Chapter 17 #2
Jason surveyed the room. "We can chat him up at the bar, but I don't want him getting too nervous.
If he does have a detonator in his pocket, I don't want him setting it off.
I don't know how professional this guy really is.
He built bombs for Byron because he owed them something. He's not even getting paid for this."
Knox glanced over just in time to see the man stand and leave the bar. "Okay, where's he—"
Allie leaned back in her seat to get a better look. "He just entered the men's restroom."
"Well, that makes things easy," Knox said.
Jason nodded.
Knox placed his hand on Allie's arm. "Stay here. We'll be back."
Allie tried not to stare at the door to the men's restroom while she waited for Knox and Jason. But with nothing to do but wait and wonder what danger they were facing, fear crawled into her stomach and threatened to overwhelm her with anxiety-fueled nausea.
She'd almost worked up the courage to enter the men's room herself when she spotted Knox and Jason walking back toward the table. She glanced back at the restroom door. The man hadn't exited.
Knox looked at her and waved for her to follow. "We're leaving."
She scooted out of the booth and followed them out of the bar.
"What's going on?" she asked Knox when they entered the lobby.
He nodded toward the elevators. "In a minute," he whispered.
They waited for the elevator for a grueling thirty seconds that felt much longer.
Once the elevator doors closed, she turned to Knox. "What happened?"
A steady tension hummed behind his features, but a softness infused his gaze when he looked at her. "Well, you weren't wrong," he said. "That guy was definitely up to something, and he knew where the blind spots were on the cameras. But he's not our bomber."
Jason leaned against the far wall. "He had drugs in his pocket. He sells drugs to guests."
"Oh." Allie's chest felt heavy. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," said Jason. "You caught a drug dealer. We flushed all the drugs he had on him. But we need to concentrate on the bomber now."
"I wasted our time," she said.
"You couldn't have known," said Knox. "It's fine. Just keep working. We'll find the bomber."
Jason and Knox filled her in on their conversation with Kendall.
"Five o'clock? That gives us barely an hour and a half."
"It will be enough," Knox stated with absolute certainty. Certainty she wished she felt.
Walking down the hall to Room 336, she stayed a couple of steps behind Jason. Knox walked next to her. She felt his gaze flick toward her several times, but she tried to ignore him. Her confidence was plummeting. The familiar self-doubt washed over her in waves.
Jason and Knox were both being nice about it, but she really did waste time they didn't have by going after the drug dealer.
She would try to look for the bomber, but what if she kept making the same mistake?
There were probably plenty of other people at the hotel acting nervous for a myriad of reasons.
There could be someone else doing drugs, having an affair, maybe stealing something from the hotel.
What if that's all she did for the next hour and a half?
Find people who looked nervous that had nothing to do with the bombs?
Byron wanted to make a point. If the bombs go off, people could die, and it would be her fault.
They slowed at Room 336. Jason opened it, and she started to follow him in, but Knox tugged her arm.
"We'll be there in a minute," Knox called to Jason.
Jason bounced his gaze from Knox to Allie, then back to Knox. He gave a curt nod. "Be quick."
Knox responded with a chin lift and let the door shut, leaving Allie and himself alone in the hallway.
"What is it?" she asked.
He nodded toward the door of his hotel room. "Give me one minute."
She wasn't sure what was going on, but the intensity in his gaze compelled her to nod and follow him into his room. The second the door shut, he took both her hands in his.
"We don't have much time, but I need to talk to you alone. I know what you're thinking. I can see it all over your face." Tender concern rolled through his words. "You can't let a few minutes lost on that drug dealer trigger you. We've got to focus. You've got to keep working. You can do this."
She'd known she was spiraling in the hallway, but she didn't know Knox saw through her so easily. "I'm going to try."
She heard a voice yelling in her head that trying wasn't good enough. That she was incompetent. That people might die. And it would be her fault.
Anxiety exploded in her stomach. Claws of self-doubt tore through the last of her confidence.
She'd been a fool to think she could do this.
