Princess (American Princess #1)(24)
Author: Courtney Cole

“You’re a good boy, Stephen.  She’s right to stick with you.”

“Well, I’m glad you approve, Marge.”

She walked away, her gnarled fingers darting out to snag the tip that someone had left her as she passed.  She was secretly certain that the bus boys stole part of her tips.  She tried not to leave them on the table too long in order to prevent the theft.  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she saw one of them cleaning off a nearby table and she rushed over to grab that tip, as well.

“Hey, you come here often?”  Sydney sidled up beside Stephen, bending to kiss his forehead.  He tilted his head back to look at her, noting the slight flush in her cheeks.

“Oh, every once in a while.  See there’s this girl…”  His voice trailed off as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Really?  What’s she like?”

She squeezed his fingers as she spoke.  She found herself wishing that they were in private.  She’d suck on his fingers to see what effect it had on him.  She was pretty sure she knew.  She should be ashamed of herself, but she wasn’t.  Letting go of her inhibitions was starting to grow on her. Stephen appraised her before he answered.

“Well, she’s young.  And pretty.  And a little bit sassy.  Have you seen anyone around here that fits that description?”

“Not lately.  But I’ll let you know if I come across her.  In the meantime, want to hang out with me?”  She beamed her biggest smile at him and he almost collapsed.  She was absolutely beautiful.

“Okay.  I’ll settle for you.  For now.  Just until I find the other one.”

She punched him on the arm and then grabbed it, leaning into him in a familiar way that he loved, while they walked out to his car. He opened her door like the perfect gentleman that his mama had taught him to be.  As he waited for her to situate herself, he gazed absentmindedly around him at the trees rustling in the breeze and the cars lining the street.

His breath caught in his throat.  Down the street, maybe two blocks away, a battered old black Trans Am was parallel parked. He could see a shadowy figure sitting inside behind the steering wheel.  He couldn’t make out who it was…and he couldn’t for the life of him imagine who would have enough balls to show up again in the same exact car that they had ran Sydney down with.

He was careful not to act like anything was wrong and walked casually around to his side of the car, slamming the door as he got in. As he started the car, he asked, “Do you have Detective Daniels’ card in your purse?”

Sydney looked at him in surprise.  “Yes, I think so.  Why?”

“Pull it out and call him.”

She didn’t ask any more questions because the look on his face was startling.  She simply dug through her purse, found the card and dialed the number.

“Is it ringing?” Stephen barely glanced at her, instead keeping his eyes on the road, flickering from time to time to the rear view mirror.

“Yes.”  She was apprehensive. Something was wrong and she didn’t know what.  It was an uncomfortable feeling.

“Let me have it.”  He held his hand out and she placed her phone in his palm.

“This is Daniels.” The detective’s curt voice was loud enough that Sydney could hear it through the phone. She craned her ears to hear it better.

“Detective Daniels, this is Stephen James.  I just picked Sydney up at the Sunshine Café on the corner of Sample and West.  The Black Trans Am that hit her was waiting for us down the street and it is following us now.”

Sydney gasped and started to turn around, but Stephen grabbed her arm and shook his head.  She slumped against the seat and looked straight ahead… deciding instead to focus on not hyperventilating.  She suddenly found it incredibly hard to breathe.  She focused on long pulls in, then exhaling slowly, feeling her breath rush over her teeth. When the first breath didn’t calm her, she tried it again.

“Yes, I can do that.  It’s only five minutes from here.  Yep, I understand.”  Stephen flipped the phone closed and laid it gently back in her lap. It was apparent to her that he was being calm for her sake.

“Sydney, don’t think about it.  Everything’s fine. You’re with me.”  He grasped her hand for a moment, before returning both hands to the wheel.  She saw him glance quickly into his rearview mirror again.

“Is it still back there?”

“Yes. We’re going to lead him to a little park nearby—Detective Daniels is going to be there.  Lucky for us, he was already in the area.”  He turned left and Sydney stared into her side mirror.  Sure enough, she caught a glimpse of the black car just a few cars behind them.  She sucked in her breath.

“Stephen, he’s passing!”  The black car was weaving through traffic in order to get closer.  Apparently, the driver wasn’t so concerned with being covert anymore.

“Shit- he must know that we saw him!” Stephen pressed the accelerator and the T-Bird edged forward, the heavy mass of the vintage car trembling as it sped up.  The Trans Am was right behind them now, directly on their tail.

“We’re two minutes away- I need to keep him with us.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Sydney’s eyes were glued to her mirror, where she could plainly see the dented grill of the Trans Am hugging the back end of their car.  She had given the car that dent.  She swallowed hard.

“Can you see who it is?”

“No.”  Her face was panicked as she tried to look behind her. Stephen kept his eyes on the road, as he maneuvered the car through traffic, trying to make sure that they didn’t lose the car behind them. Suddenly, their car lurched forward as the Trans Am slammed into their trunk.

“Oh my God—he’s hitting us!  On purpose!”

Sydney gripped the armrest so hard that her fingers turned white.  They were rammed again from behind, so hard that Sydney’s neck snapped forward like a rag doll and her teeth slammed together.  Her arm flung out and braced the weight of her body against the door as she tried to anticipate the force of the next impact.

Stephen slung the T-Bird around the last corner and skidded to a stop in the dusty parking lot of the tiny neighborhood park.  In a navy blue Crown Vic, Detective Daniels sat waiting.  As soon as the Trans Am squealed by, he pulled out and flew after it in pursuit, red and blue lights flashing.