about
them, the more she realized he was right. Only she could take back her life.
Jamie slipped on her coat and grabbed her purse. “Time to go.”
She set the clinic’s alarm, doused the overhead lights, and locked the door. Yolanda
had asked the staff to park next to the vacant warehouse so the patients could have
the good spaces in front of the clinic. If only the city would install a few more
streetlights in this part of town, walking in the dark wouldn’t be such an issue.
While the temperature was above freezing, it was still damned cold. Jamie drew her
coat close, and hugged her purse to her side. Keeping her head down, she rushed toward
her car.
She’d walked about fifty feet when slow moving headlights coming toward her drew her
attention. Jamie might not have noticed had they not pulled to the side, stopped for
maybe ten seconds then started toward her again. Were they looking for an open store
at this hour? The street was all but deserted, and the shop windows were dark. This
part of town wasn’t the best place to be at night. Anxiety sped through her veins.
A couple hundred feet ahead of her, the van drove into the middle of the road, angled
toward her, and stopped. With the lights blinding her, Jamie squinted and looked away.
The driver and passenger side van doors squeaked opened and, seconds later, slammed
shut. Footsteps hit the hard pavement with thuds. Or was that her heart pounding hard
against her ribs?
Oh, shit. Her sixth sense told her something was about to go down, and she was caught
in the middle. Jamie swiveled her head right, then left, but detected no one else
nearby.
Act casual . Jamie spun around to retrace her steps, pretending she’d forgotten something inside
the safety of the clinic.
“Hey you. Stop!” The man then shouted something else, but she couldn’t make out the
words.
Her pulse escalated. Run! Sprinting toward the clinic, she pumped her arms, her purse beating against her side.
Oh, God. Footsteps sounded behind her.
Her legs weakened as she drew near the clinic door. If she thought screaming would
help, she would have yelled her lungs out. When Jamie finally reached the front, she
grabbed the door handle, and tugged to open it. Locked. Fuck. Heart racing, she unzipped
her purse with shaking fingers, and fumbled for the elusive key. Damn it. She should
have hooked it on her own keychain.
“Come on, come on.”
She glanced down the street. Two men, wearing baseball caps tugged low over their
eyes, closed in on her. Her stomach churned. One continued in her direction, while
the other slid behind the building next to the clinic. What the hell was going on?
Hurry . Cold metal contacted her now warm skin. She grabbed the key and shoved it into the
lock, but it snagged. “Shit.”
Her eyes teared from the cold, making it next to impossible to see what she was doing.
Jamie opened her mouth to gulp in air and pushed the key in harder. She wiggled the
metal back and forth. On the third try, it finally went in. Her heart lurched. She
turned the lock, yanked open the door, and rushed inside. She took one step when her
addled brain clicked into gear.
Lock the damn door. Leave the silent alarm on.
If she didn’t punch in the code within thirty seconds, the security company would
send help. After Jamie flicked the deadbolt closed, she ran toward the hallway door,
the glowing Exit sign providing the needed light. A tight band squeezed her chest,
making it damned hard to breathe, let alone to think.
Jamie was halfway down the hall, when shouts sounded from the front, and the door
rattled. This can’t be happening. To hell with the security firm. From the side pocket of her purse she extracted her
phone. A few quick swipes brought up the keypad, and she pressed 911.
Jamie had to find someplace to hide. She pushed open Exam Room 4, locked the door,
and plastered her back against the wall, her heart
them, the more she realized he was right. Only she could take back her life.
Jamie slipped on her coat and grabbed her purse. “Time to go.”
She set the clinic’s alarm, doused the overhead lights, and locked the door. Yolanda
had asked the staff to park next to the vacant warehouse so the patients could have
the good spaces in front of the clinic. If only the city would install a few more
streetlights in this part of town, walking in the dark wouldn’t be such an issue.
While the temperature was above freezing, it was still damned cold. Jamie drew her
coat close, and hugged her purse to her side. Keeping her head down, she rushed toward
her car.
She’d walked about fifty feet when slow moving headlights coming toward her drew her
attention. Jamie might not have noticed had they not pulled to the side, stopped for
maybe ten seconds then started toward her again. Were they looking for an open store
at this hour? The street was all but deserted, and the shop windows were dark. This
part of town wasn’t the best place to be at night. Anxiety sped through her veins.
A couple hundred feet ahead of her, the van drove into the middle of the road, angled
toward her, and stopped. With the lights blinding her, Jamie squinted and looked away.
The driver and passenger side van doors squeaked opened and, seconds later, slammed
shut. Footsteps hit the hard pavement with thuds. Or was that her heart pounding hard
against her ribs?
Oh, shit. Her sixth sense told her something was about to go down, and she was caught
in the middle. Jamie swiveled her head right, then left, but detected no one else
nearby.
Act casual . Jamie spun around to retrace her steps, pretending she’d forgotten something inside
the safety of the clinic.
“Hey you. Stop!” The man then shouted something else, but she couldn’t make out the
words.
Her pulse escalated. Run! Sprinting toward the clinic, she pumped her arms, her purse beating against her side.
Oh, God. Footsteps sounded behind her.
Her legs weakened as she drew near the clinic door. If she thought screaming would
help, she would have yelled her lungs out. When Jamie finally reached the front, she
grabbed the door handle, and tugged to open it. Locked. Fuck. Heart racing, she unzipped
her purse with shaking fingers, and fumbled for the elusive key. Damn it. She should
have hooked it on her own keychain.
“Come on, come on.”
She glanced down the street. Two men, wearing baseball caps tugged low over their
eyes, closed in on her. Her stomach churned. One continued in her direction, while
the other slid behind the building next to the clinic. What the hell was going on?
Hurry . Cold metal contacted her now warm skin. She grabbed the key and shoved it into the
lock, but it snagged. “Shit.”
Her eyes teared from the cold, making it next to impossible to see what she was doing.
Jamie opened her mouth to gulp in air and pushed the key in harder. She wiggled the
metal back and forth. On the third try, it finally went in. Her heart lurched. She
turned the lock, yanked open the door, and rushed inside. She took one step when her
addled brain clicked into gear.
Lock the damn door. Leave the silent alarm on.
If she didn’t punch in the code within thirty seconds, the security company would
send help. After Jamie flicked the deadbolt closed, she ran toward the hallway door,
the glowing Exit sign providing the needed light. A tight band squeezed her chest,
making it damned hard to breathe, let alone to think.
Jamie was halfway down the hall, when shouts sounded from the front, and the door
rattled. This can’t be happening. To hell with the security firm. From the side pocket of her purse she extracted her
phone. A few quick swipes brought up the keypad, and she pressed 911.
Jamie had to find someplace to hide. She pushed open Exam Room 4, locked the door,
and plastered her back against the wall, her heart
Similar Books
Fire
Alan Rodgers
With a Twist
Heather Peters
Keys of Heaven
Adina Senft
The Winter Vault
Anne Michaels
MasterStroke
Dee Ellis
Shadows of the Emerald City
Jw Schnarr
Jimmy: Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 3
Cat Johnson
Oasis of Night
J.S. Cook
Filthy Dirty Secrets: Filthy Dirty Alpha Book 2
Grace Morgan