Standing By (Road House) by Madison Stevens Read Free Book Online

Pan’s heart ached for Mama Diaz.
    “But papa wasn’t quite the man Mama thought.” Nic twisted in his seat. “You have to understand. He’s not a bad man. It’s just the way of things. You want to move up in the world, and you have to scratch a few backs.”
    Pan shook her head. She knew where this was going and knew he couldn’t be more wrong.
    “Well, at least, that’s what my father thought.” He tore his eyes from hers and stared at a line on the counter. “He’d made so many deals with Max. This time was a big one. He was supposed to move us all away from all this. Usually Emilio was the one to talk him out of big schemes, but he had his own place and it all happened so fast.”
    Pan watched as his hand shook on the counter and grabbed hold of it.
    “Over twenty thousand this time. Something went wrong with the pickup. When the dust settled he was gone. Bag packed and everything gone.” He looked up to her. The pain poured from his eyes. “He didn’t even think to take us.”
    Silence fell over them both as they processed the ramifications. Pan watched as Nic took in several deep breaths.
    The large picture window to the street caught her eye. A black car with tinted windows drove by slowly. Just like the one last night. The car quickly sped off. The coincidence of it wasn’t lost on Pan.
    Nic glanced over his shoulder at the street.
    “Trouble?”
    “Maybe,” Pan said as she slipped off the stool. “Better bail just in case.”
    She snatched her keys and phone off the counter and shoved them into her pocket.
    She flung the sign to “closed” and locked the door. Not that it would keep someone out who really wanted in. The two moved toward the back and stopped at the door.
    “We need to try and get to the shed unseen. I’m going to look outside and make sure it’s clear. Then I want you to make a run for it.”
    “But what about you?” The ashen hew from the night before was back. Pan leaned in and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll be right behind you. I just need to lock up and then we’re good.”
    Nic gave a nod, but she could see the worry in his brow.
    Pan carefully opened the door. She hoped that her hunch was wrong and that car hadn’t meant anything, but when it came to Max, it’d be stupid not to be careful. She breathed a sigh of relief. The back looked clear.
    She signaled to Nic and sent him running toward the shed. She locked up and slipped inside the shed doors, just as the black car turned down the alley. Soon they would be at the mouth of the shed. The two would be clearly visible and completely open. Pan pushed Nic into her Lincoln, and the beast of a car roared to life.
    She threw the car into reverse and peeled out. The beast stopped just inches from the bumper of the black car and kicked up dust and rocks as it sped out of the alley.
    “Buckle up! I think we just asked them to play tag.” Pan snapped herself in just in time to make a sharp left.
    The tires squealed and the car rocked as they righted themselves. Pan patted the dash of the car. If she had gone with something plastic, they would have flipped the car with that turn.
    In the mirror, she could see the black car in hot pursuit. Not able to take the corners like her, they had to slow down. Pan grinned. That was how she’d lose the bastards.
    “Uh, Pan. You’re kinda scaring me.” Nic gripped the door until the skin around his fingers was white from strain.
    “No worries, kid.” Pan jerked the car to the right. “He can’t make a turn like we can.”
    “Are you sure we should be taking turns like we are?”
    Pan laughed. “Nope, but we’re winning with it.”
    Pan looked in the mirror. The car had dropped even further back.
    When she took the next turn, she felt a buzzing from her pocket.
    “Perfect,” she muttered. Pan reached down and yanked the phone out. Without even looking at it she flipped it open.
    “Listen, assface. If you want to make it up to me, you’ll be at your house like