I took a closer step. She looked at me with her parted lips. I didn’t stop and continued walking. Valerie swallowed her breath, I saw, and she took a step back. More back steps, until her back hit the wall. My eyes locked with hers. “You say that now. But your eyes tell me a different story, Sweetheart.”

She raised her hands and shoved me hard. “You don’t know me.”

I didn’t budge from my place, but caught her wrist before she could hit me again. My grip was tight, but not ...