Burley and in her late thirties, my new bodyguard could have passed for a young Bruce Willis with the exception of her short, curly, black hair and a shadow of a female figure. Maxine, or Max as she preferred, would be staying with me all week.

Ava offered access to her closet as I didn't have clothes of my own. The gesture seemed far beyond anything I had hoped for from the woman, so I accepted.

Kael stayed in my room from the first night. We both slept better this way, even if he was on the floor. He'd start off on the living room sofa and eventually show up after an hour or so when my first onslaught of nightmares began. I guessed this was for Ava's benefit. I appreciated his discretion, although I suspected Ava wasn't oblivious to our arrangement. He was convinced I was suffering from post-traumatic stress. As the nightmares continued without reprieve, I was starting to wonder if he was right.

Kiley's locket never left my neck. Part of me was starting to treasure the piece against my better judgment. A greater, more terrifying part of me feared losing Kael. His words in the car haunted me. As much as I wanted to discount them, I couldn't.

Two days into my quarantine, I was tired of it. I hardly saw Kael and Ava. I had been given a cell that had both their numbers on speed dial, but I felt guilty using it unless there was a true emergency. Their days seemed to get progressively longer with little to no recompense. Gideon had not been found and more importantly, Garrett's whereabouts were still a mystery.

I had spent the last two days planning my escape. Despite her lack of friendliness, Max was a fantastic guard. I could scarcely step onto the porch without her silent presence following behind me.

Convincing her to go out to lunch with me hadn't been as hard as I'd expected. She and I both knew the affair would be stiff and awkward, but the reward of getting out of Ava's townhouse was too great to pass up. It was no coincidence that the cafe I selected was across from the train station. After all this wasted time, I prayed I wasn't too late to find Garrett.

I researched everything online from the distance between the cafe and the train station to the time the train left that I would be on. My timing must be exact. Max would probably grow suspicious after five minutes in the restroom which gave me a very small margin of error. I had run through the entire scenario a thousand times in my head. Unfortunately, nothing ever works out for me as planned.

The cafe was perfect. I had used the restroom at the appropriate time, exited out the back, and crossed the street within ninety seconds. In truth, I was ahead of schedule. I was at the ticket booth when I heard a woman shouting. Turning to look, I saw an angry lady collecting her things that had spilled from her suitcase. An older gentleman appeared to have run into her and walked on, initiating the angry outburst.

He glanced back at her momentarily, keeping his head low under the bill of his hat. Despite his efforts, I recognized him. Less than a hundred yards away stood a haggard Higgins. I didn't know how he had found me here, but the man was every bit as resourceful as I'd feared. I froze where I stood, the insistent pestering of the clerk finally drawing me back to reality. Higgins looked up just as I started to turn away. His travel worn face split into a look of relief as he started in my direction.

Dropping the money I had been handing to the clerk, I bolted through the crowd to the exit. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins, carrying my legs faster than they had ever gone. Higgins should not be here. Not only had he ruined my plans of finding Garrett, he likely had very sinister plans of his own.

I stopped at the street light momentarily, but when it didn't immediately turn, I started running down the sidewalk. I didn't have time to wait. I had run a city block when I paused for a moment to fumble in my purse for the phone.

Kael answered after the first ring. "Harper?" His voice was low. "Excuse me," he said louder, "Is everything ok?"

"No!" I reached the first crosswalk that had been green and started across.

"What's wrong?" Kael called through the phone.

I started running when I reached the opposite side. I was running away from the station, but also further from Max. "I saw Higgins! He was at the train station!" I heard someone yell behind me and almost dropped the phone. Max was behind me, her sprint quickly closing the gap between us.

"Harper, where are you?"

I could tell Kael was trying to stay calm. I had lost all semblance of it.

"We went out for lunch. And I saw him!" I kept glancing behind me, afraid I would see him at any moment. Max came up beside me, glaring suspiciously. I mouthed Higgins' name and she nodded and glanced behind us.

Kael was still talking in my ear, "Stay out of sight. Off the main road, so he won't see you. Is Max with you?"

I looked toward the main street, retrospectively realizing the wisdom in what he'd said.

Tires squealed behind me and I turned, spotting a yellow cab just as it came off the street and straight toward me on the sidewalk. Max called out to me to run and dived onto its windshield. The front of the car collided with my legs with just enough force to send me sprawling onto the sidewalk. I lay for a moment, sore and disoriented.

When I finally came to my senses, I heard Max yelling, "Get up! Get up, woman!" Using all the strength I could muster, I pushed myself off the concrete to stand. Much to her credit, she had smashed the windshield with her weight.

Higgins could not be stopped that easily. He reversed the car, causing my bodyguard to flip off the hood like a rag doll. She landed hard, but bounced up with surprising agility.

Urgently she ordered, "Run!"

The taxi flipped from reverse into drive and headed for me again. I ducked into the first alley I saw, hearing tires burn as he turned around to follow me.

