The Chase - Amber Riel (best free e book reader TXT) 📗

to stay quiet as I spoke.

          “You’re lucky that I was there to save you….” My voice shook with fear and hurt as I spoke.  The anger was slowly wearing off.  “You could have defended the both of you?  Yea right…. He broke in and could have hurt you and Lainie…. You’re arrogance could have cost you and Lainie’s lives…. Do you even realize that?” he asked, shaking his head.  “If I didn’t come in when I did, he could have had the both of you killed.  That’s what I get…. Next time you do as I say and no arguing…. No disagreeing with me.”

          Sam kind of nodded.

          “You said that guy was the taxicab driver who drove you two back to the mansion yesterday?”

          “Yea,” she spoke weakly.

          “Did he give you an eerie feeling then too?”

          “Yea but I had no choice then…. He didn’t do anything.”

          I looked at Sam with a shocked expression.  Her words were arrogant.  I couldn’t believe why she would even have considered that.  “And you still got into the taxi then?”

          “Yes….”

          “What if he had done something then?” I asked as anger grew inside of me again.  “Do you realize how stupid that is?  If you have a feeling about someone don’t be stupid enough to climb into a car with them…. Taxi driver or not…. That’s peer stupidity…. You should know better than that…. You’re about twenty-two right?”

          “Yea,” she replied as she kind of nodded.

          I shook my head with disbelief.  “You are the most arrogant person I have ever met…. I can’t wait till you go back to America that’s where you belong.”  I didn’t really mean what I said I was just ticked off and tired.

          “I made a mistake okay,” she shot back.  “I know what could have happened…. I wasn’t thinking okay…. People make mistakes…. I’m only human,” she replied as she started crying.  “You can leave me alone because right now I don’t care…. I know that I have put Lainie in danger unknowingly…. I’m sorry…. I made a mistake and I don’t need you to keep pointing it out to me…. Telling me that I’m stupid that just makes me feel so much worse right now…. I don’t need that right now.”

          I sighed and shook my head.  “I’m sorry but if you had listened to me instead of tried to convince me that you two were safe then that wouldn’t have happened.”

          “And I understand that but with you practically yelling at me doesn’t help what I’m feeling…. That guy was going to try to do something very bad to me before you came and I knew that I was wrong that I didn’t listen to you.  I thought that I had that under control but I didn’t…. At least, Lainie’s okay right?  Isn’t it her who you really care about?  Because if it had been just me you probably wouldn’t have even come in there---”

          Those words from her made me feel worse.  She had no clue what she was talking about.  “You don’t know that,” I said harshly.  “You don’t know me so don’t act like you do…. You don’t know what I’ve been through…. You don’t know what I would do just to make sure that you stay out of danger…. What I’d do to keep you safe as much as Lainie?”  I wasn’t going to spill my feelings out toward Sam but she needed to know that I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.  “I wasn’t just worried about her…. I was worried about you too but you don’t seem to notice that.”

          I could tell by Sam shutting up that my words had surprised her.

 

          “What time is it?” I asked as I slowly woke, keeping Lainie in my arms as I leaned forward and tried to keep Lainie from waking up.  We had slept in the park.

          “I’m guessing morning.  If I had a watch, I’d check the time but I don’t,” Sam replied.

          “Oh well.  Man, I have to get a new car now.”  I looked at Sam and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.  She was a sight to see even with her hair as a mess.

          “What?”

          “Nothing,” I answered as I shook my head.  “Let’s get breakfast and some coffee then see if I could get a new car.”

          “Okay.”

          I stood up and picked up Lainie in my arms and carried her.

          Sam followed and we found our way to a small coffee shop.  We walked in and worked our way over to the counter.

          “How may I help you today?” the eighteen year old guy asked with a pleasant smile on his face.

          “We’re here for food and coffee,” I answered as I kind of laughed at the kid’s question.

          Sam shook her head.

          “Of course,” the teenager answered as he laughed.  “What would you like to order?”

          Sam looked up at the menu.  I could tell by her surprised look that what she was reading was recognizable.  “Can I get a bagel and some bacon?” she asked.

          “Of course, of course,” the kid replied.  “To drink?”

          “French vanilla coffee please.”

          “Sure.  For you, sir?”

          “An omelet with everything in it with black coffee.”

          “Okay and what about the child for when she wakes up?”

          I smiled as I looked down at Lainie who hadn’t bothered to open her eyes.  “Waffles and chocolate milk.”

          “Okay.  You’re total will be….” The kid typed the prices into the cash register and then checked the price.  “Twenty pounds please.”

          “Okay can you hold on for a moment?  I need to place the child in a seat before I can reach for my wallet.”

