Free Final Breath by Kevin O'Brien Page B

knees, then reached between the bars and grabbed Eli under his arms. That lightened the load incredibly. Two more partygoers reached out to help pull him up to the railing. Eli was able to swing his leg up to the edge of the roof and then he lifted himself. "Thank you...everybody," he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I--I'm really sorry..."
    Sydney heaved a sigh of relief. She suddenly felt so depleted and woozy she thought she might faint. But she clung to the banister.
    "Are you all right?" Kyle whispered to her. "How's your back? Did you pull anything?" He was referring to her old injury.
    Catching her breath, Sydney nodded. "I think I'm okay," she murmured.
    Eli took hold of her arm and helped her climb back onto the other side of the railing. Kyle threw his arms around both of them. Everyone on the rooftop broke into applause--as did people on the roof across the way.
    "Okay, next on Fear Factor ," Kyle announced. "Sydney and Eli are going to wrestle with killer cheetahs! Stay tuned!"
    The guests laughed. Some continued clapping. Howard declared he needed a drink.
    Sydney's heart was still pounding furiously. With one arm around Eli, she waved at the people on the roof across the way. They were applauding, too. No one was looking at the fireworks pageant's big finale.
    Nor was anyone looking toward the rooftop of another nearby condominium, where a man stood alone with his arms folded. The building's windows were all boarded up, and except for that lone man, the place looked deserted--and ready for demolition.
    Unsmiling, the dark stranger watched Sydney wave and blow a kiss to the people on the rooftop next door.
    She didn't look over toward him. Obviously, all this time, she hadn't noticed him there.
    No one had.

C HAPTER F IVE
    "No, really, I'd like to know," Sydney said, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Be honest. What the hell were you thinking?"
    Slouched in the passenger seat, Eli stared at the dashboard and said nothing. His lower lip was a bit swollen from biting it too hard earlier tonight. Headlights from an oncoming car briefly illuminated his face, and then he was in the shadows again.
    Their lane wasn't moving at all, total gridlock. Kyle had been right. The post-fireworks traffic was a nightmare. But Sydney had been so upset at Eli for pulling that stunt, she couldn't stick around the party and make small talk with people. So they'd bid everyone a hasty good-bye about ten minutes after the fireworks show had ended.
    Sydney had the car window open, but there wasn't much of a night breeze. Still, whenever some idiot within four blocks let off a firecracker, she heard it--loud and clear. Though that happened about every two minutes, it still startled her and made her flinch every time. Her nerves were so frayed. "Look at me, I'm still shaking, for God's sake," she said, letting go of the wheel for a moment to show him her tremorafflicted hands. "Were you trying to give me a heart attack back there?"
    "I said I was sorry," he muttered.
    'So what exactly were you trying to do?" Sydney pressed, grabbing hold of the wheel again. Traffic started to move--at a crawl. "And please, don't give me that 'I was leaning over too far and slipped' excuse you gave everyone at the party, because I'm not buying it, kiddo. If you'd really slipped, you'd have yelled. But you didn't. You deliberately climbed over the other side of the railing. Why? And how did you get down to the storm drain?"
    Frowning, Eli turned and gazed out his window. He sighed.
    Sydney waited for an explanation. She wasn't sure if he'd lowered himself down to that storm drain for some attention or for a dumb thrill. She knew he'd been bored at the party. Perhaps all of Kyle's guests fawning over her had made him feel insignificant--and angry at her. Or maybe he was still upset at her for tearing him away from his home, his father, and his friends in Chicago five weeks ago. He certainly hadn't asked to be relocated to Seattle. And he still