Maybe she'd accepted this mission out of stubbornness.
Or pride. She should have learned from her mistake three months ago—she wasn't as talented as she'd let herself believe.
She couldn't read people that well. She'd made a huge mistake in letting WhiteRock trust her again.
Knox gripped her upper arms. "Allie, listen to me. I see the fear in your eyes. I get it, but I need you to push through it. You can do this."
"I . . . I don't know. If I'm wrong . . ." Icy dread flooded her body. Her arms trembled. Was this a panic attack?
Knox gently cupped her face. "Oh, Allie.
Please listen to me." His voice dropped an octave.
Deep, husky, and infused with worry. "Focus on me, baby, please.
Don't let your mind go wherever it's trying to go right now.
Don't listen to those lies. That's the enemy.
God put you here for a reason. He's got you.
If God didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here. "
She sensed a whisper of truth in his words, but emotion constricted her throat.
His thumbs stroked her cheeks. "You gave me an incredible, heartfelt speech earlier about how much you trusted me. Was that true?"
She gripped his muscular forearms while he cradled her face, wishing she could absorb some of his strength. "What?" It came out more like a croak. She swallowed and tried again. "Yes, yes, that was completely true. I meant every word and I still do, but that doesn't—"
"Then trust me right now." The confident strength in his voice held her attention.
"You're a valuable member of this team. End of story.
I think you wallowed in your mistakes for three months, and your perspective is off.
So just trust what I'm saying. You're good at what you do.
You're here because you're supposed to be here.
Stop letting misplaced doubt mess with your head. "
He pressed his forehead to hers, his deep voice barely above a whisper. "Trust me. Don't believe those lies."
She wasn't the force of self-assurance she wanted to be, but maybe that was the wrong goal. Maybe she was just supposed to trust. Trust God. Trust Knox. And put one foot in front of the other.
The night Knox kissed her scar, she was positive God was saying she could trust the godly man cradling her face right now. If that was true—and she knew in her soul that it was—then she needed to trust Knox's confidence and his discernment. Even about her own abilities.
He lifted his head.
She nodded. "Okay."
He searched her face. "Really?"
She nodded again and sucked in a full breath. "Yeah. Really. Thank you." She took another deep breath. "I'm ready."
His gaze continued to assess her eyes, and everything behind them. He slid his thumbs across her cheeks one more time, like he was afraid to let go.
His expression hinted at a smile. He gave a slow nod and slipped his hands from her face.
"Okay, then. But hey, when you're looking through the rest of the footage, just point out anyone suspicious.
Jason and I will check out whatever you find.
Don't worry about being one hundred percent sure it's the bomber.
We'll work with what we have." He squeezed her hands.
"Okay."
Something strong and confident flashed in his gaze.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers—a two-second kiss full of undeniable promise.
Words not needed. She heard him loud and clear.
His speech had been more than a pep-talk to get her through the next ninety minutes.
He'd meant every word. And he'd be there—with that devoted look in his eyes—no matter what happened today.
Fresh confidence and determination surged through her. She placed a hand on his chest with a smile. "Let's go find this guy."
Less than a minute later, she sat in front of one of Rowan's monitors, staring at tourists going about their business, blissfully unaware three bombs ticked nearby.
The voice of lies in her head had fallen silent. The panicked trembling gone. She plowed through the weeds of seemingly endless security footage, thankful for her refreshed assurance. She felt like herself again, doing what she was designed to do.
Knox spoke the words, but she knew where the truth came from.
Thank you, God, for reminding me that you're in control. Not me. And that I just need to trust you.
A verse drifted into her thoughts. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Knowing she could trust God to direct her steps removed an unwanted weight from her mind. Which was good—because she needed every bit of brain space to search for the bomber.
She studied throngs of resort guests—people entering and exiting elevators, passing through hallways—until a sickening boom sounded in the distance.
She locked eyes with Knox for a microsecond before a second blast—this one much closer— shook the walls and the floor.
Jolted her desk. Rocked her monitor. And the lights went out.