LITMIR.BIZ

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wasn’t bad. He finished it in a few bites, although his ribs ached with every swallow.

      Cars came and went. Busy joint for a Monday night. Barry kept hoping a cruiser might arrive unbidden and scare the guys off, but no such luck.

      Sonya emerged at last. The two gangbangers eased out of the car.

      As Barry weighed his response, an SUV blocked his view. Rap music pounded from the speakers, obliterating other sounds.

      At last the SUV departed. In the spotty illumination, he saw Sonya struggling as the two men hauled her toward their vehicle. Despite the earlier activity, there was no one else around. Not a single witness except him.

      Barry put the sedan into gear. Hitting both the gas and the horn, he screeched to within inches of the men’s bumper.

      Startled, they released Sonya. As they reached inside their jackets, probably for weapons, he flicked up the car’s locks.

      She grabbed for the door. Saw him, and hesitated.

      “Get in!” he bellowed.

      She had the sense to obey. Kept her head low, too. Smart lady.

      Barry stomped the accelerator. “Hang on.”

      They peeled out. Behind them, one thug stood waving a gun indecisively as the other dived into the jalopy.

      “Phone the cops.” Barry zoomed onto a side street.

      “Not until we find Gina.”

      “You’ve got to be kidding! Those guys tried to kidnap you.”

      “We can’t afford to delay.” She peered into the side mirror. “No sign of them.”

      Although he suspected the men had been too disorganized to catch up, he took nothing for granted. “They could be planning to cut us off. You know the town. Tell me where to go.”

      She guided him through a series of turns. Finally, it became clear they really weren’t being pursued.

      Barry’s pulse still pounded with a mixture of excitement and fear. Beside him, he felt Sonya trembling.

      “Cold? Rentals don’t come equipped with blankets, I’m afraid.” But most likely her shivers had another source. “That must have been a traumatic experience, two men grabbing you.”

      “I’m fine.” She hugged herself. “Don’t worry. If I’m about to go into shock, I’ll recognize the symptoms.”

      “Name three.”

      “Oh, for heaven’s sake! Confusion, clammy skin and dizziness. Also profuse sweating, a thready pulse, shallow breathing and chest pain.”

      “Sure you didn’t omit anything?”

      “Unconsciousness.”

      He ought to let well enough alone, but that wasn’t Barry’s nature. “Still planning to report me as a stalker?”

      In the lowering darkness, streetlights glittered off her large eyes. “Not if you behave.”

      “How’m I doing so far?” When she hesitated, he added, “A little appreciation wouldn’t go amiss.”

      She searched for a moment before coming up with, “Thank you. I was really in trouble.”

      “You’re welcome.” They cruised a boulevard between rows of shops. His sister would have gone on a spree had she been with him, he mused, with so many art galleries and fine restaurants as well as boutiques offering clothing, antiques and furniture.

      Sonya stared out. “I don’t dare go back for my car. I could use your help.” The request obviously didn’t come easily.

      “And here I planned to spend a fascinating evening in a hotel room working on my laptop,” he joked.

      “Sounds like a hot time.”

      Barry enjoyed being around this sharp-edged woman. He had a fleeting image of her in bed, a high-voltage bundle of sexual impulses. Tantalizing. And dangerous to reflect on. “I’m at your disposal.”

      “I apologize for threatening you earlier, Mr. Lowell.” She released a long breath. “Under normal circumstances, I don’t act that way.”

      He stopped at a red light. “Nobody addresses me as Mr. Lowell except my lawyer, and I prefer to hear from him as little as possible.”

      If he’d expected a smile, Sonya failed to comply. “Gina’s in labor. She’ll deliver tonight or tomorrow, and it’s not going to be pretty. Sorry, but I’ve temporarily lost my sense of humor.”

      “I understand your concern, but you could have been killed,” he reminded her. “Other doctors don’t risk kidnappings and gunfights to pursue their patients. Why’s the girl so important?”

      “A friend of mine died from a messed-up pregnancy when I was in high school.” With the back of her hand, she brushed aside a tear. “Those guys and their stupid argument over a debt! Can you believe them? As if it mattered!”

      “It matters to them,” Barry noted. “I’ve seen men kill for less.”

      In prison, he’d had to adapt to an entirely new culture, and fast. Fortunately, his fellow inmates had valued his help in writing pleas for money, visits and retrials. Although his balancing act hadn’t always worked—witness the scar—he’d mostly managed to stay on the right side of the various factions.

      Her hands clenched. “Just help me find Gina, okay?”

      “Sure thing.” He entertained no illusions about where he stood. If he got in the way of Dr. Vega’s rescue attempt, she’d sacrifice him without a qualm. Okay, maybe with a slight qualm.

      The journey might be worth his while, though. He’d like to find out what knife had twisted inside Sonya’s gut to make her so guarded. And he wouldn’t object to saving a life or two, either.

      Thank goodness word of his soft side wasn’t likely to travel back home. He’d hate to ruin his reputation as a curmudgeon.

      When the light changed and Barry started forward, Sonya grabbed the edge of her seat. Startled, he looked for whatever had frightened her, but saw only a placid flow of traffic. “Does my driving bother you?”

      She released her grip. “I was in a bad accident a couple of years ago. We got hit without warning.”

      That might explain the darkness he sensed. “We? Was someone killed?”

      “No. The other motorist had a few bruises, and I went to the hospital for several weeks. The man I…the driver in my car emerged just peachy.”

      He noted the hesitation in reference to her male companion. A key to the past, indeed. “You recovered.”

      “It took a while.”

      He had a good grasp of the arduous process involved in physical therapy. “Something similar happened to my mother. A tractor smashed into her car and left her a paraplegic.” She’d been on the way home from conducting an interview at dusk. In the aftermath, Barry had moved home to take over the family paper.

      “Was anyone else hurt?” Sonya asked.

      “No. The farmer got off without a scratch, and Mom was alone in the car.” Although her injuries restricted her ability to write, Barry treasured the insightful articles she still occasionally contributed to the Gazette. “I’m glad you survived in one piece.”

      Sonya tapped the dashboard. “We have to figure out where they’ve gone.”

      He refocused on their target: a pregnant girl about to give birth. “If she’s in labor, why not a hospital?”

      “Her idiot boyfriend has convinced Gina that childbirth is a natural process, which I guess means she’s supposed to drop the baby in the field. In truth, I think he wants to keep her under his thumb.”

      She

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