Free Lethal Journey by Kim Cresswell Page A

chance to show you off. Do
some bragging, big time.”
    She couldn’t
help but smile. “Okay, Dad. Okay.”
    “And don’t
forget to bring a date for protection. Don’t want a bunch of
drunken seedy lawyers groping you on the dance floor. And by the
way, I heard Eric was back in town.”
    Her smile faded
as she remembered the annual dinner years before. She’d never
forgotten a single detail of that night—how Eric held her in his
arms and how his mouth devoured her willing lips then pulled away
and left her mouth burning for more...
    “What else did
you hear about him?” she blurted out.
    “Not much.
Can’t even remember where I heard the news. Thought you didn’t want
to talk about Brennan?”
    “I don’t. I
just wondered when he got back.”
    Her father's
jaw tightened. “Don’t know.” His voice turned hard. “Just heard
he’s back.”
    At one point in
their relationship, Eric begged her to come with him and start a
new life in Florida. She didn’t have the courage to leave her
father and walk away from her job. Four years later, she was taking
on the most important case of her career—prosecuting Gino Valdina,
head of New York’s crime family, just like her father had done a
decade before. But this time would be different. Gino Valdina
wasn’t going to get away with murder.
    The sky split
and lightning lit the wet road. Lauren eyed the exit sign to Hyde
Park.
    The whining
squeal of an engine roared from behind.
    Lauren glanced
over her shoulder. “God, that van is back.” She clicked on the
turning signal and steered onto the off-ramp. Her eyes darted back
to the side mirror.
    Headlights
swerved from side to side.
    A shiver drove
up her spine. She clutched the steering wheel.
    “I’m calling
the police.” Her father grabbed his cell phone out of the glove box
and turned it on. “Damn it. I can’t get a signal.”
    “Keep
trying.”
    The van’s
driver gunned the engine.
    The grill came
into view, massive and powerful.
    Close. Too
close.
    Metal connected
and scraped against the bumper.
    The van shoved
the Jaguar ahead on the road.
    High-beams from
the other lane blinded her.
    Lauren blinked
and turned her head.
    The van rammed
the back of the car. Metal popped as the back window disintegrated
into the back seat.
    The seat belt
snapped across her shoulder. Her head slammed back on the head rest
then forward. “Oh my God!”
    The cell phone
flew from her father’s hand. “What the—”
    “Dad!”
    Like a
slingshot the Jaguar shot down the slick road.
    Lauren slammed
on the brakes.
    The car slid a
half circle and spun out of control. A massive tidal wave of water
washed over the roof.
    Her father
clutched the dashboard with both hands. “The tree!”
    She yanked the
steering wheel hard to the left.
    Wood
splintered. Metal buckled, squealed and cracked. The air bag struck
her body like a fist, and smacked her head against the side window.
She pushed at it, viciously. With every move, fiery pain shot
through her face and down her neck. The sickening sweet stench of
gasoline and smoke filled her nostrils. Her head clouded.
    Lauren heard
her own voice, pinched and muffled, cry out. “Dad!” until her words
drifted into silence.

Chapter Two
     
     
    Earlier that
day...
     
    Buff Stud
Looking For Slender Goddess.
    Get Real. Lauren
leaned forward in the leather chair, sipped her Chamomile tea, and
searched the personal ads on the Heavenly Dates web site. From her
previous visits, familiar faces cluttered the screen. Page after
page she explored. Blue eyes the color of a bright summer morning
stared back at her.
    She clutched
her cup of tea with both hands.
    Professional
Race Car Driver Seeks Intelligent, Independent, Slender Woman.
Thirty-three year old male, six-foot-one, one-hundred and
eighty-five pounds, muscular. Enjoys white water rafting, traveling
and skydiving.
    Again, her gaze
wandered over the man’s youthful face and broad smile. She read the
small print below the picture.
    Not