His interest in Katrina was professional. If he kept telling himself that, everything would be just fine.
* * *
After finishing her morning training schedule, Katrina had decided to take Dobby and Holly to the nearby park. The dogs didn’t need the exercise. There was more than enough to keep them occupied at Look Who’s Walking. The reason for the walk was actually to clear her head.
She’d spent much of the previous night dwelling on the incident she’d witnessed with the irate woman and the AAG members. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she became. It had been such an extreme reaction to
a minor incident. And the way Randall and Bart had hustled the woman had looked practiced, something they’d done before. After musing over it for most of the morning, she had decided to put aside her reservations about Spencer and call him. When he’d suggested lunch, she’d turned around and headed back through the park the way she came.
The entrance to Mustang Park was at the southern end of Mustang Boulevard. It was a well-kept public space with picnic tables, paths and a large wooded area that was popular with dog walkers. Holly loved to run along with her nose to the ground, sniffing out creatures both real and imagined. After watching her for a moment or two, Dobby had enthusiastically joined in.
It was when she had retraced her steps, passing the picnic area and entering the woodland that Katrina became conscious of a man walking close behind her. Turning her head slightly, she saw out of the corner of her eye that he was just a few steps away. That shouldn’t have been a cause for alarm and she tried to dismiss the prickly feeling along the back of her neck. It was just that too much had gone on over the last few days and she knew she was now feeling jumpy without any real cause...
When she sensed him drawing nearer, she called the dogs back to her and attached their leash. She’d wanted fresh air, but not at the expense of the theft of her wallet. Or worse. Swinging around, she prepared to face the guy, even challenge him, if necessary. To her surprise, though, the mysterious figure had gone.
Feeling relieved, and slightly foolish, she continued along the narrow track between the trees. She was in a lonely space, and at this time of day, there were few other people around. After she had walked for several minutes, she glanced to her right and into the denser tree cover. Her heart leaped when she saw the same hooded man moving among the tree trunks.
Coincidence. That was what she tried to tell herself as she increased her pace. But the image of Randall Cook’s face as he caught her with her cell in her hand as she watched the scene with the unhappy woman persistently intruded into her thoughts. She had no reason to believe this man was connected to that incident—had no real reason to believe he was following her—but her nerves were stretched like a rubber band.
Abruptly, she changed direction. If this man was trailing her, she wanted to find out for sure. Once again, she lost sight of him and her fears subsided. Why would anyone follow her? She was allowing her worries over Eliza to spill over and affect every part of her life.
She took comfort from the fact that the dogs were with her. They hadn’t shown any signs of sensing danger, and they would surely try to protect her if they had.
Forcing her breathing back to a normal rhythm, she continued in the direction that would lead her back to her starting point. And her breath caught in her throat as she saw the guy blocking the path ahead of her. His head was down, his face shadowed by his hood. He was tall and strong looking, without being obviously muscular, and she didn’t think she knew him.
A glance over her shoulder confirmed her worst fears. They were in an isolated part of the woods and there was no escape.
She was trying to decide what to do next when he started walking toward her. Dobby, usually the friendliest of dogs, emitted a low growl. Like a gazelle in the path of a stalking predator, Katrina froze. Her eyes darted back and forth but her muscles were incapable of movement.
As he got within a few feet, an increase in background noise broke the spell. Distant at first, it became clearer and louder. It was the sound of children talking and provided the release Katrina needed. Breaking into a run, she darted through the trees, in the direction of the voices.
Becoming increasingly scared every second that a hand might suddenly grab her shoulder, she powered onward over the rough terrain with the dogs keeping pace. Up ahead, she could see movement and dashes of color. Finally, she broke through into a small clearing, where a group of what looked like kindergarten pupils and their teacher were spotting plants and bugs. It was close to a place where she and Eliza used to play as kids, and the warm memories comforted her.
Fumbling her cell from her pocket, she found Spencer’s number. At first, her breath was coming so fast she was barely able to gasp out his name.
“Katrina? I’m just on my way to your place.”
“In the woods... I thought he was, but I wasn’t sure.” She knew she wasn’t making sense and forced herself to slow down. “I just got away from some guy who was following me.”
“Where are you?” Spencer, it seemed, wasn’t going to waste time on unnecessary questions.
“Mustang Park.”
“I’m on my way.”
* * *
As he headed toward Mustang Park, Spencer focused on driving safely but speedily, and tried to clear his thoughts of any comparisons of Katrina’s situation with his own past. Four years ago, his fiancée, Billie Mikkelsen, a rookie cop, had been lured into a guy’s apartment after answering a call about a suspected domestic dispute. Once there, she had been taken hostage and held for two days before being murdered.
Not again. Spencer gripped the steering wheel tighter. He told himself it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t close to Katrina. He never would be. Billie’s tragic death was the reason why he had closed his heart to another relationship. Love was an incredible gift, but it brought with it the risk of loss and he couldn’t put himself through that pain again. Until now, it hadn’t been an issue. He hadn’t gone beyond an initial attraction to anyone else in that time. Katrina had blown him away at first sight, but he couldn’t let it go anywhere, couldn’t take another chance with his fragile heart.
He would always miss Billie and mourn the closeness they’d shared. Sure, there were times when he craved love and intimacy. But the price of attachment was too high in any circumstances. With Katrina, a woman who was likely already in danger? It would be like stepping back into his worst nightmare.
After parking his vehicle at the side of the road close to the park entrance, he released Boris from his compartment and together, they dashed toward the main gates. As he ran, Spencer took out his cell phone and called Katrina.
He didn’t bother with a greeting. “Describe your location.”
When she spoke, he could hear background noise, almost as if she was surrounded by chattering children. “I’ve just left the park. There was a kindergarten class doing a nature study, so I stayed with them. I think the guy who followed me headed toward the old, disused gates on Western Drive, but I can’t be sure. I’m at the intersection of Mustang Boulevard and Western. The kids are going back to school and I was going to head toward work.”