Brick exploded to my left, showering wickedly sharp chunksinto the air.Flashes of pain erupted along my cheek, and I stumbled.The heelon my shoe snapped and slipped off, but I kept running, leaving the shoebehind.
I needed to find someone.I needed to call for help.Ineeded—
Rounding the block, I slammed into someone.A startledscream was cut off as I bounced back.There was a grunt, and I felt a handgrasping for my arm, but it was too late.I went down, landing hard on my side.A flash of pain jarred my bones, knocking the air out of my lungs.
“Holy shit,” a male voice boomed above me.“Are you okay?”
I gulped and wheezed air as I flopped onto my front as Iheard a woman say, “Of course she’s not okay, Jon.She kamikazed into you!”
Lifting my head, I peered through the hair that had falleninto my face.I saw them—the one with the scar and the bald man, thecold-blooded murderer, running away, down the sidewalk, beyond where my car wasparked.I watched them until they disappeared.
“Miss?”the man asked.“Miss, are you okay?”
Hands shaking, I pushed up onto my knees.The whole worldtook on a startling clarity.Cars driving by sounded like airplanes.Nearbydoors closing sounded as if they were being repeatedly slammed, and my ownheart was beating like a steel drum.
“Yes.No.”I rasped out.Pressing my fingers to my burningcheek, I jerked my hand back when I felt the wet warmth.Darkness smeared thetips of my fingers.My gaze shot back to where I’d run from.“We need to callthe police.Someone has been shot.”
Chapter 2
I’d never been inside a police station before.Onemight think I lived a boring life.No parking tickets to appear for.I’d neverbeen fined for speeding.Even as a teenager, I obeyed the law.
Well, I did do a little underage drinking here and there,and I most definitely smoked a bit of weed in my day, but I’d never goneoverboard.
And I’d been clever enough to not get caught.
But now I was sitting in one of those rooms that I’d onlyseen on reality TV.I was sure the camera in the corner wasn’t for show.Although I’d done absolutely nothing wrong, I half expected a barrel-chesteddetective to burst through the door and start throwing accusations at me.
My fingers curled around the crumbled tissue I’d beenholding for what felt like hours.The man I’dkamikazedinto hadcalled the police since I hadn’t been able to figure out how to get my phoneout of my purse and use it.
Shock.
That’s what the EMTs who’d arrived right behind the flashingred and blue lights of the police cars had told me.They had wanted me to go tothe hospital to get checked out, but the responding officers wereunderstandably impatient.They needed answers.I was a witness to a—to amurder.
Because that man in the alley was dead.
And there was nothing seriously wrong with me.My palms werea bit raw and my body ached from my tumble.The cuts on my cheeks were nothingcompared to what had happened to the man lying facedown in the alley.
I would be fine.
My breath caught, and I refused to close my eyes foranything longer than a second because when I had as the police officer drove meto the station, I saw the bald man firing the gun.I heard it crack.I saw theman fold like a paper sack.
I saw the bald man pointing the gun at me.
Terror resurfaced, and I shut it down before it took hold,but it was a struggle to not think about the fact that the murderer had seen myface.He knew that I was a witness.That was terrifying because there was nodoubt in my mind that he would have no problem putting a bullet in me.
He had no problem doing it to that man.
Folding my arms across my chest, I stared at the near-emptypaper cup in front of me.I’d all but gulped it down when the officer hadbrought it to me.A shiver rolled across my shoulders.It was so chilly inhere.Even the tip of my nose was icy.
Instead of keeping my thoughts blank, I focused on what hadhappened.How much time I thought had passed between when I left the bar andhad walked in front of the alley.What I saw was important.Someone wasmurdered, and I’d seen the persons responsible.Whatever information I hadwould help bring them to justice.
So I replayed the events over and over, up to the horrifyingmoment the gun had gone off, despite how badly it made me shudder and how Iwished I had kept walking.That may be wrong, but I knew that until my dyingday, I would never forget tonight.
That man died with his face pressed into an alley thatsmelled of urine.
I shuddered again.Never in a million years had I thoughtaccepting a date with Rick the Dick would end with me sitting in a policestation after witnessing…a murder.
I had no idea how long I’d been sitting in this room, but atsome point an officer had shown up with my car keys.After confirming the makeand model, the officer had left again to retrieve my car from the scene.Iwasn’t sure if that was protocol or not, but I appreciated the gesture.
