Curveball(34)

“You did?” she squeals. “Oh my God, Mark, that’s amazing. That’s like a perfect game, right?”

“Not always, but in this case, yes, it was a perfect game.”

“Where are you?” She lowers her voice, sounding more sensual. “I need to reward you for a job well done.”

Drumming my fingers against the steering wheel, I smile at the thought of being inside her, wanting nothing more than to spend the next few hours showing her how much I have missed her.

A chill runs down my spine when I hear engines behind me, and I look up and into my rearview mirror. Not one but six different imports are on my ass, two behind me and the other four creeping up beside me.

“Hey, I’ve gotta go, babe.” I try to hide the concern in my voice, but my girl never misses a beat.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me, Mark.”

“Nothing.” I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to hold it together because I have no idea how I’m going to break away from them now that they have me surrounded. “There’s just a lot of traffic, and I need my hand to switch gears.”

“You have Bluetooth.” She pauses for a second. “What’s that sound I hear in the background? Are you at a race?”

“Something like that.” I hate to lie, but how do I explain this without freaking her out?

Before I can get in another word, the car to my left slams into my quarter panel, forcing me to grip the wheel tighter, causing me to accidentally hit the button for the phone, hanging up on Olivia.

Shit. I could already hear the panic in her voice. This will only set her over the edge.

Looking in my mirror, I can see the asshole I raced last weekend, his shitty import boxing me in. They lost fifty grand because of our crew. Why the fuck are they ganging up on me? We drive as a team, regardless of who has better dial-ins.

I have no escape and no way out of this mess. Stuck on a highway late at night with very few cars, no one would even think twice about stopping.

Worried I will need backup, I use the voice command and say into the speakers, “Call Fat Tony.”

“This’d better be good if you’re waking me up,” Tony says, his voice groggy and deep.

“The Long Island Lowriders have me boxed in on 76. I don’t know what the fuck they want, but I can’t get away from them.”

He sighs, and I can hear some rustling. “Where are you right now?”

“A few minutes from the Passyunk exit.”

His keys jingle in the background, followed by a door slamming. “I’ll do my best to get there by the time you reach the exit. Get them to follow you down our way. I’m calling the guys right now. We’ll take care of the rest.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Tony.”

I give the pedal more gas, jerking the car to my right, and the driver next to me moves in response but not enough that I can cut out from the pack. He quickly rebounds, his car lining up with mine and keeping pace. My only hope is that I can goad them into taking the exit with me. With cars on every side of me, I know I am fucked.

As much as it pains me to do any kind of damage to my baby, I have no choice but to cut the wheel hard now that we’re almost at the exit. When I slam into the Evo, the car swerves to the right and toward the guardrail. We’re going over eighty miles per hour. The hit does enough damage to make me cringe.

What choice did I have?

The exit comes into focus, lit by the dull streetlamps, and I can smell freedom. Now, if only I can get them to do what I want. One more tap causes the driver to veer to the right. When I think I have enough room to get past them, I punch the gas, but I’m completely taken off guard when the driver to my right slams on his brakes, and the one to my left to my left smashes into my door.

It all happens so fast, in a haze of white dotted lines from the road, the green glow of the exit sign, and then the shine of the fenced-in guardrail. I hit the emergency brake, but it’s too late. Going over ninety miles per hour, the front end of my car collides with the cement barrier at an odd angle. I’m airborne, the car flipping several times. I have no control. The windshield smashes on impact.

But it’s the force of the airbag that knocks the wind out of me, blurring my vision. I can’t feel a thing. My body is completely numb. Overcome by sleep, I close my eyes to the sound of police cars off in the distance.





Chapter Fourteen





Olivia





For the tenth time in a row, Mark’s phone goes straight to voice mail. I’m starting to feel like a stalker, but I’m so damn worried about how we hung up, and I have this eerie feeling that will not go away. He never does things like this. Pacing through my living room, I bite down on my bottom lip, holding on to my cell phone with an iron grip, hoping he will call back at any second.

Another two hours pass in the same fashion before my phone rings…and it’s Donna. I let out a sigh of frustration and hit the Answer button.

“Hey, I can’t talk right now. I’m waiting for a call.”

“Are you sitting down?” She breathes loudly into the phone.

“No. Why?”

“You might need to take a seat for what I’m about to tell you.”

Collapsing onto the couch, I lean back against the cushions, my stomach in knots. “Okay. Spit it out.”