30 Seconds Read Online Free PDF Page A

had woken up.
    She was on her way to check on Tara when she saw them. Six men were crowding the nurse’s desk. One had a long, jet-black ponytail and olive skin. His arm lay across his stomach, his hand hidden beneath his buckskin jacket. She had seen enough movies to know it caressed a gun. Next to him was a man with a thin goatee framing a sinister smile. Another had carpet sideburns. One man towered over all of them and, standing on the edge of the group, was a man with arm muscles as big as her head. In the middle was a man in a long, leather coat with brown hair draped over his forehead.
    Dani pressed her back against the wall and peeked around the corner. “I’m looking for a doctor, ma’am,” the man in the middle said to the nurse. She recognized his voice instantly. It was the voice of one of the men who broke into her apartment—Red.
    “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Is there a specific doctor you’re looking for?”
    “Yes, ma’am, I’m looking for Dr. Hart.”
    “No problem.” She picked up her phone. “I’ll see if I can find Dr. Hart for you.”
    Dani retraced her steps and opened the door to the waiting room. She ignored the stares of all the people hoping she would take them into an exam room next for treatment. She made it to the entrance of the waiting room, a few yards past the nurse’s desk, and a few yards closer to the hospital’s doors. She slipped out, desperately trying to be invisible as she walked toward the doors, but the nurse looked up and saw her.
    “Oh.” The nurse hung up the phone. “Dr. Hart is right there.”
    Dani bolted and was out the door instantly. Her feet ate the pavement. With a head start, combined with her long legs and cheetah speed, she was far ahead of them. She flew down the sidewalk; the many pedestrians a blur. Behind her, she could hear the thunder of six pairs of boots as the men ran after her, but she never slowed her pace.
    Then a shot rang out. She didn’t know where the bullet went, but terrified screams erupted all around her. Some of the people fell to the ground as the rest scrambled into the street with oncoming cars.
    When she realized they didn’t care about shooting her in broad daylight, she doubled her speed. She dashed across the road, ignoring the blinking red hand that warned all pedestrians not to cross. A blare of a horn forged toward her. It grew louder the closer she got to the sidewalk. She leapt onto the curb a second before a delivery truck plowed by, its horn still screaming. Not even the fear of being hit by a car could slow her down a fraction.
    Two more shots rang out. She ducked, losing some momentum, but she quickly straightened her body and forced her legs to go even faster. The wind whipped around her and a curl fell onto her face. She could feel the elastic band of the surgical cap slipping off her head as she blew past cars stuck in traffic.
    When another clump of hair fell free, she cursed. The last thing she needed was for the cap to slip off and set loose all of her hair. She eyed a building under construction a few paces ahead and the alley beside it. She whipped around the corner. Once hidden inside the alley, she ripped the cap of her head, yanked her arms out of her white coat, and pulled the scrub top off so all she wore were her blue scrub pants and a long-sleeved shirt. She chucked the clothes into the dumpster nestled in the corner of the alley and jumped over a slimy puddle. When the men entered the alley, she had already slipped inside the building. She slithered through the slabs of concrete, beer cans, piles of wood, and fast food bags. Through the half-completed walls she could hear the beat of twelve heavy boots.
    She reached the front door and calmly stepped onto the sidewalk. Even though her leg muscles were yelling, “Go, go, go,” she walked as coolly as she could manage with her heart thudding inside her chest.
    With a sly peek over her shoulder, she could see the six men running toward