“You know this area pretty well.” He stayed at her side as they turned the corner to head farther south. “These buildings all look the same to me.”
“I stayed in an apartment over there for several days.” She stood for a moment, checking the buildings. Then she crossed the street. “They look the same, but you can tell the difference by the graffiti. This one was tagged recently by the K2 Bloods. Whereas that one over there was once Latin King territory.”
He was impressed when she pointed out the K2 Bloods graffiti. He eyed the windows of the building. Most of the apartments didn’t have air conditioners, and the windows that weren’t broken were left open.
The back of his neck crawled as he realized how many eyes might be watching them approach. He didn’t like the way he and Di were easy targets standing there. “Maybe we should come back after dark.”
“We’re just checking the lay of the land.” She didn’t look concerned, which didn’t make any sense after the relentless attacks against her. “I wouldn’t mind if one of the gang members showed their hand.”
“You’re asking for trouble,” he muttered. “Why not just stand there with a bullhorn and announce your presence?”
“I would”—she abruptly cut herself off and stopped—“that’s Cargo Shorts up ahead. Do you see him?”
“Yeah. He’s with another guy.” They were too far away to see what the two men were doing, but Jarek wouldn’t be surprised if it was a drug deal. Maybe Cargo Shorts had brought drugs in earlier and was working on refilling the boat for the trip back down to New York City.
Was it possible the drugs were going from Newburgh to New York, instead of the other way around? He wanted to pose his theory, but just then Di said, “They’re taking off!”
She broke into a run, giving chase. Jarek did the same, wondering if they’d both be struck by bullets in the back. The gunfire never came, but it didn’t take long for Di to slow her pace, glancing around in frustration.
“We lost them.” She blew out a breath. “I can’t believe we lost them.”
He scanned the streets both ways, too, but didn’t see anything. “We really need to return at night when it’s easier to blend in.”
“Yeah.” Di turned and retraced their steps to the corner where the two men had been standing. She lowered into a crouch and tapped the pockmarked asphalt. “Do you have an evidence bag on you?”
“No. What did you find?” He kept his gaze focused on their surroundings. The fact that the two men had taken off running was not a good sign. Cargo Shorts had obviously recognized Di. He took a small measure of comfort in the fact that Cargo Shorts had taken off rather than pulling a gun and shooting at them.
“A cigarette butt.” She picked up the butt and tucked it into her pocket.
“That could belong to anyone.” He continued looking around. “We need to get out of here for a while.”
“Okay, but let’s go this way.” She nodded to the south. “I think that’s the second warehouse you found that belongs to the coffee and tea company.”
He suppressed a sigh. “Fine, but let’s make it quick.”
“You worry too much.” The words had barely left her mouth when the crack of gunfire rang out. He grabbed Di, hauling her out of the street to the doorway a few feet away.
“Where’s the shooter?” he asked, glancing back at the building tagged with K2 Bloods graffiti. The gunman had to be either Cargo Shorts or the guy he was hanging with. He reached for his phone to call for backup, then mentally kicked himself when he realized they hadn’t replaced their phones after Di ditched them.
“Not sure.” Di had her weapon in hand, but he was distracted by the trail of blood running down her arm.
“You’re hit!” He wasn’t sure how bad the injury was but tried to take heart that the wound wasn’t gushing. They were stuck in gang territory without a way to call for help while Di was bleeding.
Jarek’s error in judgment could get them both killed.
10
Ignoring the stinging pain in her arm, Di pressed Levine’s disposable phone into Jarek’s hand. “Here, use this. I’ll cover us while you call for backup.”
He looked surprised, as if he’d forgotten she’d stolen it from the crime scene. Then he did as she suggested, calling for help. Di moved to the edge of the doorway and risked a quick glance to pinpoint the location of the shooter.
The area where the shots originated from appeared to be empty. Had the shooter cut and run? That seemed odd, as the guy had managed to pin them down. Then she saw a man peer out one of the second-story windows of the K2 Bloods–tagged building. When she saw him lift his weapon, the barrel pointed in her direction, she ducked back, seconds before he fired.
Okay, now she understood the source of the gunfire. The streets were empty because Cargo Shorts and his buddy had run away from the gunfire too.
She risked another peek around the corner and saw the man in the second-story window holding his gun pointed toward her. She aimed and fired.
Her goal was to get him to stop shooting, but a faint cry reached her ears as the man vanished from the open window. She winced as she realized she’d hit him. Hopefully, he was still alive.
