Read Online Deadly Intentions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 1) by Lily Harper Hart - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lily Harper Hart
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Clemens were empty this late at night. During the day, it was a bustling hub of activity. As the county seat, there was a lot of business transpiring on the city’s streets during business hours. At night, though, all that hustle and bustle completely disappeared. For some reason, the city couldn’t sustain a viable bar business.
Mandy forced herself to relax. This was ridiculous. It was only nine at night. There was nothing to be afraid of. Sure, the streets were empty, but no one would be stupid enough to attack her this early in the evening.
Mandy blew out a sigh, hating herself for the fear washing over her heart and mind, and turned toward the parking lot. Just breathe. This wasn’t a big deal. Nothing had happened in days. She was probably imagining everything anyway.
Mandy squared her shoulders and pointed her body in the direction of the parking lot. One step in front of the other. She was halfway to her destination when her breathing finally returned to normal, her heartbeat slowing. She was being stupid. There was no danger here. Maybe there was no danger anywhere.
Mandy shifted her mind to other thoughts. She needed more painting supplies and canvases. A trip to the craft store was in order. A new season of The Walking Dead was starting in two weeks. It was her favorite show. That was something to look forward to.
Crap . Thinking of The Walking Dead made her think of zombies. There are no zombies in Mount Clemens. Zombies aren’t real. They’re interesting movies and television shows, but nothing else. Never real. Killers are real, though. She saw them come through the court system every day. Yeah, killers were real. Crap. Killers were real. She was in a dark parking lot, alone, and killers were real.
“Shit.”
She was almost to her car. She had to stop thinking about killers. The parking lot was completely vacant except for a dark Ford Explorer in one of the closer slots, and another sedan at the far end of the pavement rectangle. Mandy couldn’t help but wonder if she would feel safer if the parking lot was completely empty.
She felt like an idiot. Again. One of the vehicles obviously belonged to Clint. And the other? The nagging thought was haunting her. Who did the other vehicle belong to?
Just move forward, Mandy urged herself. There’s a perfectly good reason for two vehicles to be in this parking lot this late at night. Sure, she couldn’t think of one, but she wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders right now.
Mandy pulled her keys out of her pocket, hitting the “open door” button as soon as she found it on the fob. I’m almost there. Relief flooded through her when she found herself in front of her car. In a few feet, she would be safe.
That’s when her world imploded. The sedan at the end of the parking lot roared to life, the lights flipping on, as the car sped in her direction. Mandy froze. She was in the path of the car, the lights bearing down on her. She was fine, she told herself. The driver just hadn’t seen her yet. She was totally fine. He would turn away.
If she was totally fine, then why wasn’t the car slowing down? Was it speeding up? She thought it could be speeding up. She wanted to move. She needed to move. Why couldn’t she move? Her mind registered terror, and yet her body didn’t respond. She had to move. She had to move now. Move. Move. Move!
She finally moved. Only, it wasn’t under her own volition. Before she even registered what was happening, another body barreled into her, knocking her out of the path of the oncoming car and onto the hard pavement. She hit the ground, the air knocked from her chest, barely registering the heavy body on top of her as she tried to grasp what was happening.
The car sped by, fleeing from the parking lot, and pulling onto Main Street without stopping as it raced into the distance.
Mandy couldn’t catch her breath, her heart pounding. The body on top of her wasn’t looking in her direction, and the fear of the car
Mandy forced herself to relax. This was ridiculous. It was only nine at night. There was nothing to be afraid of. Sure, the streets were empty, but no one would be stupid enough to attack her this early in the evening.
Mandy blew out a sigh, hating herself for the fear washing over her heart and mind, and turned toward the parking lot. Just breathe. This wasn’t a big deal. Nothing had happened in days. She was probably imagining everything anyway.
Mandy squared her shoulders and pointed her body in the direction of the parking lot. One step in front of the other. She was halfway to her destination when her breathing finally returned to normal, her heartbeat slowing. She was being stupid. There was no danger here. Maybe there was no danger anywhere.
Mandy shifted her mind to other thoughts. She needed more painting supplies and canvases. A trip to the craft store was in order. A new season of The Walking Dead was starting in two weeks. It was her favorite show. That was something to look forward to.
Crap . Thinking of The Walking Dead made her think of zombies. There are no zombies in Mount Clemens. Zombies aren’t real. They’re interesting movies and television shows, but nothing else. Never real. Killers are real, though. She saw them come through the court system every day. Yeah, killers were real. Crap. Killers were real. She was in a dark parking lot, alone, and killers were real.
“Shit.”
She was almost to her car. She had to stop thinking about killers. The parking lot was completely vacant except for a dark Ford Explorer in one of the closer slots, and another sedan at the far end of the pavement rectangle. Mandy couldn’t help but wonder if she would feel safer if the parking lot was completely empty.
She felt like an idiot. Again. One of the vehicles obviously belonged to Clint. And the other? The nagging thought was haunting her. Who did the other vehicle belong to?
Just move forward, Mandy urged herself. There’s a perfectly good reason for two vehicles to be in this parking lot this late at night. Sure, she couldn’t think of one, but she wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders right now.
Mandy pulled her keys out of her pocket, hitting the “open door” button as soon as she found it on the fob. I’m almost there. Relief flooded through her when she found herself in front of her car. In a few feet, she would be safe.
That’s when her world imploded. The sedan at the end of the parking lot roared to life, the lights flipping on, as the car sped in her direction. Mandy froze. She was in the path of the car, the lights bearing down on her. She was fine, she told herself. The driver just hadn’t seen her yet. She was totally fine. He would turn away.
If she was totally fine, then why wasn’t the car slowing down? Was it speeding up? She thought it could be speeding up. She wanted to move. She needed to move. Why couldn’t she move? Her mind registered terror, and yet her body didn’t respond. She had to move. She had to move now. Move. Move. Move!
She finally moved. Only, it wasn’t under her own volition. Before she even registered what was happening, another body barreled into her, knocking her out of the path of the oncoming car and onto the hard pavement. She hit the ground, the air knocked from her chest, barely registering the heavy body on top of her as she tried to grasp what was happening.
The car sped by, fleeing from the parking lot, and pulling onto Main Street without stopping as it raced into the distance.
Mandy couldn’t catch her breath, her heart pounding. The body on top of her wasn’t looking in her direction, and the fear of the car
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