CHAPTER 22
Isaac
With a few minutes to kill, Isaac absently picked up his phone.
There were several text notifications from Catarina.
That was odd. He seldom got messages from her.
Maybe to congratulate him on the engagement, but the timing was off.
She would know he was about to be on track.
Checking the latest, he grew alarmed. Holding his breath, he scrolled back to read from the start—sent over thirty minutes ago.
“Anna’s late for breakfast. Any idea if she’s running late?”
“She’s not answering her phone.”
“Did she forget our breakfast plans and go to the track with you?”
“What room are you in? I’ll go knock.” He checked the time signature with growing concern. That one had been sent twenty minutes ago. The updates continued every couple of minutes.
“I can’t find her anywhere. Not sure what to do. Still no answer.”
“I missed the second shuttle. I’m getting worried.”
Five minutes ago. Catarina must be frantic that not only was Anna missing, but she also hadn’t gotten a hold of him.
“She’s not here. We’re Room 923,” he sent back, his forehead tightening as his disquiet grew.
Isaac called Anna, but she didn’t answer—it went straight to voicemail. He hung up and sent her a quick text. “Call me. It’s urgent.”
Clutching his phone, he set off through the garage to the service lane where the emptied second shuttle was leaving. No Anna. Where could she be? Something was wrong.
It was a long shot, but maybe she’d forgotten her phone in the room and missed her messages.
Maybe she’d arrived and headed into his trailer, though it wasn’t like her to have left without meeting Catarina.
He trotted up the stairs, unlocked the door, and stuck his head into the darkened interior. She wasn’t there.
“Not on the shuttle. Checked the trailer. Not here.” Biting his lip, he updated Catarina.
He thought for a second. “Did you try the washroom?”
“Three sets. Nothing.” came her speedy response. “I’m out of ideas.”
Where was Anna? What had made her miss her breakfast plans? It wasn’t like her to disappear. A bright yellow taxi passed him and stopped outside the factory Yamaha team’s garages. Spencer jumped from the vehicle and ran up the stairs into his trailer to change. Late. He’d also missed the shuttle.
“I don’t know what else to do. I’m freaking out.” Catarina wasn’t the only one.
Pieces fell into place and Isaac’s blood ran cold. Spencer had something to do with Anna’s disappearance. Isaac would deal with him later, but in his panic, it was more important to find Anna. What if she was hurt?
He ran to the taxi, reaching it just before it left.
“Can you take me back to the Ramada Hotel?” At the driver’s nod, he jumped in the back seat, still wearing his riding leathers.
Isaac couldn’t sit still, so he fidgeted with his phone as the car headed for the quick trip on the highway.
He checked the time. Shit. Just before nine.
He was supposed to be on track any minute. He called Angel.
His crew chief answered the phone on the first ring. “Isaac, where’d you go? I leave for five minutes, and you’re gone.”
“Anna didn’t arrive on the second shuttle. I think something happened.”
“Isaac, where are you?” His boss sounded impatient.
“I’m in a cab, headed back to the hotel.”
At first, there was silence, then Angel cleared his throat. “I can cover for the first half of the session. I’ll say you are indisposed, but you need to get back, or you will forfeit your time for FP1.”
“I know.” Was his departure rash? Isaac was about to find out.
“No matter how you and that bike fly, if you miss the entire session, not only will there be questions, but you’ll be in Q1 tomorrow afternoon instead of Q2. You could start from the back of the grid and give yourself an insurmountable task for the race.”
“I know,” Isaac repeated. He’d worked so hard to put himself at the top of the standings this year with top-notch qualifying and consistent racing.
Ordinarily, he’d never miss a crucial timed session.
“Something is wrong. I’ll get back if I can, but Anna comes first.” He hung up and stared out the window, willing the car to go faster.
His chest tightened for the rest of the five-minute drive, the feeling of dread growing.
His phone buzzed with a new message from Catarina.
“She doesn’t answer in your room. Still nothing.”
“I’m on my way. Cab should be there in two minutes.”
He leaned forward. “Excuse me, can you drive any faster? It’s an emergency.”
He tapped his phone to pay as soon as the car stopped. Catarina met him at the curb as he flung open the door and hopped out.
She didn’t greet him or waste words. “The first thing I thought of when I couldn’t find her and she didn’t answer, was Spencer.” Her voice shook, and she blinked back tears. “That’s why I stayed and kept searching.”
