door closed behind them. Matt, Eli, and Tank spread out in the room. If the guy crashed in, there was no way he’d be able to hit all of them. A second later, the door exploded inward.

“Drop your weapon,” Eli warned.

“Or we will shoot,” Matt added.

Matt watched as the guy swung toward him. His eyes were crazed as he realized he was outnumbered. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“What do you want from her? Why are you stalking her?” Eli asked. The guy swung back toward him. He was panicking, Matt observed. Having them talk at him from two sides was confusing him, dividing his attention.

“Nothing. He said this would be an easy job. He didn’t say anything about bodyguards.”

“Who? Who said it would be an easy job?” Eli’s face was twisted into a mask of rage. He’d been working for months trying to uncover the identity of Kaylee’s stalker. So far it had just been threatening letters, but it seemed the guy had graduated his efforts. He was no longer trying to get close to her. He was trying to kill her. He wanted it badly enough to hire out.

“Who said it would be an easy job?” Eli demanded.

Matt edged closer, using the guy’s distraction to put himself between the line of fire and the bathroom where the girls were hidden. The guy whipped his head toward Matt and fear flashed across his face when he saw how close he was.

“I know what you’re trying to do. You tricked me!” He raised his gun and a sudden pain stabbed into Matt’s side.

There was an explosion of gunfire as Matt, Eli, and Tank all discharged their weapons at the same time. When he lowered his weapon, the suspect lay on the ground, blood already pooling beneath him.

A throbbing pain in his side brought Matt’s attention back to himself. He looked down at the hole in his shirt. “The bastard shot me.”

That was going to hurt in a minute, he thought dimly.

*   *   *   *   *

PENNY HADN’T THOUGHT there was anything worse than being on the outskirts of Matt’s friends and family as they’d prayed. But being included in their circle, hearing the stories of how loyal he was and what a great friend and brother he was just reminded her of all the experiences they hadn’t had yet.

It also made her think about him actively. The purpose of a prayer session was to remember him and focus their energy on him, but Penny couldn’t do that. She couldn’t think about him without wondering where he was right then. Was he in danger? In pain?