One Night More by Clara Bayard Page B

violence would begin to faze them, and I was hoping to avoid that if possible.
    The woman ushered me into a tiny cramped office filled with file boxes and supplies. It reminded me of my old job at Courier Express. The job that had gotten me into this trouble in the first place.
    "I'll wait with you, honey."
    "Thanks," I said, picking up the phone. "Can you lock that door?"
    "Sure." She did as I dialed.
    Her head cocked to the side in surprise as I called out the number I wanted information to give me. She'd expected me to call nine-one-one, but there was only one cop I needed to talk to.
    I let information connect me and cleared my throat.
    "Fourteenth Precinct, how may I help you?"
    "I'd like to speak to Detective Sam Rollins, please." My voice was shaky, but audible. No small feat.
    "Just a moment."
    The woman in the office eyed me, but didn't say anything.
    I heard the click of a transferred line and then ringing. It went on too long and my face fell. Then there was another click. The line rang again once and was picked up. Sam's voice, breathless and rough came through. "Rollins."
    "Sam?"
    "Who is…shit, Carly?"
    "It's me," I said, tears stinging my eyes.
    "Are you okay? Where are you?"
    "I'm at a café off the parkway. They're looking for me."
    "Address," he barked.
    "I don't…hold on." I covered the mouthpiece and asked the woman. I repeated what she said into the phone.
    "Cops will be there in two minutes. I'll be there in ten. Are you somewhere safe right now?"
    "I think so."
    "Don't move until you hear from me. I'll call you back on this line, okay?"
    "Okay. Sam, I…"
    I wasn't sure what to say next, but he hung up while I was thinking about it. Damn. I'd been so focused on getting him that I hadn't thought about what this meant. The mess I'd dragged him into had some serious potential consequences for him and it was getting worse every minute. He'd save me, of course, but at what cost to his own career?
    "Honey, why don't you sit down," the woman said, interrupting my thoughts.
    "Yeah, okay. Thanks." I sank down into the chair, leaving my hand on the phone and training my eyes on the door. "Someone's coming to help."
    "I figured." She smiled at me softly and then fell silent.
    Together we listened for updates from the other side of the door. There were a few exclamations of concern, but no yelling from inside the café. There was shouting in the distance as the sound of sirens grew louder and louder.
    My hands shook as I heard a voice over a loudspeaker or something. I braced for gunshots or explosions, but nothing came. The noise level in the café increased and I could imagine the patrons, some shrinking back, others glued to the windows to see the excitement.
    More than one car peeled away fast enough that the squeal of tires was loud even in the locked back room.
    An authoritative voice sounded out above the din and quieted the café. Probably a cop getting the scene in order. Or so I hoped.
    "Should we go out there?"
    I shook my head at the woman. "My-my friend said to wait for his call. Just in case."
    She nodded and came around to stand next to me. "Just in case."
    Her apparent calm was contagious and I felt myself relax, just the slightest bit.
    But then a loud crash way too close to us sent my pulse racing again. "What was that?" I whispered.
    "I'm not sure. Shh."
    My hands trembled as I waited to see what was coming next. The quiet, aside from murmuring voices in the front, was almost worse than the previous cacophony of sound. Everything sounded like a threat or an imminent attack.
    I nearly jumped out of my skin when the phone rang.
    "Yes?"
    "I'm coming in the front door of the restaurant right now. My guys have the place secured. You can come out."
    I nodded, forgetting Sam couldn't see me yet.
    "Carly? Did you hear me? Are you still okay?"
    "Fine, Sam. See you in a minute."
    My voice was so even, so calm. But as I lurched at the door and fumbled with the lock, I was anything but. I flung it open and