Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) by Kat Attalla Read Free Book Online

no idea which direction she went.”
    “Go check the area where she was working. Something must have frightened her. Meet me at the precinct.”
    He could only hope Kelsey was clear-headed enough to call for help, although he didn’t hold any hope. If she felt threatened, the police might be the last people she would trust. How had the gunman traced her to the library? No one outside the department knew where she went.
    Damn! How had anyone gotten close enough to frighten her? O’Brien was supposed to watch her every movem ent. She wouldn’t have run if she hadn’t been spooked, but why didn’t she attach herself to the nearest uniformed officer on the street? She’d set herself up as a target with no one to protect her.
    Dressed in his clothes from the night before, he sprinted out the door, with his shoes in his hand. He made his way from Queens into Manhattan in record time and thankfully without an accident, although the way he drove , that might be deemed a miracle. With no effort on her part, Kelsey Winston had made his controlled detachment a thing of the past. She was the most contrary woman he'd ever known. Any time he made a helpful suggestion she became defensive, stubbornly refusing his reasonable requests.
    Who did he think he was kidding? He baited her. Left alone, she calmly ignored him completel y. He couldn't stand the quiet . Any conversation- even an argument - beat the silence .
    When he arrived at the precinct, it took all the control he possessed to stop himself from making O’Brien part of the wall, and that was only because O’Brien had managed to find out what caused Kelsey to take flight. The folded paper contained a message that was undoubtedly meant for her.
    EVEN MARK ANTHONY COULDN'T SAVE CLEOPATRA FROM THE ASP.
    A clever analogy, Wolf thought. Any man who terrorized a woman would have to be a snake. The message not only taunted Kelsey, but also shot a direct jibe to the police and their apparent inability to protect her. How was the man always one-step ahead of them?
    "Where did you find this?"
    O’Brien shrugged. "On the desk where she was working."
    Wolf read over the message again and frowned. "Why weren't you watching her?"
    "I was watching her. She was all around the place. Was I supposed to be watching her or her books?"
    He sucked in a deep breath and tried to get control. O’Brien was right. Anyone could have dropped a piece of paper undetected while she worked in another area of the library.
    Anyone who knew where to find her.
    He searched her purse for a tracking device that might have been planted on her. He hated to think the leak came from the police, but when he came up empty, he had to acknowledge they might be dealing with a dirty cop. When he found her again he planned to stay on a twenty-four hour watch. First he had to find her.
    He ran his hand along his unshaven jaw. Where the hell would she go? Martinez went at her apartment in case she returned, but it seemed unlikely that she would go unescorted. Perhaps she’d gone to her uncle’s house. He didn’t relish the idea of calling Daniel Carlyle to tell him they’d misplaced his niece.
    “Krieger. Line Six,” someone yelled across the room. “A Father Joseph from St. Patrick.”
    Unless the priest called to offer divine intervention, he didn’t have time. “Take a message.”
    “He says it’s urgent. About the Harrison case. He won’t speak to anyone but you.”
    Wolf wanted to blow off the call until he remembered that St. Patrick’s Cathedral was in the same general vicinity as the public library. “Tell him I’m on my way.”
    Fifteen minutes later he arrived at the stately gothic cathedral. He couldn’t find Kelsey among the tourists. Did he expect her to hang out in full view? He made his way down the pews to the back of the church to find Father Joseph.
    “I’m detective Krieger. You called me.”
    “Would you mind showing me some identification?” the cautious priest asked.
    He could hardly