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“No!” Jerika shout-whispered. “Back to the window!”
I turned toward the window when the door flew open.
With a push toward the window, Jerika gave me my instructions. “Go over to that window and jump.”
My steps were hesitant, but I couldn’t stop my feet from obeying her. I was all the way to the window with my head out before I heard Ransom.
His voice thundered through my apartment. “Stop!”
I stopped and awaited my instructions. But whether it was the cold air or whatever she gave me was wearing off, I felt like I was waking up from a dream.
Panic laced Ransom’s voice. “Stop! Come over to me! Away from the window!”
“Jump!” Jerika whispered in my ear.
Clutching the window frame, I glanced over my shoulder. Ransom’s hand was out to me like a lifeline. I wanted to take it. I wanted to be with him. I knew it now more than ever, but with Jerika and Ransom talking at the same time, each telling me what to do, their words warred in my head. Each of them gave me opposite instructions. Then each of them gripped one of my arms tugging me in a different direction. My head spun. My stomach swirled. And my gaze fell to the pavement below.
36
RANSOM
The sight of the woman I loved standing in front of an open fucking window gutted me. Who was that woman tugging on her?
Gripping Phoebe’s arm, I tried to pull the little person off her, but she latched on and wouldn’t let go. Words seemed to help Phoebe, though, so I kept talking to her. “Raven? Don’t jump!”
Phoebe turned her head, but something was wrong with her eyes. They were cloudy and unfocused.
I glared at the little girl. “Let her go!”
She plastered on a smile. “No!”
I narrowed my eyes at her and finally yanked her off Phoebe. “I didn’t catch your name?”
She gave a sweet smile. “Oh, I’m nobody. Just someone glad Phoebe wrote that article and stopped that bad man.”
I watched Phoebe take a deep breath of fresh air, then she turned to me, the life coming back into her eyes. She whispered something so soft I couldn’t hear.
I leaned in closer. “What?”
She cleared her throat and glared at the little skeleton-like girl backing away from us. “It was her.”
I searched her face. “What?”
With another deep breath, panic flooded Phoebe’s eyes. “Ransom, Jerika is the Shadow Reaper.”
My eyes darted behind me. I took a few steps toward her, but it was too late.
“Oh, no! Don’t touch me! Either of you.” She pulled a handgun from her purse. “Stay in front of the window!”
I felt torn. I needed to get Phoebe away from the goddamn huge fucking window. What if she passed out and fell? I was too far away to catch her. Yet, I couldn’t just let a serial killer run out of here.
As I advanced on her, she aimed the gun at me. “Not another step!”
Holding my hands up, I glanced around assessing the situation. “What do you think is going to happen here?”
She looked from me to Phoebe, then back to me again with a sneer pulling at her lips. “Oh, yeah. This will be the perfect murder-suicide. And then I dance away out that side door no one watches.”
I let out a growl low in my chest. “Don’t think that’s a good idea. See, I’m not a man who would kill the woman he loves. And she sure as hell is not a victim.”