Seconds before he would run into me, I noticed a fire escape, escalating on a tall brick building to my right. Taking a flying leap, I grasped hold, pulled myself up, and burst into a run on the stairs. I heard the car screech to a halt. Higgins jumped onto the stairs behind me. The rungs sounded with each advancing step. I had a few seconds on him when I reached the top, but there was nowhere to go. I tried to open a nearby window. Locked.

His hand grasped my hair a second later and ripped me back toward the stairs. I fell hard onto my back. Higgins sweaty face was suddenly inches above mine.

"Hello again. Will be nice to collect my reward at last, won't it?" A shot fired. I waited for the light that would come for me to follow or at least the searing pain to tear through my organs. Neither happened. Instead, Higgins froze on top of me, reaching to his abdomen where a pool of blood had begun to spill onto his jacket. He looked at me in shock.

I pushed him off me, sending him backwards into the rails. I heard Max's voice below. "You ok?"

I didn't reply, coming to stand a foot away from the man where he knelt, holding his injury. "How did you find me?" I whispered.

Higgins laughed softly as he rolled to his back, "You can't hide from me. From us."

"Us?"

I kept my distance, but leaned in to hear his spluttering speech.

"Yes us. Gideon's after you now my dear. No more hiding." His laugh, so inconsistent with the blood on his jacket, was haunting. I winced and backed away as Max arrived to the top of the stairs. She knelt over the man, holding my cell phone to her ear. I must have dropped it when the car hit me.

"Yeah she's here and ok. But we've got..."

She glanced at me and I supplied, "Higgins."

"That's right," She spoke curtly into the phone, "Higgins is here, sir."

The man moaned as Max slapped cuffs on him.

"Just wait here for an ambulance," Max said sternly, standing to hold the phone to her ear and receive more instructions.

My pulse was still racing. I didn't like the thought of Higgins lying here by my feet. Kael would be on his way. Soon, this nightmare would be over. I looked down at the old man. He motioned for me to come closer, but I shook my head.

"We have your friend. What was his name? Garrett."

His voice was just above a whisper. My heart sunk. He smirked, knowing he had me.

"Where?"

I was at his side then, but he only smiled. Without considering what I was doing, I kicked the man, right in his gunshot wound. He wailed and Max turned around.

"What are you doing?" She shouted with all the authority of a drill sergeant.

"Where is Garrett?" I ignored Max and yelled, "Where is he!"

Higgins only moaned.

"You better not touch him!" Tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill onto my cheeks.

Max was talking urgently on the phone now. I heard sirens in the distance, but hardly noticed, my thoughts were so preoccupied. Why had Higgins taken Garrett? I was the only person that would be affected by his capture. If the events of late were related to the diamond, Higgins should be going after Kael, not trying to gain leverage over me.

The window I had tried earlier opened. A woman poked her head out, wide eyes poking out under mossy brown bangs.

"What on earth is going on here?"

She gasped when she saw the Higgins lying injured on the fire escape and said, "What in the world?"

Max turned around, holding the phone to her chest to mute the volume. Her voice was curt, "We are with the police. Stay inside please."

The woman nodded and fumbled to pull the window down. Without warning, another shot split the air. My head spun around in time to see the woman at the window fall over the sill dead. I froze, staring at the innocent woman who had spoken to us moments ago. I hoped she would move, but she lay lifeless in the window. The image made me sick.

"Get down!" Max called, pushing me to the ground and forcing me back to reality. I found my face next to Higgins', his face all too calm considering the circumstances. I raised a shaking hand to my face, pushing aside my hair so I could see.

"Don't you remember there's a reward out for you?" He whispered conspiratorially. Now that I was this close to him, he reeked of blood, sweat, and tobacco. My stomach rolled, his words affecting me as much as the smell. He grinned through his pain, "I knew you'd be here. I couldn't keep that all to myself now could I?"

I stared for a second, not believing my ears. While I hadn't completely forgotten, I had suppressed the thought. Max knelt by the railing, her black eyes squinting against the afternoon sunlight to identify the location of the shooter. I pushed off the ground onto my hands and knees to get a better look.

"Stay down, Harper!" She barked at me. At that second, the shooter fired again. To my horror, Max jerked forward to fall onto the balcony floor beside me. I froze, staring down at the woman's blank stare. In my peripheral vision, I caught a gleam of metal from a tall building across the street. My glimpse was only a second long, and I couldn't be sure what I had seen was the shooter. The distance almost seemed too far to successfully hit a target.

"You better run," Higgins' husky voice warned behind me, "All your cover's gone now. You're the only one left." I looked back to where I'd seen the reflection, but it was gone. Higgins had a point. Staying out here in the open was not an option. I reached a shaking hand over to where my bodyguard lay, wincing as I unfolded her fingers from around her gun. I just hoped I could use it if the time came.

*****

She's gonna run, but that doesn't always work well for Harper. ;)

*****