Читать книгу Holiday Illusion - Lynette Eason - Страница 12

Anna heard Lucas yell and felt herself thrown back against the seat, then bounced off the passenger door. Her head cracked against the window, pain radiating. The seat belt cut into her shoulder and waist, pinning her in the seat. She threw her arms out and grabbed the dash turning to look at Lucas’s horrified expression. He wrenched the wheel to the left to avoid a headlong plunge off the highway. Wheels screeched against the pavement, the smell of burned rubber singed her nose.

“Lucas!”

“Hold on!”

The black Mercedes crept up closer, the tinted windows making it impossible to see anything inside. The powerful engine roared. Anna swiveled to look out the back window to get a look at the driver, hoping the front window wouldn’t be darkened, but before she could catch a glimpse, the Mercedes gave a sudden burst of speed to ram into the tail end once again. She screamed as the rental went into a tailspin.

Fighting the steering wheel, Lucas growled, focusing his attention on keeping them in the right lane and out of oncoming traffic. Anna grabbed her purse from the floor, searching frantically. She pulled her cell from the side pocket and punched in three numbers.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“We’re on Standing Wave Highway heading toward North Carolina. Someone’s trying to run us off the road!”

A slight pause. “I have a car on the way. Give me a specific exit number if you can.”

“Passing Exit 53. Hurry! Lucas, watch out. They’re coming again!”

The impact jerked her head back into the window for the second time; stars danced before her eyes.

“Ma’am, are you there?” Anna focused back on the 911 operator.

“Yes, I…I’m here, but we need some help. Fast.”

Lucas managed to dodge another run at the car. The Mercedes slid past, the brake lights flashing. Two more minutes of watching Lucas avoid another collision had her nerves stretched to the breaking point. Finally a siren sounded to her left, another up ahead. The Mercedes immediately backed off, took the next exit and disappeared, but not before Anna thought she caught a glimpse of the number 1 on the license plate. Not that that information would do any good. How many Mercedes would be registered in the city of Rocking Wave Beach with a 1 as one of the numbers on the license plate? It would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Lucas slowed, allowing the police to catch up. One went after the Mercedes, but Anna didn’t hold out hope that he would catch it. Her head hurt. Lifting a hand to the throbbing ache centered over her right eye, she felt wetness. When she looked, bright red stained her fingers.

Her door opened and the officer, seeing her blood, said something into his radio. Lucas reached over to grab her left hand. “Are you all right?” he demanded.

She lifted her eyes to his. “So much for staying under the radar, huh?”

How had they found her so fast? Lucas fumed as he thought. First the hospital and now this. He rubbed his shoulder where the seat belt had cut into it. But he ignored his minor aches and pains as he thought.

How was it possible that she’d been located so quickly? Was it truly possible that de Chastelain had the ability to track her passport usage? Or was it something else? Something so obvious, it was scary. It could also be that FBI guy, Justin. He was the only one who’d known Anna was back. Lucas ground his teeth as he paced the den of his father’s home.

The old man had yet to put in an appearance. They’d been let in by Ted, who’d gone to get an ice pack for Anna as soon as he’d heard their story. Anna sat on the couch, the ice pack held to her head. She’d downed two ibuprofen pills without complaint. Her pale features worried him, but Anna assured him she was fine, she just needed to lie down. Maddy, one of the household staff, promised him that their rooms would be ready within five minutes.