was after her. Briana needed someone discreet, someone she could trust implicitly. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed her brother Ryan’s number. He was the only man she trusted.
“Hey, Sis,” Ryan Hayes answered. “Can’t talk long, I’m boarding a plane as we speak and will be out of touch for the next seventeen hours.”
A sob escaped her, and she swallowed hard, trying to get words to pass her vocal cords. “Ryan.”
“What’s wrong,” he asked, his words instantly clipped.
She couldn’t speak for a full minute.
“Briana? Are you there?” he demanded. “Talk to me. Damned connection.”
“I’m here,” she said. “I need help.”
“Oh, Bree, I’m not even in the States. What’s the problem?”
“Sheila’s dead,” she said, her voice catching. “And I think her killer is coming for me next.”
“What the fuck?” Ryan cursed. “I can’t be there for another seventeen to twenty hours.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll figure out something.”
“No, wait. I know who you can call until I get back.”
“Who?”
“Hank Patterson. Prior Navy SEAL. He has a security service.”
“I don’t know Hank.”
“I have it on really good authority that he’s the real deal. He and any one of his guys would lay down their lives for whomever they’re protecting. I’ll text you the number. Call him. No, never mind. I’ll call him and have him contact you.”
Briana drove down the street, away from her apartment building, not knowing where she was heading. Headlights in her rearview mirror blinded her until she shifted the mirror. “I don’t know where I’ll be.”
“Don’t worry, Bree. Get to somewhere safe. He’ll figure it out,” her brother said. “And Bree?”
“Yeah,” she answered, on the verge of more tears.
“I love you,” he said. “Stay safe. You’re the only sister I have.”
“I love you, too.” She ended the call, turned a corner and glanced into the rearview mirror. Were those headlights the same ones that had followed her after leaving her apartment?
Increasing her speed, she rushed to the next corner and turned left, taking the turn as fast as she dared.
Again, the vehicle behind her turned and sped up.
Her heart leaped into her throat. Briana slammed her foot onto the accelerator, shooting her little car forward. She didn’t slow when she took the next right turn, the rear end of her car fishtailing around the corner. Punching the gas, she raced to the next intersection where the light had just turned red. Ignoring the light, she shot through right before another car had pulled out.
The driver honked and kept moving forward, blocking the path of the vehicle following her, slowing him enough she was able to speed up and get through the next two lights and turn right then left, zigzagging through the streets until no headlights followed her.
She couldn’t stay in Chicago. Briana didn’t know where she could stay that would be safe. Going to a friend’s house was out of the question. As Alejandra had predicted, being associated with her put others in danger. That was now true for Briana.
Briana had to find a place she could hunker down until help arrived.
Chapter 2
Rafe Donovan was just climbing into his truck after getting fuel at a gas station, when his cellphone vibrated in the cupholder. He noted the name on the screen and answered, “Yo, Hayes, miss me already? I thought you guys were tapped for a mission?”
“We’re on our way back. Otherwise, I’d handle this myself,” his friend, Ryan Hayes, said. “I just boarded a plane and won’t be in contact for at least another seventeen hours, so listen up.”
Rafe tensed at the urgency in his friend’s voice. “Shoot.”
“My sister is in trouble. I spoke with Hank Patterson out in Montana. He says you’re the closest asset he has to Chicago, where she lives. He’s going to send you to manage this case. You’ll get a call from him any minute. I just wanted to give you a heads-up before I go silent in transit.”
“What’s happening?” Rafe asked.
“I’m not sure, but she needs protection. Her roommate was murdered, and whoever did it is after her now. Where are you?”
“I stopped in Kansas City to visit a buddy of mine on my way out to Montana. I was just about to look for a hotel for the night, but I can be in Chicago in seven hours.”
“That’s a long time.”
Rafe frowned. “It’s the best I can do without breaking speed limits.”
“I get it,” Hayes said. “It would take that long for anyone to fly commercial. My sister’s smart enough to find a place to hide out, until