          “Oh of course.”

          Sam followed me over to a small booth which sat next to a window and I sat Lainie down then turned my attention toward Sam.  “Can you sit with her while I pay for the food and drinks?”

          “Yea,” she answered with a nod.

          I walked back over to the counter as I pulled out my wallet and counted the amount which the teenager had told me.  “Sorry about that,” I told the kid as I handed him the money.

          “Not a problem, sir.”  He took the money and counted it then handed the change back to me.  “It will be a little while.”

          “That’s not a problem.”

          “Your girlfriend is pretty cute…. Not trying to sound disrespectful, sir, but well she is….”

          I glanced over at Sam and kind of smiled as I turned my attention back toward the teenager.  “She is pretty cute, huh?” I asked, not completely telling the truth.

 

          Thirty minutes later and I carried a tray with the food over to the table.  “Who’s hungry?”

          “I am,” Lainie replied.

          Sam and I shared a smiled at Lainie’s two cute little words.  We knew she would speak up.  I placed the tray on the table and began handing out the food and drinks.  We all kept our mouths closed about the night before even though it was still there in our minds.  I didn’t want to talk about it with Lainie around, knowing that what she had witnessed was something a four year old shouldn’t have even seen in the first place.  I knew that I needed to find out what the man had done to Sam or tried to do before I arrived but knew that it wasn’t the time or place to bring it up.

          “So can you tell me where we’re going yet?” Sam asked as she took a half of her bagel and smothered butter and cream cheese all over it.

          “Still not information that you need to know,” I answered.

          She gave me a dirty look, which I had expected.  It was long overdue and I needed something to keep her mind distracted.  I figured that turning back into a jerk would keep her angry at me rather than keep her mind on that odd guy.  “Okay.”

 

          We had found our way over to the car dealership and I let Sam and Lainie sit back and relax as I bargained with the car salesman.  The car I picked out wasn’t anything like my first baby but it was better than nothing and a little bit bigger with four doors.  Two doors up front and two in back.

          “Five hundred pounds,” the guy told me.

          I looked at the car and opened the door to check out the interior.  “Five hundred for a car that fits a family of four or five?” I asked.  Even though I knew a lot about cars, the car I was checking out was a new model and one I wasn’t quite familiar with.

          “Yea,” the man replied.

          I rolled my tongue around in my mouth as I thought about the price.  “Any problems with the car?”

          “No,” the man answered almost unsure.  “The men who dropped it off from the car company places all brands of cars here and they check to make sure the work before we sell them so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

          I kind of shrugged as I looked at the vehicle and closed the door.  “So five hundred?” I asked again to make sure.

          The man nodded and smiled.  “Five hundred…. And I’m sure your wife and child will be like your choice too, sir.”

          “Wife and child?” I asked then I realized that he was talking about Sam and Lainie.  “Oh we’re not married and the child belongs to the woman’s sister.”

          “Oh,” the man replied with obvious embarrassment.

          “It’s alright,” I told him.  “I can see how you could get that conclusion.”  I kind of smiled.  “Actually, I’m not dating the lady either although I am kind of starting to gain feelings for her,” I admitted to the stranger.

          “Ah…. Well, I hope everything works out for you, buddy.  Now come on and let’s sign some papers.”

          Of course, act like a friend just to sucker me into actually buying the damn car, I thought as I shook my head.  That’s how all friendships start out…. Of course.  “Wait…. I need to test drive it first.”

          “Oh yea…. I’m sorry I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”  The car salesman handed me the keys to the car and we climbed in.  I felt that Sam and Lainie were safe because of the fact that the place was crawling with customers and workers.  Not only that but also I knew that it wasn’t going to take me long for a test drive.

          Once I placed the car in gear, the car salesman told me where to drive and explained different features the car had for different reasoning.  I listened as I drove and nodded as he explained everything I needed to know.

 

          After arriving back to the dealership, I signed the papers I needed to fill out and paid for the car then went to get the girls.  I walked over to Sam and Lainie and took a seat.  “I just got back from test driving the car and I already made a deal…. The car’s a keeper.”

          “That was fast,” Sam said.

          “We can go now.”  I had the girls follow me out into the parking lot and over toward the new car.

 

          We were back on track as I drove for a while like the last couple of days.  I wasn’t planning on stopping at a hotel after what had taken place the night before but I was planning on stopping for the night.  I heading toward my sister’s house and I knew she wouldn’t mind especially after I would explain to her the situation.  “Look I’m going to stop some where’s tonight,” I explained to Sam, letting her know what was going to happen before she jumped to more conclusions.  “It’s someone I know personally because I