Body Rides Read Online Free PDF Page B

Brentwood?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘And he brought you all the way over here?’
    ‘It’s where we ended up.’
    ‘Weird. Maybe this was his home territory. That’d make sense, I guess. If he wanted to take you someplace familiar to him.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ she said.
    ‘Do you live in an apartment building?’
    ‘A house.’
    ‘A house in Brentwood?’ Smiling over his shoulder, he glimpsed Elise curled across the back seat. ‘You must be loaded.’
    ‘Pretty loaded.’
    ‘Great.’
    ‘You’re not going to suddenly hate me, are you? Just because I’m well off?’
    ‘Nah.’
    He felt a certain disappointment, though.
    ‘Hope not,’ she said. ‘Some people act as if it’s a sin to have money.’
    ‘Not me,’ he said. ‘Do I look like a Commie?’
    She laughed softly.
    ‘Do you live alone?’ he asked. ‘I mean, I’m just wondering why this jerk didn’t . . . uh . . . why not do everything to you right there in your own house?’
    ‘He wanted to get me screaming. Maybe that’s why he took me away. One good scream at my house, and the cops would’ve gotten hit by so many 911 calls they’d think the Martians had landed. It’s a very quiet neighborhood. And very nervous. All my neighbors know I live alone. And they know I’ve had some troubles with my ex-husband. I think they’re all expecting him to drop in on me some night with a knife.’
    ‘This wasn’t him, was it?’
    ‘No. No, no. This guy was a complete stranger.’
    ‘Sent by your ex-husband?’
    She didn’t answer for a while. Then she said, ‘I doubt it. I think this guy just picked me at random. Maybe saw me out shopping today, or something, and followed me home. You know?’
    ‘Maybe. But if he was hired by your ex-husband this might not be the end of it.’
    ‘All right if I sit up, now?’ she asked.
    ‘It might look funny, the front seat empty and you in the back.’
    ‘Pull over and I’ll get in front. We’ll look like a couple on our way home.’
    ‘I don’t know. You’re not exactly wearing any pants.’
    ‘Pull over someplace dark.’
    ‘Well . . . All right.’ He wished she would stay in back, out of sight. He didn’t want to argue, though.
    If I ever tell Marta about this, he thought, Elise is going to be dressed from head to toe.
    Better not tell her anything.
    I never left the apartment tonight.
    Nice. Start lying to her .
    He turned onto a narrow street with homes on both sides, found a blot of darkness and pulled over. He cut off his headlights. ‘Okay.’
    Before Elise opened the passenger door, Neal picked up the bulb and light cover that he’d tossed onto the seat. He put them into the console.
    Elise sat down and shut her door.
    Neal made a U-turn. On the way back toward Venice Boulevard, he put his headlights on.
    ‘This is much better,’ Elise said. She fastened her seat belt. ‘I didn’t like it back there. It was like being a prisoner all over again.’
    He turned onto the boulevard, and light filled the car. He kept his eyes on the road. ‘I’ve got maps in the glove compartment,’ he said.
    ‘I know the way.’
    ‘No, I figured . . . you might want to use one.’
    ‘I’m not lost.’
    He looked at her. She was smiling, and Neal realized this was the first time he’d been able to see her in halfway decent light. She had dirt and blood on her face. And shadows still hid her eyes. But he saw, at once, that she was a beautiful woman.
    Her beauty didn’t seem austere or threatening. There was something warm about it. Soft and appealing.
    ‘I thought you might want to take out a map and, uh . . . open it.’
    ‘Oh.’ She glanced down at herself. ‘Nothing shows, really.’
    Neal lowered his eyes. The front tails of the big, loose shirt were drawn together and tucked between Elise’s legs. They formed a triangle that covered her groin but left her thighs almost entirely bare.
    ‘If it makes you uncomfortable . . .’
    ‘Doesn’t matter to me,’ Neal said, and returned his eyes to