Read Online For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper - Free Book Online Page A

away from this craziness as soon as possible. Before she was hurt.
    A squawk from the back seat interrupted his thoughts, and an arm appeared over Dante’s right shoulder, pointing left.
    “All right, all right,” he muttered as he maneuvered around the truck in front of them. “Just give me a second so I don’t rear-end this guy.”
    A digital song started playing in the car.
    “Darn.” Zoey fumbled for her phone. Her frown smoothed to an expression of worry when she looked at the caller ID. “It’s Nikki.”
    She flipped open the phone. “Hi, sweetie . . . no, I’m okay . . . yeah, I know.”
    Dante stopped at a light. “Don’t tell her where we are.”
    She glanced at him. “I’m with a friend. No, it’s . . . No, it’s okay. No, really . . .” She sighed as Nikki talked for a long bit, then said, “I’ll call you later . . . Promise . . . Yes . . . love you, too. Bye.”
    Zoey shook her head as she hung up. “She’s almost insane with worry.”
    Guilt tightened his chest. “I’m sorry.”
    “Thank you.” Her face was hidden as she put away the cell.
    He accelerated as the light changed.
    “Shouldn’t we switch cars or something?” Zoey asked. “Won’t the guys who’re chasing you know what car you drive?”
    “One thing at a time.” He needed to get her to a safe place. The problem was that she was his only witness that he
hadn’t
kidnapped a baby and shot three of his colleagues. Sooner or later the fact that she was a witness to the truth was bound to occur to whoever had set him up. The case against him was a whole lot stronger if Zoey were missing. Or dead. Which left a question: Was Zoey safer with him, or by herself?
    “Hey, maybe we can break into the city’s impounded-cars lot and liberate my Prius,” Zoey said.
    He widened his eyes in mock admiration. “That
is
a good idea. A Prius is just what I’d like to be driving if we’re chased again.”
    “No need for the macho sarcasm,” Zoey huffed. “Besides, who says
you’d
be driving the car?”
    Dante didn’t bother answering. They were in a neighborhood composed of brownstone duplexes and more modern square apartment buildings. The old guy tapped Dante on the shoulder, and he took that as a signal to slow down.
    “Or I know someone we could ask to borrow her car,” Zoey continued. “’Course she drives a Beetle. And it’s purple.”
    The old guy gave a yell from the back, and Dante stomped on the brake in reflex. “Jesus! What?”
    He turned to find the old guy scrambling out of the back seat.
    “Bye!” Zoey called, and they both watched him skitter across the street and into one of the duplexes. She turned to him with a bright face. “Want to try for the Beetle? Or do you have a better idea?”
    Dante put the BMW in gear. “I’ve got a better idea.”

Chapter Ten
    Thursday, 8:05 p.m.
    W here are we going?” Zoey asked. It was dark now, the streetlights reflecting off the slush piled against the curbs.
    “I need to drop you off,” Lips said. The car was shadowed, but she could make out the grim set of his jaw. “Do you have a friend or relative you can stay with?”
    “No.” Her heart had sped up at his words. The last thing she wanted was to have him dump her somewhere. It was important that she stay with him. Important that she find Pete.
    “No one at all? What about the friend who owns the Beetle?”
    “She just had a baby. My mother lives in Indiana. I’ve got one friend who’s just left for two weeks in Cancún, and another who lives in a dorm at the University of Chicago.”
    “A dorm?”
    Zoey shrugged, glad that he couldn’t see her face. She was skating the truth on all of this, and she wasn’t the best liar in the world. “She’s getting a law degree.”
    “You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”
    “Not besides Nikki.” She swallowed. “Well, I’ve got some foster brothers and sisters from way back, but we’re not in touch. I don’t even have current phone