“Eva!” He called her name, hoping she’d stop and wait up for him. But the streets of New York were always packed with people and, from what he could tell, she didn’t act as if she heard him.
She seemed to be heading toward one of the subway stations, so he tried to move faster, bumping into people as he attempted to navigate around them.
“Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry,” he said as he jostled the pedestrians around him. Abernathy kept up with him, as if sensing they were on the hunt. “Eva! Wait up!”
She hesitated, turning to look behind her. He waved, hoping she’d recognize him.
But she simply turned back in the direction she’d been going. He scowled, wondering if she was purposefully leading him on. He’d never chased a woman in his life and wasn’t sure why on earth he was doing it now.
For some illogical reason, he didn’t want her to go off alone. The dognapper was probably long gone—the perp had no reason to stick around—but Finn still didn’t like it. Abernathy brushed against his legs as they attempted to close the gap between them. Eva paused at the next intersection, her gaze focused on the subway station up ahead.
“Stubborn as an ox,” he said to Abernathy as they reached the same intersection. He’d only taken two steps when he heard her shriek.
“No! Let go of me! Help! Help!”
“Eva!” Finn managed to shove past an older guy standing in front of him as he attempted to catch up to her. His gaze narrowed when he realized there was a big man tugging on her arm. Realizing the man was trying to get her into a waiting car, he yelled again. “Police! Let her go!”
Finn barreled through the crowd just as Eva was pushed backward directly toward him. He took his eyes off the assailant in time to catch her.
“It’s Finn. I’ve got you!” He clutched Eva close to his chest, breathing hard. His heart—or maybe it was hers—thundered against his ribs. The man jumped into the car and it took off, disappearing into traffic. Finn squinted in an effort to see the license plate, but the cars were too close together. Hopefully he’d get something off one of the cameras nearby. Frustrated and worried, he turned his attention to Eva. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.” Her voice was breathless, and he was grateful she made no move to push him away. He wanted—needed—to keep holding her, making sure she was truly not harmed. Abernathy sniffed at her, his tail wagging as if he was also glad she was okay.
As other subway goers brushed past them, Finn could hardly wrap his brain around what had just happened. If he hadn’t been there, the big man would have succeeded in getting her into the car, abducting her.
Finally, she straightened, putting a little distance between them. “I’m okay,” she said.
“That was too close,” he said, more than a little upset at the attempt so close to their K-9 headquarters. He pulled out his phone. “Patricia? Tell Danielle Abbott I need to get the video feed from the cameras located near the subway station to the south of headquarters.”
“Will do,” the officer promised.
He turned back to Eva. “Sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m sure.” She allowed him to gently tug her out of the stream of pedestrian traffic. Abernathy sat beside him, waiting for his next command. He bent to give the K-9 a quick rub, then focused on Eva.
“What happened?”
Eva lifted a trembling hand and tucked a strand of long blond hair behind her ear. “A guy came up beside me and grabbed my arm, telling me I had to go with him in the black car, a four-door sedan. I screamed for help, then I heard you call out. That’s when he pushed me backward and jumped into the car to escape.”
Finn nodded. Her story was exactly what he’d seen. He wanted to pull her close again but managed to refrain. He thought back, trying to put an image in his head of the man who’d been beside her. He’d seen the guy only from the back, and he was dressed from head to toe in black. There had been a tattoo of sorts peeking out from beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt. Eva hadn’t mentioned a tattoo but said she’d got only a glimpse of the guy. “Did you recognize him? Was it the same man who stole Cocoa?”