“Rob—” she curled her fingers around his wrist “—I can’t ever imagine forgetting you, forgetting your face. Ever.”
His dark eyes glittered, and she knew he felt the heat between them.
“California skillet.” The waiter set Rob’s plate on the table and slid her bowl of health in front of her. “Anything else?”
“My toast.” Rob tapped her cup. “And more coffee when you get a chance.”
Libby whistled and grabbed her spoon. “Saved by the waiter.”
“I’m never going to forget you, either, Libby, but I don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Rob had obviously seen too many people make too many mistakes in his life.
“What if I never remember?”
“Jennifer believes you will. You’ve already started.”
“I can’t wait.” She dug into her yogurt parfait.
“Once you remember everything, that’ll go a long way to keeping you safe.”
“Yeah. Can’t wait for that, either.”
While they ate, they tried to steer clear of her problems and his feelings. She pried into his family life a little more, and as that conversation was completely one-sided, she learned a lot about Rob Valdez—and liked him even more because of it.
After downing her second cup of coffee, she whipped the napkin from her lap. “I’m going to use the ladies’ room before we hit the road back to Paradiso.”
“I’ll take care of the check.”
Libby wove through the tables toward the restrooms near the entrance. She tried the door on one, which was locked, and shuffled to the other unisex bathroom as someone came up on her heels.
The handle turned, and as she pushed open the door, the man on her tail shoved her inside the bathroom, crowding inside behind her.
Her heart slammed against her rib cage. Spinning around, she placed her hands against his solid chest and opened her mouth to scream. It was then she felt the barrel of a gun jabbing her gut.
Chapter Fourteen
Rob glanced at the time on his cell phone. A flare of concern fluttered in his gut. Had Libby passed out or something?
He downed the rest of his water and Libby’s and made his way to the front of the restaurant. He turned the corner that led to the small hallway where the restrooms were located and almost bumped into a woman coming through one of the two doors.
He caught the door before it closed and peeked inside, but these were single, unisex bathrooms and this one was empty. Sidestepping to the next one, he tried the handle. It resisted.
He knocked. “Libby? You still in there?”
A man’s voice answered. “Still in here. Not Libby.”
Rob’s pulse jumped, and his head jerked to take in the exit door to the side parking lot. Had she gone out that way to wait by the truck?
He took one step toward the door and tripped to a stop. Pivoting back toward the occupied bathroom, he banged his fist against the door. “Libby? Libby, are you in there?”
The door burst open, hitting his foot, and a red-faced man with bunched-up fists charged into the hallway. “What’s your problem, man?”
Rob pushed past the man’s solid form and stumbled into the empty bathroom. He tilted his head back to survey the sealed, frosted window. No way in, no way out of that.
He careened out of the bathroom and grabbed the jacket of the man, who by this time had dismissed him as a nut. “Who was in that bathroom before you?”
The man yanked out of his grasp. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, dude, but you’d better back off.”
“Sorry.” Rob flipped out his badge. “Border Patrol. I need to know what happened to the woman who was in that bathroom before you.”
“I don’t know if it was the woman or the man who was in the john before me. They were both in the hallway and walking out the exit when I saw them.” He shrugged. “I guess it could’ve been the girl in there before me.”
“Was she wearing jeans and a green top? Long light brown hair?”
“I don’t know what she was wearing. Yeah, probably jeans, but she had a rockin’ body and it looked like her guy appreciated it, ’cause they were walking real close and he had his arm right around her.”
Rob turned and ran for the door, every muscle in his body screaming. He shoved through the exit and rushed into the parking lot, his head cranking back and forth.
“Libby! Libby!”
“Rob! Ro...”
When Libby’s cry reached his ears, adrenaline coursed through his body and he charged toward the sound. A shuffling, scraping noise got louder as he made his way to the edge of the parking lot.
Hot rage thumped through his veins when he saw Libby struggling against a man with a shaved head, trying to cram her into the driver’s seat of a beat-up white sedan, a Wildcats sticker on the back.
Libby was hanging on to the door, her feet planted in the asphalt while the man had one arm hooked around her waist and a hand on her back—a hand holding a gun.
As the man started to raise the gun, Rob stormed at him, pointing his own weapon at his critical mass. “Stop or I’ll take you down right now.”
Rob held his breath while the man dropped his arm from Libby’s waist. If he pulled Libby in front of him to use as a hostage, Rob would take the shot...a head shot.
Rob growled. “Don’t even think about it.”
The man released his gun and held up his hands. “Don’t make a scene. There are some people coming this way, although they haven’t noticed yet what’s happening.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to make a scene while you’re abducting my...this woman.” Rob’s lip curled. What was he, some kind of gentleman kidnapper?
“I know it looks bad, but it’s not.” The man ran a hand over his shaved head.
Libby kicked the guy in the shin and ran to Rob. “He grabbed me in the bathroom and forced me out here at gunpoint, but when he tried to get me
