Gypsey Blood by Lorrie Unites-Struff Read Free Book Online

weeds, put his hands under her back, and lifted her to a sitting position. He cradled her up against his chest.
    “Sorry. Adrenaline overload. Always laugh after a bad scare.” Her voice cracked. She inched back and looked up. “Especially when my backup doesn’t show, and I end up alone with a freak-head SOB. Where the hell were you guys?”
    Matt’s chest heaved against her. He ran a hand up and down her back, the fingers of his other hand threaded through her hair. He pulled her into the warm strength of his chest again. “Sully called as soon as he could,” his mouth was near her ear, “some teen dragsters sideswiped his car and put his wheels out of commission. The crash bounced him to the floor, jarring his earwig out. The units didn’t spot the van. When I rounded the corner, I saw your purse on the sidewalk and just floored it straight ahead. Other than being scared shitless, this sense of getting closer to you kept getting stronger and stronger.”
    Rita slid her hand between them and felt the warmth radiating all around her crystal, not only the side against her skin. Had the crystal guided Matt in some mysterious way?
    Suddenly, Matt gripped her upper arms and he pushed her away, his features harsh in the beams of his headlights. “I should shake the living crap out of you. I said not to get into his van. Not to try to take him alone. What the fuck did you think you were doing?”
    “Like I had a choice,” she shouted. “First he was leaning over the passenger seat, then poof, he was out as fast as Superman. Before I knew it, I was looking at the underside of his dashboard. Doors were rigged.” Her breath hitched. “When he stopped, he yelled something crazy about blood and poison, then wham, I was rolling into a ditch.”
    His eyebrows shot up. “That doesn’t make sense.” He stared over her shoulder into the night, his gaze distant for a moment. He snapped back and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “But I’m damn glad you’re safe. I’ll get the EMTs.”
    “No, no, I’m fine. Just bruised a little. The van wasn’t moving when he pushed me out.” She took a shaky breath. “I’m just thrilled to still have my blood swimming in my veins.”
    Matt gripped her waist and helped her out of the shallow ditch. “Sure you’re okay?”
    “Yeah, I’ll be fine once my knees stop kissing.”
    They walked to his SUV. Rita secured her seatbelt while Matt hurried around the front and slid behind the wheel. His hand covering her cold fingers resting on the seat felt delicious. He lifted his other hand and softly caressed her cheek. His cell phone rang. She jumped as if she touched a live wire.
    Matt squeezed her hand, then answered the phone. “Yeah, Della. We got lucky.” He grinned at Rita. “She’s pretty shaken up, but okay. Squawk the others. I have her with me.” His face tightened into a scowl as he listened. He angled the phone away from his mouth. “Della just saw a girl get into a black van. They’re in pursuit.”
    “Well, what are you waiting for? Go!”
    He handed Rita the cell. “Direct me.” Matt pulled the gearshift and stepped on the gas pedal. Rita shouted the turns to Matt as Della relayed the van’s ongoing location. Sidewalks and buildings blurred past. Matt turned on the siren. The flashing strobe light reflected in the windows of the closed shops and the houses on the empty streets.
    They were heading down toward the river.
    The SUV careened around a corner and shot down a long steep grade. The railroad trestle loomed ahead. Matt slowed when he hit a sudden dip in the road, then charged full speed under the trestle. He swung the wheel in a hard right, hit a pothole, and bounced onto the paved river road. The SUV tore straight ahead, paralleling the cement railroad embankment that rose four-feet high on their right.
    A freight train rumbled on the tracks. The boxcars swayed dangerously, as if they would tip over any moment and crush whatever lay below them.