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wouldn’t confirm her worst fears. “Who was the victim? The guy they took to the hospital.”
    “Terri, I don’t see how—”
    “Please,” she pleaded, “I have to know.”
    “It was that guy who hassled you tonight. The college kid.”   
    Terri’s legs crumbled beneath her. Luke’s quick reflexes made sure she didn’t fall. Scooping her into his arms, Luke carried her quickly to his office before anyone noticed what had happened.
    Luke place Terri on a very smart-looking sofa in his office. He left her long enough to close the door, then returned, pulling up his desk chair and sitting down to face her.
    “Want to tell me what just happened out there?”
    Terri shook her head. Words failed her. They were all locked up in her throat. Blood pounded through her veins, making her pulse thunder inside her ears. 
    Rubbing two fingers across his chin, Luke studied her. “Okay. Do you want to go home, Terri?”
    She thought about it. The idea of going back behind that counter, walking around the dark club floors where someone could be watching her, and she’d never know it, terrified her. 
    “Yes” was all she could say.
    “Okay then.” Luke stood and rounded the desk. He slid open a drawer and drew out a set of keys. “I’ll drive you home.”
    Terri’s attention snapped back to him. “What about my car?”
    Luke held up a hand. “Leave it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon on my way in. Your car will be fine until you get back.”
    Terri didn’t argue.  She stood up and let Luke lead her from the office, thoughts of Randy racing through her mind. Had he finally been released from jail? Was he free to come after her now? If he was, would he really do it after all this time? But she already knew the answer to that. Of course he would. 
    The question now was, would he be waiting for her, ready to run her down the moment she stepped across the protective barrier of the club provided her like he did to that boy? 
    She could only hope that having Luke by her side would be enough to keep her safe.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    Terri chewed her thumbnail, a nervous habit she had developed sometime between marrying Randy and leaving him. She did it now because she was worried. What if Randy was coming to get her? The safe world she had built at the edge of the cliff could finally be about to plummet over the side. She always knew this day might come. Now, she just had to hope he wasn’t lurking in the shadows somewhere waiting to pounce.
    Luke pulled into the short driveway and cut the engine. They sat together quietly, looking up at the squat ranch-style house. 
    “Nice place,” he commented, his head nodding slowly.
    “Thanks.”
    It was a very nondescript house, only nine hundred square feet. It had a slab of concrete for a porch, box hedges under each shuttered window, so overgrown they blended together, making them appear as one giant bush. She hadn’t trimmed them in ages. A plastic bag, stark white against the deep evergreen, sat tangled in one of the branches, moving lazily with a soft breeze. The yard was little more than a strip of grass, plain and unremarkable.
    “You should trim those bushes,” Luke told her. “It’s a good hiding place for someone who wants to break in.”
    Terri’s stomach fell. She had never thought about that, but now that the idea was planted she knew she wouldn’t get any rest until the problem was taken care of. 
    “I’ll cut them,” she assured him. Maybe even tonight, she added to herself.
    Luke’s head swiveled around, and he regarded her with a serious expression. 
    Dropping her hand, she covertly wiped her wet thumb nail off on her skirt and searched for something to say. What kind of conversation can you hold with your boss anyway? she wondered. “Well.” Terri smiled awkwardly and reached for the handle. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    She was all the way out of the car when Luke stepped out to join