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

now.” Pan made another sharp turn. The tires screeched, cutting off all conversation. The effort of keeping the car straight was wearing on her.
    “Pan, what the hell is going on?” She could hear the strain in his voice.
    “Emilio, I don’t have time for this shit. We’re being chased, and it’s taking all my concentration not to get into a wreck. Now just meet me at your house.”
    Pan paused to take another turn and watched as the other car nearly disappeared out of sight.
    “And you might want to come prepared. I don’t know what we’ll have trailing behind us.”
    “Pan, you’ve got to tell me.” Pan flipped the phone closed and tossed it to Nic. She didn’t have time for this.
    “’Kay, kid. We’re going to try and pull a fast one, but I need you to hold on.”
    Nic nodded at her and made sure the belt was secure.
    Pan knew these streets better than anyone. More than that, she knew the alleys better than anyone.
    She weaved through the alleys. After making nearly half a dozen zig-zags, she brought the car to rest. Hidden from the street, this alley was a sort of optical illusion. Unless you knew it was there, all you’d see is another brick wall. Of course, it was really just a brick wall from another building that couldn’t be seen. She just prayed the other car wouldn’t know this trick.
    They sat in silence for several minutes waiting for the slightest hint that something was wrong. When ten minutes had passed, Pan slowly backed out of their spot. The adrenaline rush from before was fading, leaving her shaking and exhausted.
    They made their way on the outskirts of town. As they pulled onto Emilio’s street, Pan’s heart started to race. Another black car sat alongside Emilio’s bike. Her heart rate slowed when she saw two men standing beside the car. She spotted Emilio, white shirt stained with grease, pacing restlessly in the grass.
    Both men stilled when she came into view.
    She parked behind the car and came around to Nic’s side once out.
    “Oh thank God.” Emilio raced to them and yanked them both into a bone-crushing hug.
    Pan leaned on him and enjoyed the warmth. After the chase, she was feeling drained emotionally and weak.
    Likely sensing her exhaustion, Emilio kept a firm arm around her as he let Nic go.
    “Now someone wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”
    Pan pulled back and looked up at him.
    “Yesterday I saw a black car with tinted windows as I was leaving with Tyler.” The arm around her tensed. “Nic popped in and that same car drove past. I think it might be one of Max’s goons. When we took off, they tailed us.”
    The other man moved into view. “Can you remember much about this car?”
    Pan shrugged. “It was black and had black windows.”
    She looked over to Nic but he shook his head.
    Emilio turned them toward Nic. “Go inside and calm mama down. She and Maria are going crazy.”
    Nic nodded and went inside.
    He then looked down at her. “This is Detective Connor Maxwell.” He nodded in the other man’s direction.
    Detective Maxwell was about as large a man as she’s ever seen, easily six foot six and with muscles to spare. This was the kind of man that you didn’t want to meet in an alley with. He had a strong jaw and kept his sandy hair in a close buzz cut.
    “I think you’re going to need to tell him about your run-in with Max.” She turned to look at Emilio. The muscle in his jaw twitched with strain. “He’s already familiar with my story.”
    “Maybe we should take this inside.” Connor scanned the street and then nodded to Pan. “Looks like she’s about to fall over, and I’ve got my men on patrol.”
    “She’s not going to fall.” Emilio’s arm pulled her until she was snug against him, but they still started to move.
    When they reached the porch, Emilio held the door open for the detective but held them back a moment.
    “You just tell him what happened. He might be able to help us.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly