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As he made the turn, the headlights revealed something for a split second. Dusk had fallen, the tall buildings casting too many dark shadows for him to see much at all. But he was certain he’d seen what looked like two people in a struggle.
Turning on the vehicle’s spotlight, he angled his cruiser in that direction.
“What is that?” The reporter pointed through the windshield, sitting up excitedly.
A man was attempting to steal a woman’s purse, but she was putting up one hell of a fight.
Landon threw on the flashing lights two seconds after the assailant reacted to the spotlight shining in his direction. The guy shoved the woman roughly to the ground and took off running.
“Stay here,” he ordered the reporter, getting out of the car. Landon unfastened his gun, a protective measure in case the man came back. Using the walkie-talkie on his shoulder, he requested backup and reported his location.
The woman was pushing herself up when he approached.
He was less than ten feet away when he recognized the dark blonde hair.
“Sunnie?” He raced to where she sat, kneeling next to her. The spotlight from the car was bright, both of them squinting. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the sudden light.
She looked up at him, and he saw the determination in her eyes. There was a red mark on her cheek that was probably going to turn into a nasty bruise.
Landon glanced around the surrounding area. The man was long gone. “Are you okay?”
She was still wearing her nurse’s scrubs, but he couldn’t understand how she’d gotten from Johns Hopkins to here. Surely she wasn’t walking home at this time of day? It was a three-mile trek and it was nearly dark.
Sunnie nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Son of a bitch was trying to steal my purse.”
“And you thought fighting back was a good idea?” He touched the red mark on her cheek. Landon’s temper sparked as he considered what could have happened to her.
She tilted her head, as if he’d missed the most important part. “He was taking my purse, Landon.”
“So?”
“So…it’s a Louis Vuitton. I love this purse.”
He shook his head. “Are you serious right now?”
She brushed off his concern. “The guy wasn’t even that big, and I’m pretty sure I was winning.”
Landon looked at the mark on her face and lost his shit. “Who gives a fuck how big he was? Do you understand how stupid and dangerous it is to fight back? He could have had a weapon or—”
“Okay,” she said hastily, simply to stop his tirade. “Okay. I’m sorry. Really. But…”
Here we go.
Sunnie was the queen of “buts.”
She lifted the bag. “It’s a new purse, my gift to myself for graduating and getting the nursing job at the hospital. It was super expensive. And it’s mine,” she stressed.
“I don’t care how much it cost! You could have been seriously hurt!”
“I know.” Then she gave him her standard Sunnie grin, the one that told him he wasn’t going to like what she said next. “I don’t suppose we could keep this to ourselves and not tell anyone about it?”
By anyone, she meant her dad.
“We need to file a report.”
She considered that. “Yeah, but he didn’t actually get my bag. And I’m not hurt. Honest.”
He tried to do a visual inspection of her. They were kneeling on the ground. He couldn’t see any cuts or blood, and her clothing was still intact, just the red mark on her cheek.
