Kiss Her Goodbye (A Thriller) Read Online Free PDF Page A

prey.
     The van turned, a hard right into an alley. Donovan raced after it, honking his horn as he went. He whipped the wheel and turned into the alley just as the news van cleared the opposite end. It made an arcing left, nearly sideswiped a parked car, and continued on without slowing.
     Donovan sped up, made a quick left.
     Up ahead, the van blasted through another intersection. As Donovan struggled to catch up, some idiot in a Volvo crossed his path. Donovan swerved to avoid him, but clipped the Volvo’s rear bumper and sent it into a spin.
     Stupid bastard.
     Donovan straightened the wheel and continued on without slowing, glancing in his rearview mirror as the Volvo slammed into a lamppost with a metallic crunch. He could only hope the driver was okay.
     The wound in his thigh felt like a lump of molten lava. He probed it with two fingers and discovered something hard and jagged embedded in the flesh. He couldn’t be sure, but it felt like a sliver of Plexiglas.
     Biting back a wave of nausea, he tried to concentrate on the van. It was within striking distance now, its rear bumper only feet away.
     Donovan nudged the accelerator and pulled up along the right rear side. Jerking the wheel hard, he smashed the side of the van.
     It swerved, losing speed.
     That’s right, you son of a bitch, I’m right on your ass.
     Without hesitating, Donovan jerked the wheel again. Metal crunched.
     The van fishtailed, its driver nearly losing control.
     He had them now. One more hit and this race was over. He was about to jerk the wheel a third time when the van’s side door flew open and Alexander Gunderson pointed the business end of an M203 grenade launcher directly at him.
     

6
     
    S O BARNEY WANTED to play.
     Moments earlier, Gunderson was watching him through the van’s rear windows, watching him work the wheel with a ferocity he didn’t know the man possessed. Fucker blew right past that Volvo with barely a backward glance.
     Driving like that took balls.
     Until today, Special Agent Jack had been more of an annoyance than a threat. Gunderson had never considered him much more than a minor itch he’d eventually have to scratch. That opinion had changed, however, with every jerk of Barney boy’s wheel.
     So maybe he wasn’t Barney after all. Maybe he was Chuck Heston, NRA poster child, crashing his chariot into theirs, jostling Gunderson’s crew and forcing Tina, Queen of the Gladiators, to fight the wheel.
     If Jack wanted to play, Gunderson was more than happy to oblige.
     He’d even brought along his toys.
     After that second jolt, he tore himself away from the window and gestured to Gabriel, who immediately tossed him an M4 carbine with an underbarrel launcher. Squeezing past Luther and Nemo, he moved to the side door.
     Sara, strapped in up front, looked at him over her shoulder. “Careful, sweetie.”
     She was trying to mask her fear, but he could see it in the way she kept her shoulder muscles tensed, as if bracing for an impact.
     Poor kid. He’d tried to convince her to sit this one out, but she’d insisted on coming along. Refused to be left behind. She was a True Believer, Sara was—her passion and his skill the perfect marriage. And despite her condition, she was the best soldier on his team.
     She was his muse. His inspiration.
     His only true cause.
     He smiled at her, reached over, and rubbed her belly. Alex Jr. was kicking around like crazy. Probably scared, too. “Hang on, baby. It’ll all be over in a minute.”
     He popped a charge into the breech. With a grunt, he rolled the side door open, then pointed the launcher at Donovan’s windshield.
     “Send up a prayer, motherfucker. You’re about to kiss God.”
     
    T HE GRENADE LAUNCHER barked and Donovan swerved. The charge hissed overhead and a parked car behind him exploded, erupting in flames.
     Score one for the good guys.
     But Gunderson wasn’t a quitter. He popped another charge into the breech, let it