Isaac had never seen his friend so upset.
“Thank you. Spencer is at the track. He came late.” It was difficult to speak in full sentences with his fear barely contained.
“The hotel won’t tell me his room number. I tried. What if he’s done something and locked her in there?”
“We’ll find her. Tell me what happened. From the beginning.” He projected confidence he didn’t feel. Panic would solve nothing.
“I was running late,” said Catarina with a shuddering breath. “And texted that I’d be down at 8:25.”
“Did she reply?” It would help to pinpoint when she’d disappeared.
Catarina shook her head. “One of the other girls said she saw her by the door of the restaurant at about 8:15, but Anna didn’t stay.”
That was about the time his shuttle had left. “How about the hotel staff?”
Isaac struggled to keep his voice calm. That was almost an hour ago. His Anna could be upset or hurt. He needed to find her.
“Nothing. Maybe Spencer found her alone in the lobby,” said Catarina.
Isaac shook his head. “Too public. He’s been careful never to be seen with her.
” It helped that Catarina was aware of the entire problem with Spencer.
Isaac paused, trying to recreate what had happened in his mind.
“She left the restaurant. Maybe she went back up to our room to get her phone, and he found her before she answered your first text.”
“I’m so sorry I was late.” Tears slid down Catarina’s cheeks.
“It’s not your fault. This is on him. We might have to check floor by floor.
His room could be anywhere.” Isaac opened the door for Catarina, and they entered the hotel.
Crossing the lobby, he pushed the button to summon an elevator.
“I’ll check our room because I have the key.
Maybe she was too scared or upset to answer the door when you knocked.
Or she put on headphones. Music is calming.
” He hoped that’s all that had happened, even if he didn’t believe it.
Behind where they stood, a woman spoke to the front desk clerk, “I wanted a sauna but there was someone screaming on the fitness level. You need to check it out. Someone needs to see if they’re okay.” She looked concerned.
Isaac and Catarina shared a glance and hurried into the elevator when at last it arrived. He stabbed the button for the third floor. When the doors opened, they rushed out.
Anna’s purple phone lay on the floor next to the wall. He grabbed it. There were dozens of text notifications from himself and Catarina. Trotting down the hall, they passed the pool and turning the corner, the sound of sobbing became clear.
“Oh my god,” said Catarina, covering her mouth. “She’s still crying?”
“She’s having a meltdown.” Isaac broke into a run, skidding to a stop in front of the family change room at the end of the hall.
Bursting through the door with Catarina on his heels. Anna’s tear-streaked face looked up, and her look of terror subsided. Even in this state, she recognized them. She closed her eyes and took a couple of shuddering breaths, trying to regain control.
Isaac sat beside her and moved her into his lap where he wrapped his arms around her. He held her close, feeling her relax an infinitesimal amount.
“What can I do?” said Catarina, speaking Spanish.
“I don’t know how the law works in Australia,” said Isaac, speaking calmly despite the welling volcano of anger inside.
He had to keep it together, or he’d frighten Anna more.
“But tell the concierge to call the police.” He turned back.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered as he smoothed her hair with one hand. “Was it Spencer? Did he do this?”
She didn’t seem able to answer verbally yet, but she gulped and nodded.
This time, that bastard would pay.
Not leaving, but calling the front desk, Catarina said, “This is an emergency. There’s been a sexual assault on the third floor in the family change room. Call the police and send medical.”
Minutes later, a harried-looking man dressed in a burgundy hotel blazer arrived at the door near Catarina.
“I’m the hotel manager,” he said, a look of concern on his face.
“The police are on their way.” From a distance came the sound of an approaching siren outside the hotel.
It stopped out front. “I’ve told security to pull up surveillance footage for the elevator and the third-floor hallway. ”
Anna’s tears slowed. Her face remained blotchy, and her lip was swollen and split.
A purple lump was growing on her forehead.
Rage filled every fiber of Isaac’s being.
Spencer had hit her. Isaac remained on the floor, his legs still on either side of her, his arms wrapped around her in a full-body hug.
“What happened?” said the hotel manager.
Anna lifted her head and directed her gaze at Isaac’s hand. “Austin Spencer attacked me and forced me in here where nobody could see us.”
The manager took in Isaac in his riding leathers and the young women in their team clothing. “Spencer? The Australian racer?” From his wide-eyed look, the man was shocked by the news.