Page 43 of Nothing But the Night (Basic Instincts 2)

Then he crashed into the recessed doorway of a warehouse.

The slipstream of the car tore across his back as it sped by them.

There was the further screeching of brakes, followed by the blare of car horns. Other vehicles had arrived, skidding to a stop as their drivers realised what was happening.

Jason eased Marc into a sitting position, sheltered by the doorway.

The car that had tried to run them down was at a standstill on the pavement ahead of him.

It was a black saloon. He struggled to focus on the registration plate.

Who the fuck was in there?

Suddenly Jason was consumed by rage. He reacted with instinct again, racing forward, pounding the pavement towards the car. When he caught whoever was inside, he would beat the shit out of them.

Getting closer, he made out the first couple of letters on the plate, NC.

The engine gave another roar and the vehicle lurched forward. There was a crunching sound as the chassis tore against the kerb when it crashed down from the pavement to the road. Then, with an eruption of speed, the car sped to the end of the street and shot around the corner.

Jason staggered to a stop. The pain in his ankle and ribs increased a hundredfold.

There were voices behind him. Shouts for help.

He turned to see someone leaning over Marc in the doorway. A woman nearby on her phone.

The reality of what had just happened landed heavily and his legs gave out from under him. Jason collapsed to the ground, unable to take another step. His voice was capable of only one word.

“Marc.”

* * * *

“Where is he?” Jason asked. Just the effort of talking caused his head to hurt, as if a spear had been driven through his skull. The bright lights of the hospital treatment room made him wince. He shielded his eyes with his hand.

Jason had just been wheeled back from the X-ray department. He’d been fortunate, according to the radiologist. He had one broken rib on his right side.Other than that, he’d walked away from the impact of the car with a mild concussion and a sprained ankle.

The British Asian nurse who’d been in charge of his care since he’d been admitted urged him to be calm. Her name was Melony. “Don’t get agitated,” she told him in hushed tones. “You’re going to be discharged soon. You need to relax as much as possible.”

“But where is Marc. Where is he?”

“Your friend went into surgery while you were having the X-rays.”

“Surgery!”Shit. He’d known Marc had taken the brunt of the impact, but no one would tell him how serious his injuries were.

“Don’t worry,” Nurse Melony said, as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his left arm. “He’ll be fine. He’d didn’t get off quite as lightly as you did, but he’s doing well. He has a broken arm. The ulna on his left side. He needs surgery to reset the bone before they put a cast on.”

He breathed with relief and closed his eyes against the light. It was painfully bright. “Is that all?”

“He’s concussed, like you are. And he’ll be sore all over for a few days, but he’s been lucky. You both have.”

Lucky. Some crazed idiot had driven a car onto the pavement and tried to run them over.

Just like Theo.

Coincidence? At the same time as they were investigating Theo’s murder.Not fucking likely.

They were getting closer to the truth. Maybe too close.

The blood pressure cuff inflated, squeezing his arm.

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