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A silent scream lodged in her throat as she struggled against his grip. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t allow him to get her into the car!
“Police! Get your hands where I can see them!”
The shout came from her left, and the assailant instantly let her go, shoving her backward, then diving into the back seat of the car. The driver hit the gas and careened away from the curb, tires squealing and horns blaring as he rounded the corner and disappeared. A cop chased after the vehicle, but then stopped and turned to jog back toward her.
Harper landed hard on her backside, her arms instinctively curling around her pregnant belly. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stare up in horror as uniformed police officers rushed to her side.
“Ms. Crane? Are you okay?” The fact that the dark-haired cop knew her name wasn’t reassuring. She stared up into his blue eyes, trying to comprehend what had transpired.
“We need to get her up,” the other officer said.
“Okay, easy now.” The cop with dark hair and blue eyes slid his arm behind her shoulders. With the help of both men, she managed to get back on her feet. Her body was sore, especially her tailbone, but she relaxed when she felt her baby moving. Should she go to the hospital to be checked out? She wasn’t sure that was necessary but didn’t want to take any chances with her baby’s life.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Her gaze landed on the dark-haired cop’s name tag. His last name was Delaney. The other officer’s name tag read Greer.
“I—have no idea.” She pushed the words through her tight throat. “Out of nowhere, this guy came out of the car and tried to kidnap me.”
The two cops exchanged a glance. Delaney nodded. “Yes, ma’am, we know that much. Did you recognize the man who grabbed you? Did he say anything?”
“Why would I recognize him?” None of this seemed real, although clearly it was. If not for these two men showing up in the nick of time... she swallowed hard. “No, he didn’t look familiar.” She thought back to those tense moments when she’d belatedly realized what the guy’s intent was. “He didn’t say anything. Just grabbed me, clapped his hand over my mouth, and dragged me toward the car...” She broke off, swallowing hard.
“Okay, that’s fine. We had to ask.” Officer Delaney spoke in a soothing voice. “Brock, did you get his license plate number?”
“Yeah. Sent it to dispatch to issue a BOLO on the vehicle,” Officer Greer said.
“We’d like you to come down to the precinct to look at some mug shots.” Officer Delaney smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure your boss won’t mind. We can call the law office from the squad, explain that you need some time off.”
Her boss at the law office? Time off? The hairs on the back of her neck rose in alarm. These cops knew her name. They knew where she worked. They probably knew more about her personal life than her boss did.
Realization sank deep. They hadn’t just gotten here so quickly by chance. She narrowed her gaze at Officer Delaney. “You were following me? Watching me and following me? Why?”
Delaney held her gaze for a long moment. “It’s best if you come with us. We can discuss this in more detail at the precinct.”
Somehow, she sensed it would be better for them—not her—to go along with the plan. Yet someone had tried to kidnap her. This—she didn’t understand any of this. Her shoulders slumped, and she slowly shook her head. “This is about Jake, isn’t it?”
“You tell us.” Officer Greer arched his brow.
She scowled. She didn’t like him. Either of them. They’d been watching her. Waiting for something bad to happen. And it had!
With an abrupt move, she twisted away from Officer Delaney and walked away. She wasn’t going anywhere with them.
“Ms. Crane,” Delaney called her name as he quickly caught up with her. “You can’t just pretend this didn’t happen. Don’t you realize you’re in danger?”
“Why?” She spun to face him. He was so close her belly bumped into him. He hastily stepped back as if burned. “I don’t understand. My ex-husband is dead! He can’t testify. There’s no reason for anyone to come after me. To try and kidnap me!”
“Clearly, someone associated with your ex-husband wants something from you.” His placating tone grated on her nerves. “Please, come with us to the precinct. We really need to talk.”
Her baby kicked again, and she put a hand to her abdomen beneath her coat to soothe her baby. She was just over seven months pregnant. Stress wasn’t good for either of them.
“Fine.” She turned to face him. “But you better be prepared to share what you know too. I want answers, Officer Delaney, especially if me and my baby are truly in danger.”
The cop’s gaze dropped momentarily to her abdomen, before bouncing back up to meet hers. “I understand.”
Did he? She wasn’t convinced. Yet she didn’t have much of a choice but to go along with them. Not if she wanted to understand exactly what was going on.
She reluctantly allowed Delaney to escort her back to where his partner, Greer, waited, hoping and praying she wouldn’t regret this.
* * *
