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Another man approached, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “I just placed a call to 911. They’re sending someone now.”
The truck driver quit digging for his phone and ran his hand through his dark hair. “I’ve never run over a man before. Did you know him? Was he a friend?”
Dev straightened, shaking his head. “No. I don’t know him. And no, he wasn’t a friend. He assaulted a woman. Excuse me.” He stepped away from the truck, the driver and the good Samaritan reporting the accident.
“Sir, you’re not leaving, are you?” the truck driver called out.
“Not yet,” Dev responded.
“Good, ’cause you’re the main witness.” The distraught garbageman stared down at the dead man, frowning worriedly. “The police are going to want to talk to you.”
“I need to check on the woman this guy attacked.” He hadn’t wanted to leave Kiana alone. Now that Tish’s attacker was neutralized, he was anxious to get back to the women. This man was dead, but that didn’t mean he was the only one who could hurt Kiana and Tish.
After Kiana’s phone rang three times, Dev was getting worried.
“Dev,” she finally answered. “Where are you? Are you all right? Did you catch him?”
He was so relieved to hear her voice that he had to take a breath before answering, “I’m several blocks away from the apartment building. I’m all right, but Tish’s attacker isn’t. How’s Tish?”
“I’m worried about her. She’s nonresponsive. The paramedics are working with her now, loading her into an ambulance. I’m going to ride with her to the hospital. What do you mean the attacker isn’t all right?”
“He’s dead.”
“Holy shit,” Kiana murmured. “Did you...”
Dev shook his head, his lips quirking on the corners. “No. I didn’t kill him. He ran out into a busy street and was hit by a garbage truck.”
“Oh, thank God,” Kiana said. “The bastard deserved to die.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Only it’s too bad we couldn’t question him first.”
“Do you know who he is?” she asked. “Was there any form of identification on him?”
“I felt in his pockets,” Dev said. “He wasn’t carrying an ID.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” Kiana’s voice sounded distant, as if she was talking to someone else away from her phone. Then she came back to him with, “Look, the ambulance is getting ready to leave. I have to go.”
Dev’s gut knotted. If she left the apartment, she’d be even further away from him than she was at that moment. “Are you going to be all right?” he asked. “I’ll have to stay and talk with the police.”
“I’ll be okay. Police are crawling all over the apartment. I’ll be safe in the ambulance. Can you meet me at the Queens Medical Center when you free up?”
“I will. And Kiana, stay with people,” Dev said. “We don’t know if this man was working for someone else. He attacked Tish. Whoever sent him might come after you next.”
“I’ll be okay until you get to me,” she said. “Just hurry.” The call ended.
Dev stared down at the phone, wishing he could go to Kiana immediately.
He had a really bad feeling in his gut about what had just happened.
Through all the years he’d spent on active duty and all the missions he’d been involved with, his gut feelings had never been wrong.
Chapter 2
In the back of the ambulance, Kiana sat on a bench across from Tish, her heart pinching hard in her chest.
Her friend and former roommate hadn’t regained consciousness. Her face was bruised, her lip split and a gash over her left eye had left a trail of blood across her temple to mat in her dark hair.
The paramedics had done all they could to stabilize Tish for transport to the hospital. They’d set up an IV and connected a heart monitor to her chest.
