Bloodline by MAGGIE SHAYNE Read Free Book Online Page A

response to that question would be, as well. “I…got off the bus where she told me. And she was there, in her car, and she waved to me….” She spoke faster than she should have, her tempo increasing as she went on. “I started to cross the street, and then her car, it just—it just—exploded. And she was…she was gone. She was just gone, and I couldn’t—”
    Her throat closed too tightly to let her go on, and she tipped her head back, eyes focused on the ceiling as she tried to swallow, tried not to just burst into the hysterical tears she felt pushing at the gates to get through.
    She heard the woman’s footsteps coming closer. Felt a hand on her shoulder and lowered her head to see a pairof kind eyes brimming with tears, an attractive face with full lips that trembled and high cheekbones that seemed pale in the insufficient light.
    â€œI’m so sorry,” Serena said, and sniffled hard. “She was your friend, wasn’t she?”
    â€œShe was…more than a friend. She was a sister. Not by blood, but…well, hell, you’ll understand soon enough.”
    â€œWhy was she killed?” Serena’s stomach clenched, and she tried to quell the sickness writhing inside her. “Was it because she tried to help me?”
    â€œShe knew exactly what she was risking, Serena.” The stranger squeezed Serena’s shoulder and spoke these words firmly, as if they were very important. “This…this situation is way bigger than just you or your baby. You bear no responsibility for what happened to Maureen. Even if she had known what the outcome would be, she would have done exactly the same thing.”
    Serena lowered her head and let the tears flow. “I’m so confused. I don’t know what’s going on. Where’s my baby? Why would someone take her? Why would they kill an innocent nurse?”
    â€œI know all this is overwhelming to you right now. But I’m going to explain everything, I promise. Just…not here.”
    â€œWe have to go?” Serena knew her tone was whiney, and yet she couldn’t help herself. “But I’m so tired.”
    â€œI know. I’ve made you soup and a sandwich to eat on the way. This is a safe house, but we can’t risk that you might have been followed. My car’s in the garage. This way.”
    The woman took Serena’s arm and led her to thekitchen, where the stranger picked up a Thermos and a zipper bag with a sandwich and a spoon tucked inside.
    â€œGrab something to drink from the fridge, and then we’ll get out of here,” she instructed.
    Serena opened the refrigerator, which was well-stocked, as if someone lived here. Maybe someone did. Or had. She pulled out two bottles of diet cola and closed the fridge again. The woman was opening a door, and beyond it Serena saw the garage and a blue compact car.
    â€œCome on.”
    â€œNo.” Serena stood where she was, finding her spine and her courage at last. “No, not until you tell me.”
    Nodding, the woman asked, “What would you like to know?”
    Serena frowned as her mind raced. “Something. Anything. Where we’re going. Who’s after us. Where my baby is. Even…your freaking name. Tell me something, for God’s sake.”
    The woman’s face softened. She was perhaps thirty, Serena thought. Brunette hair in a silky, minklike ponytail. Brown doe’s eyes beneath perfectly arched brows, and skin like a fresh peach, devoid of makeup.
    â€œTerry. My name’s Terry. I’m part of a…a secret society, I guess you’d call it. The Sisterhood of Athena. We…we watch, and almost never interfere. But when things go wrong, we step in to set them right again. Maureen was one of us.”
    â€œYou…watch…?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou watch…what?” Serena asked.
    Terry pressed her lips tight, as if deciding which wordsto