Davies turned the corner and disappeared. Spence took three wobbly steps toward the garage entrance. Dizzy, his head exploding with pain, Spence stumbled to a halt. He pulled out his phone and hit 911. It took a moment, because there were two of every number on his phone’s keypad.
As he was trying to dial 911, he heard a siren getting closer and closer. A squad car pulled to the curb in front of Zoe’s building and two uniformed officers jumped out.
Spence forced himself to move up the ramp, weaving from side to side. When he saw the two officers, he headed toward them. One of them turned and saw him clutching his gun. The officer pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Spence. “Drop the gun,” he shouted. “Now!”
As Spence laid the gun on the ground, explosions ignited in his head and everything blurred for a long moment. Finally his vision cleared and he raised his arms. “I’m not the one you’re looking for,” he said. “I’m Zoe Melbourne’s bodyguard. Davies shoved me to the ground. I hit my head and he took off. He ran out of the garage and disappeared.”
Spence shook his head, trying to think clearly. But all he could feel was the pain pulsing inside his skull. “His car might be in the garage. A white Subaru Outback with Illinois plates.”
The two officers eyed him with suspicion, and Spence said, “Can I get my wallet and show you my ID? I work for Blackhawk Security.”
The two cops glanced at each other, then one of them nodded. Spence noticed that their fingers tightened on their guns as he used two fingers to pull out his wallet.
After a long moment, he extracted his driver’s license and his Blackhawk Security ID card. Handed them to the cop. Both of them examined the cards closely, then handed them back to Spence.
After putting them back in his wallet, Spence said, “I suggest you start looking around the neighborhood for Davies. I’ve given Officer Lindsay Woods a picture of him, or you can go into the lobby and look at the doorman’s photo.”
Once again the two cops exchanged glances and silent communication. “We’ll need your cell number,” one of them said.
Spence recited it, and the officer wrote it down.
“You need anything else from me? Right now, my principal is unprotected in the lobby of the building.”
The officer who seemed to be in charge waved him away. “Go ahead.”
Spence picked up his gun and stumbled toward the door of the building, a stab of pain arcing through his head every time his foot hit the pavement. As soon as he stepped inside, he spotted Zoe near the doorman’s desk.
He wobbled over and grabbed her hands. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her gaze traveled over him. Stopped at the collar of his shirt. “You’re bleeding,” she said, her fingers tightening on his.
“I hit my head on that concrete bumper thing at the front of the parking spaces.” His eyes wanted to slide closed, but he forced them to stay open. “I didn’t want to use my gun because he was too close to you, and he managed to shove me down. Only crazy bad luck that I hit my head.”
He touched the back of his head, and his hand came back smeared with blood. “Looks like Davies got lucky with that shove.”
Zoe gasped, then slid one hand away from his. “We need to get you to an ER. Have someone take a look at your head.”
Now that his adrenaline had faded, shaking his head caused a burst of pain. “Let’s go upstairs first,” he said. “So I can check it out.”