“Stay inside,” Marisol said. “Lock the bathroom door. I’m calling the detective now.”

I dragged my suitcase into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

The air in the bathroom was cold and smelled of bleach.

I sat on the edge of the tub, my knees pulled to my chest.

Minutes dragged by like hours.

Outside, a siren wailed in the distance, getting louder.

It stopped right outside the hotel.

There was a loud commotion in the hallway, voices shouting, and then silence.

My phone buzzed again. It was Marisol.

“They got him, Elena,” she said. “He was in a rented sedan in the alley.”

I let out a breath I felt like I had been holding for years.

They took Derek to the Miami-Dade County Jail.

Because he had violated his bail conditions and threatened a witness, the judge revoked his bond.

He would stay behind bars until the trial.

I moved out of the hotel and back into my condo.

Marisol hired a private security firm to install new locks and cameras.

Every morning, I woke up to the smell of salt air from the balcony.