Page 28 of Boxed In

“Why?”

“We need help.”

“I will be the judge of that.”

“Like you were the judge of driving the car—and wrecking it?”

He glared at her. “Get in the vehicle. We have to get out of here.”

When she didn’t move, he took her firmly by the arm and marched her to the wreck.

She was about to climb into the passenger side when a door across the alley opened.

“Hey,” a man’s voice called in the dark. “What are you freaking doing with Eddie’s car?”

A flashlight beam hit her in the face, and she raised her arm to shield her eyes.

The beam switched to Luke.

oOo

Luke swore under his breath. “I am a friend of Eddie,” he answered. “He is lending the vehicle to me.”

Stop talking like a robot, he shouted to the man inside his mind. But it was already too late.

“The hell you are. You sound weird. And I’ve never seen you around here before.” As he spoke, the man stepped out of the door and walked rapidly down to the alley. “You’ll get away from that car if you know what’s good for you,” he announced.

He was a large guy, over six feet tall and well built. Probably he had about fifty pounds on Luke, and he looked to be in his mid to late twenties.

As he advanced, Luke glanced toward Olivia. “Get in the car,” he shouted.

Instead, she took a step back. Lord, was she going to run? He wanted to grab her, but he was too busy with Eddie’s neighbor.

Zabastian let the guy get within striking distance, then reached out a hand and started to bring it down on the man’s shoulder.

No, Luke shouted inside his head. He knew that Zabastian intended a killing blow.

You can’t kill him. We’re stealing his neighbor’s car. We’re the ones in the wrong.

Somehow he stopped the blow in midair.

Zabastian bellowed. And Eddie’s neighbor seized the opportunity to aim a right hook at Luke’s jaw.

Luke ducked the blow, preparing to strike back. But Zabastian beat him to it. As the attacker charged forward again, Zabastian stiffened one finger and jabbed the man in the ribs. It didn’t feel like a serious blow, but it must have hit a very sensitive spot.

The fellow gave an anguished grunt and went down on his knees on the gravel parking pad.

“Come on.” This time when Luke grabbed Olivia’s arm, she let him help her into the car, then coughed when she took a breath of the smoke-stained air.

Luke ran around the other side and slid behind the wheel, setting the box on the seat between them.

She cleared her throat. “Let Luke do the driving.”

“I am.”

As he pulled out of the parking spot, he knew she was watching him carefully. Then she glanced back at the man on the ground.

“What did you do to him?”

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