Read Online Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner - Free Book Online Page A

shrugged. “Well, okay. Sure, if you’ll change my tire, you three can get in. Just don’t get it dirty, okay, it’s my boyfriend’s car. My phone for his car, you know. Good exchange.”
    “Not a problem,” Jaci replied, eagerly removing the jack from the trunk and grabbing up the spare.
    She was suddenly very grateful to Tio Oscar for insisting she know everything about cars. “At least you have a full spare and not a donut.”
    “What’s your name?”
    Jaci hesitated as she unscrewed the nuts to the tire and began to jack up the car. Should I tell her? She couldn’t see any harm in it. But it wouldn’t hurt to play it safe, either.
    “Julie,” she said as she pulled the flat tire off and put on the spare. “What’s yours?”
    “I’m Natalie.”
    “Hi, Natalie,” Jaci said in a cheery tone, concentrating on replacing the nuts. “Okay, that’s it. Good as new.”
    “Thank you.” Natalie smiled. “Now I help you.” She opened the door and pushed the seat forward. “Into the back, girls of the grass.”
    For the first time, Sara and Amanda stood up. Giving Natalie shy smiles, they climbed into her car.
    A familiar black van screeched to a halt on the other side of the road.
    Sara screamed. “Jaci, it’s him, it’s him, get in!”
    “What is it?” Natalie cried in alarm.
    “We’ve gotta go,” yelled Jaci.
    The door opened and several men got out. With a stab of fear, Jaci recognized Claber at the head of the group. “Help us, Natalie,” she pleaded. “Those men will hurt us.”
    “Hey.” Claber called in a friendly voice. “Where are you girls going?”
    Natalie didn’t wait for him to finish. She shoved Jaci into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Running to her side, she jumped in and started the car.
    He turned his back on them and reached inside the van.
    Natalie hit the gas. Jaci glimpsed a small black square that Claber held eye-level between both hands and aimed at them.
    Forcing herself to look away, Jaci stared at the speedometer. In a moment they went from zero kilometers per hour to one hundred, leaving the black van behind.
    “Please don’t slow down,” Sara sobbed from the back. “Don’t let them catch us.”
    “No one’s going to catch us,” Natalie snapped.
    Coming to a T in the road, she veered left. The tiny sports car took the sharp turns easily. They pulled onto a highway, and within moments blended in with every other car on the road.
    “Thank you,” Sara said.
    Natalie slowed the car down to match the speed of traffic. “I hate reckless driving. It makes me nervous.” She shot a glance at Jaci. “You’re in trouble. Should I take you to the police?”
    “No police,” Amanda said. “Not here.”
    “You don’t want to go to the police?” Natalie sounded a bit suspicious.
    Jaci stared ahead, not offering an explanation.
    Natalie turned off the highway into a suburban area, arriving at a small, brown stucco apartment complex.
    A pretty girl with pale skin and dark brown hair met them at the door of an apartment. Her smile faded when she saw the girls. “ Natalie, ce quisur terre? ”
    “English, Rachel. They don’t speak French. I’ll explain later. Go back inside.”
    Natalie ushered the girls in after Rachel. A wall separated the entry room from the kitchen. A staircase was visible through the kitchen doorway.
    “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” Natalie asked.
    “About twenty-four hours, I think,” said Amanda.
    Natalie gestured to the couch. “You can sit down. That long? Rach, do you have any frozen pizzas or anything? I’ll pay you back. Do you have any clothes you might give away?”
    “Yes,” Rachel replied, her expression stiff. “Are you being the good samaritain again?”
    “Let us get some pizza going, and I’ll see what I can find out from them.”
    Rachel got up from the couch, glancing again at the girls as she walked away. “There’s something familiar about them.”
    Jaci felt edgy and suspicious. She