Page 4 of Defending You

“Someone killed him?” The operator’s voice was calm, a stark contrast to the chaos Cici was experiencing. “Or did he kill?—”

“Someone killed him. I don’t know who! I didn’t see his face. I mean I saw…I saw the guard. The thing is…” She thought back to the conversation she’d overheard. “Mr. D’s niece is in danger. They were asking about her. You need to protect her.”

“Okay, ma’am. I’m going to give you the address of the closest police precinct. Go there and make a report. I’m dispatching emergency vehicles to the jewelry store now.”

The traffic was heavy, probably normal for rush hour in downtown Philadelphia. As Cici approached a red light, she checked her rearview mirror again. But she had no idea what kind of car the guard would be driving.

How was she supposed to know if she was safe?

She plugged in the address the dispatcher gave her. Of course she was going the wrong direction, getting farther from her goal with every second.

She managed to turn around and followed the directions to the police station. How had she gone from gazing at the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen to…this?

The Philadelphia traffic crawled, a sluggish beast of honking horns and exhaust fumes that did nothing to calm Cici’s frayed nerves. She gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white. She’d been in the car for a good forty minutes. She’d swear she sat through every light in the city, some twice.

The precinct was only a few blocks away now—her GPS chirped directions in that infuriatingly calm voice—but every red light felt like a personal attack.

She’d call Forbes from the police station after she was safe. Right now, she needed to focus on getting there and getting inside.

Stopped again and watching traffic inch along the cross street, Cici kept picturing Mr. D’s body crumpling to the floor, the way that smooth-talking man’s voice had turned cold and commanding.“Find it. Now.”

The light turned green, and she eased forward. The precinct’s address glowed on her GPS screen: two blocks to go. She could do this. She’d tell the police everything—about the necklace, the murder she’d witnessed, and the men chasing her.

They’d handle it. They’d keep her safe.

But she wasn’t going to turn over the necklace, not if she could help it. She would return it to Forbes and let him handle it however he chose. He deserved to get his family’s heirloom back, not to have it languishing in some evidence locker.

A building ahead was much larger than she’d thought the police precinct would be. She was trying to figure out where shewas supposed to park and where the front door was when a hulking figure peeked out from behind an SUV, his shaved head gleaming under the sun.

Her stomach dropped.

It was the guard from the store. He’d been behind her, hadn’t he? She’d driven all over the city, when obviously there’d been a faster way to get here. But how had he known her destination? Had he guessed, or…or had someone told him?

It made no sense.

“Please, don’t let him see me.”

But before the prayer was out of her mouth, the man’s gaze skimmed over her car, and then he stepped back behind the truck.

Hiding, probably hoping she hadn’t seen him.

Her heart thumped hard, her hands shaking as she dialed 911 again.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your?—?”

“He’s outside the precinct!” Cici’s words tumbled out, high-pitched and frantic. “The man who killed Mr. Delvecchio. He’s waiting for me! I can’t stop. He’ll get me before I can get inside!”

“Ma’am, slow down. Who’s outside the precinct?”

“The guy from the jewelry store!” She took a breath. This obviously wasn’t the same operator.

She scanned the area, but she had nowhere to go. The traffic was too heavy to turn around. She couldn’t do anything but inch forward. “He’s big and bald, wearing a black shirt. He saw me. He’s coming after me! You have to arrest him!”

The precinct loomed to her left, its brick facade promising safety—if she could just get inside. But she’d never make it from the car to the door before he grabbed her.

“Which precinct, ma’am?”

“The one you sent me to.” She fumbled with her phone, pulled up the map, and read the address.