Royal Opposites Read Online Free PDF Page A

right instead of left which would have taken them back to the front entrance. He pushed open a door and led her down a few flights of stairs to the garage.
    Joan was surprised when he inserted a key into the lock of an older model Acura CL. He held the door for her and she slid into the leather bucket seat. She leaned over and unlocked the driver’s door while he walked around the car. Joan couldn’t help but wonder who ordered an entire menu of food for one meal, but drove an old, inexpensive car? He didn’t seem too worried about money. That was the kind of attitude only people who had money ever had. His bank account had been cleaned out, but his sole response had been, ‘I have others’. Who was this guy? And how safe was she sticking with him?

    “I say we go straight to the police,” Tom said the moment he eased his tall frame behind the wheel. Thoughts of safety went right out of her head. She couldn’t imagine he would take her to the police station if he had any nefarious plans in mind. She nodded her agreement and fastened her seat belt.
    After buckling in, Tom eased from his parking space and headed for the exit. They were waiting for the automatic door to complete its incredibly slow journey up when the beefy guard plowed his way through the stairwell door. Joan’s jaw dropped open when their eyes met. He appeared shocked to see them.
    “Go, go, go!” Joan demanded even while Tom spun to look at the guard. She didn’t have to tell him again. He jammed his foot on the accelerator and peeled out of the garage. He wheeled the car hard to the right sending them careening down the narrow, traffic-‐-
    less street and pressed the button for the garage door.
    Joan looked back just in time to see the guard jump out of the way of the descending door. The man ran for a car parked on the street and dove inside. “He’s chasing us.”
    “You aren’t serious.” Tom checked the rearview. The guard’s car lurched away from the curb in hot pursuit. “Hold on!”
    He whipped the steering wheel hard to the right sending them careening around the corner. He did the same at the next intersection ignoring the stop sign on the corner. Joan braced herself against the door. Once steady, she watched out the rear window. Headlights bobbed after them.
    “He’s still there.”
    “I see him.” Tom pressed hard on the accelerator. They flew up the narrow street lined with parked cars on both sides. Joan prayed no one would come from the opposite direction. It was a tight fit on a good day. This day would make it impossible. She checked out the back again.
    “He’s gaining.” The straight stretch allowed the guard’s more powerful car to eat up quite a bit of the distance Tom had put between them. To her surprise, she felt the car slow abruptly.

    “What are you doing?” She turned around to see they were fast approaching Ocean Park. The smaller streets had little to no traffic. Ocean Park was a whole different story. Sometimes there was a lot of traffic, other times it was quiet. She prayed now was one of those other times.
    She braced herself, seeing that he wasn’t going to stop at the intersection. Coming from that direction, they had no idea of knowing if any cars were traveling on the boulevard. They shot out onto the busier street and Tom pulled the wheel hard to the right.
    Their sudden appearance was met with honked horns and screeching tires, but miraculously no crunching metal. A stream of headlights were speeding toward them from the opposite direction, but that didn’t stop Tom from jerking the wheel hard to the left across oncoming traffic and back onto a smaller side street.
    Joan whirled in her seat to watch for the guard. No other car followed them. Moments later, Tom turned left and slowed their pace.
    “No need to tip him off if he happens to see us.”
    Joan sighed and settled back in the bucket seat. “Agreed.”
    “Now, we go to the police.”
    Joan focused her attention on him. “You and