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a grudge? And— oh, God, no —was that someone still in the apartment?
    My heart was pounding against my rib cage so hard that I was sure something was going to burst, and I could hear my pulse raging in my ears. I knew I should feel something for Todd, but the only emotion getting through was fear. Fight or flight, I guess.
    The situation was surreal, the air seeming as thick as soup as I struggled to get to the sidewalk, where I could get a 911 call through. My mind was both blank and crystal clear. I noticed how the paint was peeling on the stairway railing, but my heart was totally empty. Some rational voice told me to dig out my keys with the little pepper spray keychain, and I did. The voice of reason in the midst of madness.
    At the first floor, I yanked on the door to the lobby and experienced a minor heart attack when the door didn’t budge. I could not be trapped in a stairwell. I tugged again with all the force I could muster, and this time the door swung open and I barreled into the lobby.
    Empty.
    Shit! I looked around wildly, wishing I could conjure a cop, a fireman, a delivery man, anyone. But nothing, and so I kept on running, right out into the bright light of the August morning, blinking furiously as I flipped my phone open and tried to dial with trembling fingers.
    Come on, Mel. Come on…
    “Hey, hey, are you all right?” A male voice, and a hand closing on my forearm, effectively preventing me from pressing the Send key. “Come on, now. It can’t be that bad.”
    “No, you don’t understand. There’s been—” I swallowed the word, finally realizing who was talking to me. I scrambled backwards, fear gripping me as I tried to get away from him. Tall, dark Mystery Man.
    The one who’d delivered a message that told me I had to play…or die.

Chapter
8
    T oo much of a coincidence, my mind was shouting as my head spun and my pulse pounded in my ears.
    This man killed Todd. I knew it. I was certain. And I wanted nothing more than to get the hell away from him.
    This wasn’t about Todd’s clients. It was about me. That creepy letter…Todd murdered…holy shit, what the hell was going on?
    “Are you okay?” he asked, those dark eyes inspecting me.
    I tried to run, but he blocked my path, his grip on my arm tightening. I felt a quick sting in my arm and realized I must have pulled a muscle, I was fighting him so hard. I gulped in air and tried to rein in my terror. I had the feeling that if I hyper-ventilated and passed out, I’d wake up dead.
    “Miss Prescott? Please calm down. It’s me.” Concern flooded his face, even filling those dark eyes, and his grip didn’t seem nearly as tight now. “We met yesterday, remember? Are you okay? You look scared to death.”
    I blinked, confused. “I…” More blinking. “What?”
    “Yesterday,” he repeated. “I delivered a package to you. You look upset. Tell me what’s wrong.”
    I relaxed a little. He seemed genuinely surprised. Genuinely concerned. Had I been wrong about him? “A cop,” I said. “I need a cop.”
    “Okay,” he said, his ready agreement allaying my fears even more. “We’ll get whatever you need. You’ve just had a little shock. Everything’s going to be just fine now. You just need to calm down a little.”
    “No, no. You don’t understand.” I heard the high pitch of hysteria lacing my voice.
    “Of course I do,” he said. “You’ve had a fright.”
    He was patronizing me, and I shook my head frantically, wishing I could make him understand. He could help me. He seemed to want to help me. But he wasn’t helping me. “Now,” I said, twisting to survey the street for one of New York’s finest. “I need a cop now.”
    “No,” he said, “you don’t.” Something in his voice made me turn back to face him. I saw the cold glint in his eyes. A shiver raced up my spine, and I knew that I’d been right all along. This was no coincidence, and I was in Big Trouble. “You’ve just had a shock, that’s