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CHAPTERONE
Harper Crane huddled in her winter coat as she hurried along the snowy sidewalk. She absolutely hated parking in downtown Milwaukee, especially in January, but it couldn’t be helped. Her role as a legal assistant at Gibson and Roberts Law Offices meant showing up at the high-rise building four days a week. Her boss, Trent Gibson, let her work from home every Friday, unless he had depositions scheduled in one of the conference rooms.
Shivering, she increased her pace. The surface parking lot she used charged ten bucks a day. The structures were more than twice that amount, so she ducked her head against the wind and pushed forward. The office building was only five blocks away.
She was so busy watching her feet to make sure she didn’t slip and fall that she didn’t pay attention to the vehicle coming up beside her. Even when it idled in the road, she didn’t think much about it. When the back passenger door opened and a man emerged, her instincts finally kicked in.
Danger!
A hard hand grabbed her arm. No! She tried to tug out of his grip, her stupid office flats slipping on the icy pavement.
She opened her mouth to scream, but he ruthlessly clamped his other hand over her mouth and began dragging her toward the car.
The 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. 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 the 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, shivering.
“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 there 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, shouldered her purse strap, 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 that 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 to kidnap me!”
