Free Naked by Francine Pascal Page B

Josh clinched it. He’d tell Gaia everything. They’d start from scratch. Tonight, not tomorrow. He’d just wait for her. As wired with emotion as he was, he’d wait as long as it took. All night would be fine. He certainly had no need to go back to the dorms....
    A cab pulled up to the building’s entrance. Sam ducked down, trying to peer through the darkened window for signs of Gaia.
Yes!
His heartbeat picked up a notch. She was staring out the window with that faraway expression, the expression he’d never been able to interpret, no matter how hard he tried to dissect it —the expression he’d fallen in love with. The door opened, and she stepped out. He straightened and took a deep breath. Time to—
    He stopped breathing.
    Gaia wasn’t alone. A guy followed her out of the cab and slammed the door behind them.
    A
young
guy.
    Sam shivered involuntarily. His gaze froze on this. . . kid.
    This could not be what it appeared to be. Given all the torturous circumstances—given the moment of strained intimacy they’d shared only earlier today,there was simply no way. . . Sam couldn’t even form the thought. His mind wouldn’t allow it. Suddenly he wasn’t cold anymore. He was very, very hot. His teeth ground together, and he sprang toward them on the sidewalk.
    Gaia instantly jumped in front of the kid, as if to protect him.
    Her eyes widened in baffled recognition.
    â€œSam?” she whispered. “What—”
    â€œWhat the hell is going on here?” Sam demanded. He was aware of how silly and melodramatic that sounded, but the stock phrase came nonetheless: the stock phrase of the jilted.
    Gaia frowned. “What do you mean?”
    Sam’s fiery stare shifted to the kid. “Who are you?” he spat.
    â€œPaul,” the kid answered shakily. He stepped out from behind Gaia.
    â€œPaul,” Sam repeated, stepping closer. He vaguely remembered that Brendan had a brother named Paul. But why was
he
out with Gaia? Gaia was friends with Mary, not—
    â€œPaul, go ahead up, okay?” Gaia stepped between them again and ushered the kid toward the doorway. “I’ll be up in a second.”
    Sam stood silently as Paul hurried under the awning, through the glass doors. He paused in the lobby beside the doorman. Both of them stared atSam, but he was oblivious. His heart was pounding, fragmenting.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” he heard himself ask. “Why—”
    A car horn blared. Sam whirled around.
    The cab hadn’t moved.
    â€œIgnore him,” Gaia mumbled. “He’s an asshole.”
    Sam signaled for the cab to drive on. But there was no response. Suddenly the horn blared again. Sam flinched. The grating blast only fueled his rage. “Damn it!” he shouted. “Did you pay him or not?”
    â€œYes, we paid him.” Gaia groaned. “Will you forget about it, please? If you have something to say to me, say it. I want to go upstairs. I’m tired.”
    â€œTired?” Sam shouted, still glaring at the unmoving cab. “Well, what about me? I’m fighting for my goddamn life, and you’re out with—”
    Honk!
    At that moment something inside Sam snapped. He marched over to the darkened window and pounded on it. Slowly the glass began to lower.
    â€œWhy the hell—”
    Sam froze. There was a glint of metal in the shadows: the barrel of a gun, capped with a massive silencer.
    It was pointed directly at Sam’s chest.
    â€œAh salaam aleichem,”
a cold voice whispered.
    A gloved finger squeezed the trigger three times. The shots were inaudible over the purring engine.Sam couldn’t move. His legs went numb as he slapped his hands over his chest and watched the cab screech and take off down the street. Time had slowed down, almost as if it were doing Sam one last favor—allowing him to witness the moment before his death. Strangely, though, he felt no