Phoenix Read Free Page A

the turning lane, and hung a left.
Brad kept glancing back at the couple, keeping track of the man’s
location, while weaving through traffic to get a parking spot on
the street. He lost sight of them after cutting the corner. The
wheel jerked and he cut another driver off, but he had to get
parked before the man made his move. If that happened, he’d lose
them, and he wouldn’t be able to stop what was about to happen.
    "Watch it, asshole!" a guy in a power suit
yelled out his window when Brad threw his door open and almost fell
in front of the BMW.
    Brad ignored it, stumbling across the street
and through oncoming traffic, fear driving him to the corner where
he’d last seen the girl. They were walking away from the shop
toward the alley on the other side. The man was showing the girl
something in his hand, but Brad couldn’t tell what it was because
their backs were to him. Most likely it was a prop meant to lend
strength to the bullshit excuse he’d used to get the girl to leave
her post and walk with him.
    Brad barreled his way down the crowded
sidewalk, not even bothering to apologize to the people he was
shoving out of his way. The girl was about to cut the corner into
the alley.
    What is she thinking ? Why would she do that ? He’s a complete stranger !
    It didn’t make sense, but he didn’t have time
to analyze the situation. For a split-second, he heard Mort say,
‘Think first. Act second.’ Mort always warned Brad against being
rash and to consider his options. Brad always argued that there was
no time. When he caught a snippet of the future, he had to react;
most times those glimpses were only minutes away from playing
out.
    "Miss? Miss!" Brad yelled.
    She didn’t hear him, not over the drone of
traffic and pedestrians. He’d rather get her attention and pull her
away from the man, than confront her attacker in the alley, but it
looked as though he wasn’t going to be left with a choice. It was
true that Brad was a stout young man. At six feet tall and 230
pounds, there weren’t very many men he couldn’t handle. The problem
was he’d never been much of a fighter. He wasn’t a coward by any
means; he just preferred to avoid trouble altogether.
    Brad stopped short at the mouth of the alley.
He leaned forward just enough to catch a quick glimpse, then ducked
back. They were maybe twenty feet in, and the man had been pointing
at the far end. Whatever flimsy excuse he’d used had worked in
getting her alone, and she was completely buying it.
    Maybe he lost his cat , Brad thought, then strode into the alley before he lost
his nerve.
    "Excuse me!"
    The man and the girl jerked around. She was
smiling. He was not.
    Brad moved forward with purpose. "There you
are. I’ve been looking all over for you." He threw his hands out to
his sides. "We’re late. You know Aunt Bell is gonna be pissed if we
don’t get over there."
    The girl’s smile faded, but she didn’t shrink
away when Brad stopped in front of her and took hold of her hand.
The man stepped back, confused at first. Brad didn’t give him time
to recover.
    "Come on, honey." Brad glanced at the man and
gave him the man-nod, then began leading the girl back the other
way. Thankfully she didn’t argue. Or struggle and scream at the top
of her lungs.
    Keep moving , please don’t ask questions , just come with me , please , please , please .
    She had to skip a few paces to keep up with
Brad’s increasing strides. He didn’t dare look back until they
cleared the alley. The man was still standing where they’d left
him, except he was looking around as though lost instead of
tracking his prey. Brad pulled her in front of him and guided her
back toward the shop, blending with the crowd.
    "Just stay calm. I’m not a nut," he said to
her.
    "You sure about that?"
    "Mostly."
    Brad whipped her around and steered her
directly through the open florist’s door, not stopping until they
made it to the back next to the refrigerated cases. He let go of
her