Hold Me Read Free

consequences of The Tom Incident. She’d been fired; he’d been promoted. After all, he’d been the wronged party in the whole thing. Never mind that it turned out Brandy had been taking his…reports for months. Never mind that his escapades had been common knowledge to everyone in the company.
    Everyone but Katie.
    She shook her head. Bitterness wasn’t going to help.
    What would help was a new beginning, she thought. A new life. A new attitude.
    Yeah.
    She brought the Nova to a shuddering halt at a red light. It was a lovely evening. The warm July sun was still bright and the birds were singing their songs from nearby trees and telephone wires. Katie massaged her temples.
    She’d be fine, she told herself. Everything would be fine. It was just the end of another hard day at the end of another long week, but now it was over. She’d be home soon. Surely nothing else could go wrong before she got there…
    As if it read her mind, the Nova gasped and stalled.

CHAPTER TWO
    Luc slammed on the brakes when the line of cars stopped for a red light. One of the ’vette’s tires was shredded, thanks to a lucky shot by the assholes chasing him, so he lost control, went into a slide and ended up nose down in a drainage ditch on the shoulder. He tried to reverse, but the abused tires just spun in the loose dirt and gravel.
    He jumped out. He’d managed to put a little distance between himself and the black sedan, but it was moving steadily closer now, pushing its way through the traffic. He tried to run, but his ankle was weak and didn’t support him. It slowed him down. Luc knew that he couldn’t escape on foot. He needed help. But to involve a civilian…
    An old, green Chevy Nova suddenly roared beside him. For one brief, delirious second he even thought he recognized it, but then all old Novas looked alike, didn’t they? Still, Mama Allen would have said it was a sign. And, when it came right down to it, he didn’t have much of a choice. He put the rest of his energy into the final few steps, trying to think how he could convincingly ask for assistance.
    The Nova’s driver gunned the motor again. It sounded fast.
    He hoped it was.
     
    Katie finally got the car started, holding her feet on the gas pedal and the brake at the same time so the thing wouldn’t stall out again. Then, without any warning, the passenger door opened and a disheveled, dark-haired man slid in next to her.
    She stared at him, shocked.
    “Hi,” he said.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” The fear slammed into her. Her car doors. She’d forgotten to lock her car doors. “Get out of my car!” Everything her mother had ever told her about serial killers and rapists and carjackers raced through her mind so fast they burned it out and left it blank.
    “Yeah. Well, see, I’d like to, but—”
    “You’d like to? Get out or I’ll call the police.” Call the police. Yes, yes. Call the police. Katie fumbled for her purse and her cell phone, but he grabbed her wrist.
    “Damn it, don’t panic! I’m not going to hurt you.”
    “I’m not panicking.” Okay, so that was a lie, but he didn’t have to know it. “Just get out!” She struggled to unhook her seat belt. The buckle, naturally, refused to budge. Oh, God, she was trapped in the car with a stranger. The light turned green, but she ignored it and the car horns that blared behind them as she fought with the belt. “Take the car,” she panted. “You can have the car. Just let me go.”
    “Would you listen to me?” The man tightened his hold on her arm and glanced back through the rear window. “Please. I swear that I’m not going to hurt you. I swear. Honest. I’m with the FBI. There are people chasing me who want to kill me. They’re almost here. I need your help. Please.”
    Katie hesitated and looked right into the man’s beautiful dark eyes. He seemed sincere. This could be a scam, though. Her mother’s voice in her head was screaming at her not to be stupid. This