Renee Simons Special Edition Read Free Page A

away and watched the ketch move out of sight, then stepped back from the rail.
    "We should be going."
    They continued on to Boston . On the outskirts of the city Ethan asked, "Are you hungry?"
    "Starved. How about you?"
    "Yeah."
    "Any suggestions?"
    "Take the next off ramp and I'll navigate." After more turns and narrow streets than she could keep track of, he motioned to pull up at the curb in front of a small Italian deli. Ethan tapped on the window. After a minute or two, someone came to the door and let him in.
    She waited behind the wheel until a flash of red in a shop window across the way caught her eye. As she went to investigate, a gray car pulled in and parked behind her car. She turned to a display of decorative mirrors. The shop owner had angled them to give a kaleidoscopic view of the street behind and to either side of the viewer.
    Intrigued by the bizarre effect of the buildings and her red MG moving in fragments across the display, she stepped from side to side, watching the view change with each new position she took. She used the other vehicle as a reckoning point and wondered why, on a nearly deserted street the driver had found it necessary to crowd in so close to her car.
    She continued to play her game with the mirrors until Ethan's fragmented reflection appeared. As she turned to face him, the gray car pulled out and raced toward him. His eyes were focused downward as he stepped off the curb. “Ethan,” she hollered. “Watch out for the car.”
    He glanced up and quickly stepped backward as the speeding vehicle cleared the MG's front end. It passed him, raising a breeze that ruffled the hair falling over his brow. He stood motionless, his gaze following its progress. She crossed and watched with him. When it disappeared around the corner, he turned to her.
    "I've seen that car before."
    "They were waiting for you."
    He turned to the left and right, searching the empty street.
    "Why do you think they nearly ran you down?" she asked.
    He shook his head. "Just some blokes I've been having a problem with. I don't think they meant to hit me."
    "Let's hope you're right." She noticed the bundle wrapped in white paper and blue string. "Lunch?"
    "Lunch."
    Jordan rarely allowed anyone behind the wheel of the MG, but after what had just happened, she was in no mood to drive in an unfamiliar city. Mentally crossing her fingers, she took the package and handed him the keys.
    "Where are we going?"
    "Ever been to Boston ?" She shook her head. "Then let me introduce you to the Common with a picnic for two."
    "Sounds great. There's a blanket in the trunk."
    He drove capably, frequently glancing at the rear view mirror. Finally, she looked behind them and saw a gray vehicle. "Is that the car?"
    "Belt yourself in 'cause we're gonna ditch these blokes."
    Ditching the blokes obviously involved moving at breakneck speed down one narrow street and up the next, cornering on two wheels and pushing through traffic signals as they turned red.
    "Are you trying to bring down the law on your tail?"
    "Not a bad idea," he muttered, turning a corner with squealing tires.
    She winced at the abuse to rubber and brakes. I should have accepted Drew's offer of a car, she thought. The back window showed the street behind empty of traffic. Ethan slowed and glanced from side to side.
    "What are you looking for?"
    "A place to hide."
    He seemed to find it in an alley housing a construction dumpster nearly as big as an eighteen-wheeler. He backed in and pulled up behind the container, then cut the engine. The Sunday-morning silence closed around them. She made out the hum of an approaching engine and the crunch of tires as the vehicle stopped at the mouth of the alley.
    Ethan reached for the car phone that had been a birthday gift from her ex-boss. "Give me your scarf," he whispered, keying in some numbers as she unwrapped her hair. He folded the length of sea-green silk over the mouthpiece.
    The heavy thud of her heart nearly covered the soft