Lethal Journey Read Free Page B

driveway.
    Pete sat up
straight in the seat. “Looks like they went in early.”
    “Shit.” Eric
slammed his hand against the dashboard. He threw the truck in park,
and then jumped out.
    Pete was two
steps behind him.
    An agent met
Eric and held out his hand. “Good to see you. What’s homicide doing
down here?”
    Eric shook the
man’s hand. “I’m looking for one of Valdina’s boys. What did you
get?”
    “A hundred and
thirty-six kilos of coke. Estimated street value—fourteen million
dollars. Someone is going to be fuckin’ pissed.”
    A haul like
that would put a huge hole in Valdina’s pocket and cause more
tension within the family ranks. “I’d say so. That’s a hell of a
lot of coke off the streets. Good work.” Eric shoved his hands into
his jacket pockets. “Any arrests?”
    “Sorry, man.
Not even a rat in sight. They must have been tipped off.”
    This was the
fourth time in the last two weeks. Someone was feeding Valdina’s
crew information, someone within the precinct. Eric needed to find
who was leaking the information. He paced between his truck and the
sidewalk, lit another cigarette and took a long drag. Now what?
    Pete tapped him
on the shoulder. “Hey, just got a call. Stephen Taylor and his
daughter were run off the road.”
    What? Eric stood
speechless for a moment. “Are they—?”
    “Don’t know.
They were taken to University Trauma. But check this out.”
    Pete handed him
a slip of paper.
    Eric read the
details. “Keep a close eye on prosecutor Stephen Taylor and the new
district attorney. They might run into some problems.” His stomach
lurched again.
    “Are you
thinking what I am?” Pete asked.
    “Yeah.
Thursday’s murder trial. They were deliberately run off the
road.”
    For decades,
acting boss, Gino Valdina led New York’s crime family. He was a
smooth talking piece of crap who had manipulated his way out of
trouble a dozen times in the past. Easy to do in a city where
associates, cops and judges were bought and paid for with drug
money that lined the Valdina family’s pockets.
    Pete opened the
passenger side door and got in.
    Eric tossed the
half smoked cigarette to the ground and squashed the butt with his
foot.
    Inside the
truck, a familiar rush burst through Eric’s veins. If one of
Valdina’s soldiers was responsible for Lauren’s accident, he
wouldn’t stop there. This may be the break he needed to help find
his father’s killer.
    “Didn’t you say
you dated Taylor’s daughter a few years back?” Pete rammed a piece
of gum in his mouth and tossed the wrapper in the ashtray. “A
brunette. A real looker.”
    Lauren’s face
flashed through Eric’s mind. “Yeah. Too bad she was such a spoiled
daddy’s girl.”
    Four years had
passed and he wondered if Lauren had changed.
    More than
anything, Eric prayed she was alive.
     
    * * * *
     
    “You’re in
shock, Miss Taylor. Please stay still,” a female instructed.
    Lauren moaned
and turned her head in the direction of the voice. Her temples
throbbed. Lights glared overhead and flashed in the back of her
eyes. She flinched. A sharp pain ripped up her neck.
    Gloved hands
touched her arms and her body drifted back on the bed. “There. Now
just relax.”
    Where am I?
    Dismal beige
walls surrounded her. A crooked picture of irises blurred. The
smell of antiseptic caught her nostrils and the room spun. A face
warped and distorted, swirled and twisted above her.
    “What—hospital?” Lauren squeezed her eyes shut.
    “University
Trauma Center. You’ve had an accident,” the nurse said.
    Lauren’s throat
tightened. Images spun through her mind. Light. Rain. Metal. A
van...
    “My father.
Where’s my father?”
    “He’s across
the hall. He’ll be fine.”
    Thank God.
    Footsteps.
Heavy footsteps.
    “How’s she
doing?”
    That
voice, gentle and familiar, wove through Lauren’s groggy
mind. Am I
dreaming? So much like
Eric’s. Not Eric, though. He’d left her years ago.
    “Pretty
battered up. A