Chapter 2 - TWO HUNDRED MEN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE|
I stared at the phone lying on the hallway floor.
It was black, expensive, and still vibrating.
The man outside my door knocked again.
"Miss Shaw, please. We don't have much time."
I stepped away from the peephole.
Something about the situation felt wrong. A stranger had appeared at my apartment, knew my name, and claimed that a patient I had treated less than twelve hours earlier was suddenly in danger.
I reached for my own phone and dialed 911.
Before I could finish explaining, the man outside spoke again.
"There's no need to call the police. Mr. Russo is not here to hurt you."
"Then why are you standing outside my apartment?"
A pause.
"Because someone is waiting downstairs."
I looked through the peephole again.
The hallway was empty.
Then I heard a sound from the street.
Engines.
Lots of them.
I moved toward the living room window and carefully pulled the curtain aside.
My breath caught.
Black SUVs lined both sides of the narrow street. More vehicles were parked around the corner. Men in dark coats stood near the entrances of neighboring buildings, watching the sidewalks.
There were so many of them that I couldn't count.
A woman across the street was filming from behind her curtains.
"What is happening?" I whispered.
The man outside answered.
"Two hundred men are here to make sure nobody gets near you."
I turned toward the door.
"Are you insane?"
"My name is Dominic Bellini. I'm Mr. Russo's head of security. And right now, your building is the safest place in Brooklyn."
"That is not reassuring."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
I looked down at the phone he had slid under the door.
A message appeared.
LUCA RUSSO: Don't open the door until Dominic tells you it's safe.
I stared at the name.
Luca Russo.
The patient from Mercy General.
The man who had refused to tell me how he got stabbed.
I called the number displayed on the message.
He answered immediately.
"Emma."
His voice was unmistakable.
"How do you know my phone number?"
"I have your hospital contact information."
"That doesn't explain why two hundred men are outside my apartment."
"Because someone knows you treated me."
I rubbed my forehead.
"I'm a nurse. I treat people every day."
"Most of them aren't me."
I hated how calmly he said it.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to pack a bag."
"Absolutely not."
"Emma—"
"I am not leaving my home because some stranger decided to surround it with an army."
There was a brief silence.
Then Luca spoke more quietly.
"Someone followed you home yesterday."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"A gray sedan. It stayed behind your bus for seven blocks. It parked outside your building for forty minutes after you went upstairs."
I remembered the car.
I had noticed it near the bus stop but hadn't thought anything of it.
"Who was inside?"
"We don't know yet."
"Then call the police."
"I've already spoken to them."
"And?"
"They're investigating a shooting that happened outside Mercy General shortly after you left."
I sat down.
"What shooting?"
Luca didn't answer immediately.
"Two men were found in the hospital parking garage. One was dead. The other is missing."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Was it connected to you?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"Then I shouldn't be involved."
"You already are."
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Dominic's voice sounded through the door.
"Miss Shaw, step away from the windows."
I rushed toward the living room.
A black sedan had stopped directly in front of the building.
A man stepped out.
He looked up at my apartment.
Then he raised his phone and took a photograph.
My phone vibrated again.
A new message appeared from Luca.
Do not let that man see you. He was the one who ordered the attack on me.
I looked toward the street.
May you like
The man smiled.
Then he raised his hand and pointed directly at my window.
