“The police are already on their way,” I said into the receiver.

I did not wait for the man to reply.

I slammed the phone down on the bed.

Outside, the heavy knock came again, shaking the door frame of my apartment.

I walked out of my bedroom and stood in the short hallway.

My heart was beating in a steady, measured rhythm, the way it did when I encountered severe turbulence at thirty thousand feet.

I looked at the security monitor mounted on my wall.

Two men in dark, rain-soaked jackets stood in the corridor.

One of them was leaning against the wall, tapping a thick leather glove against his thigh.

The other was staring directly into the security camera lens.

My intercom buzzed.

I pressed the button. “Luis?”

“Captain Collins,” Luis’s voice came through, tense and rushed.

“Two men got past the lobby desk while I was assisting a delivery.”

“I have already called the police, and I am coming up with the building’s armed security right now.”

“Stay inside, Captain.”

“I am inside, Luis,” I said. “And I am armed.”