Nightfall by Laura Griffin Read Free Book Online Page A

she
listened.
    Silence.
    Her pulse picked up. She
resumed her pace.
    More footsteps.
    She whirled around. No one.
She clutched the phone in her hand and darted her gaze up and down
the rows of cars. She searched for anyone lurking, any ominous
shadows—but she was alone.
    Almost.
    Anxiety gnawed at her as she
surveyed her surroundings. It was light out. The streets below
hummed with traffic. Still, she tightened her grip on the tripod.
She tucked the phone in her purse and felt for her pepper
spray.
    In the corner of her eye,
movement. She pivoted toward it and registered two things at
once: man and ski mask. Fear shot through her. Maddie swung the tripod around like a
baseball bat as the man barreled into her, slamming her against the
pickup. The tripod was jerked from her grip and clattered to the
ground. Hands clamped around her neck. Maddie punched and bucked as
fingers dug into her skin. She tried to scream. No air. Gray eyes
glared at her through the holes in the mask.
    She smashed the heel of her
hand into his face and felt bone crunch. He staggered back. Maddie
jerked sideways. He lunged for her, grabbing the collar of her
jacket. She twisted out of it and bolted for the
stairwell.
    “ Help!” she shrieked,
yanking open the door. She leaped down the stairs, rounded the
landing, leaped down more. Her butt hit concrete, but she groped
for the railing and hauled herself up. Hinges squeaked above her.
Her pulse skittered. Footsteps thundered over her head.
    “ Someone help! ”
    But they were alone in the
sound-proof shaft. Another landing, a door. She shoved it open and
dashed through. She searched desperately for people, but saw only
rows and rows of cars. Another door. Light-headed with terror, she
pushed it open and stumbled into an alley. On her right, a
passageway lined with Dumpsters. On her left, a gray car parked at
the mouth of the alley. Someone was inside.
    Maddie rushed for the car.
It lurched forward. She halted, stunned, as it charged toward her
like a rhino. Maddie sprinted away from the door and the car.
Behind her a door banged open. The engine roared closer as she
raced down the alley. The noise was at her heels, almost on top of
her. Panic zinged through her like an electric current as her arms
and legs pumped. The car bore down on her. At the last possible
second, she dove sideways behind a Dumpster and felt a great whoosh of air as the car
shot past. The squeal of brakes echoed through the
alley.
    Maddie darted through the
space between the back bumper and the Dumpster. She raced for the
street. Despair clogged her throat as she realized the distance
she’d covered. Where was the ski mask guy? The people and traffic
noise seemed impossibly far away. She raced toward the mouth of the
alley as fast as her burning legs could carry her.
    The man jumped from a
doorway. They crashed to the ground in a heap of arms and legs and
flying elbows. Her skin scraped against the pavement as she kicked
free of him and scrambled to her feet. He grabbed the strap of her
camera and her body jerked violently. She landed on her side as a
fist pummeled her and pain exploded behind her eyes. She managed to
roll to her knees as another blow hit her shoulder. She fell
forward, but caught herself on her palms and kicked backward,
desperate not to end up on the ground under him.
    She struggled for her feet,
but her vision blurred and the strap was like a noose around her
neck. The vinegary taste of fear filled her mouth. He heaved his
weight into her, smashing her against the wall. The strap tightened
again. Maddie gripped it with her hands. She tried to buck him off,
but he was strong and wiry and determined to get her into a
headlock. His arm clamped around her throat. She turned her head to
the side and bit hard through the fabric of his T-shirt. The grip loosened for a
moment and she twisted free of the strap, the arms, the fingers
clawing at her. Adrenaline burst through her veins as she realized
this might be her