Deadly Intersections Read Online Free Page A

But it still hurts.
     
     
     
    Ari stared at the elevator and made no effort to press the call button. A screech of tires made her jump, and she glanced toward a car speeding up the spiral ramp to the next level of the parking garage. While they were in a hurry, she moved in slow motion, dreading the next few hours. The elevator suddenly chimed and the doors opened. Passengers hustled out and she boarded, knowing it was a sign.
    As the elevator descended an odd sensation overtook her. It was as if a string was pulling her closer to the past and this reunion with her father. She checked her watch, thinking he’d probably deplaned by now and was waiting by security, the place where they’d agreed to meet.
    It was one of many agreements. She would pick him up, and they would have a late lunch but there was nothing else planned for Sunday. He wouldn’t stay with her but at Sol’s. If the lunch went well, they might go to dinner, but they had to agree. Eventually he might meet Molly. She hadn’t said anything to him about having a girlfriend. She knew, though, that their paths would inevitably cross at the police station.
    She headed for the security area, but he wasn’t there. She moved underneath the TV monitors and saw that his plane had arrived half an hour early. She stationed herself against a wall so she would see him when he passed the checkpoint. Maybe he was in one of the gift stores along the D concourse.
    A familiar belly laugh erupted from the security area and her gaze settled on a group of TSA workers clustered around Jack Adams.
    He towered over all of them and gave one of the young guys a pat on the shoulder. Dressed in a blue button-down oxford shirt, tweed blazer and jeans, Jack looked forty-five and not fifty-eight. Ari knew her good genes were a blessing from both of her parents, although she was nearly a mirror image of her dead mother Lucia.
    How he’d managed to get into the sacred security area was a mystery, but Ari wasn’t surprised. He could charm anyone—his good looks made women swoon and men jealous. He looked up beyond the waiting passengers and their eyes met. She felt no urge to wave or smile but he did. He pointed to her and soon the TSA workers were staring as well. He grabbed his carry-on and waved good-bye to his new friends. 
    Before she could jam her hands into her pockets and avoid a hug, he wrapped his massive arms around her and she was compelled to return the gesture. Fortunately he pulled away quickly, still holding her shoulders with his huge hands.
    “You are absolutely beautiful,” he said. “Just like your mom.”
    At the mention of her mother, her lip began to quiver. She looked away, her eyes welling with tears. “Um, Dad—”
    “No, no,” he said, handing her a tissue from his pocket. “There will be none of that. You’re supposed to be angry with me, not sad. When someone’s an asshole, you don’t cry about it, do you?”
    She couldn’t help but laugh. He always knows how to break the tension . “Let’s get your bags,” she said, turning toward the escalator.
    Conversation proved unnecessary as they collected his giant duffle and made their way to the car. The general commotion surrounding the task and his inherent nature to chat with anyone around him excused her from discussing the list of mundane topics she’d committed to memory on her way to the airport. Instead he resumed a conversation with an elderly woman he must have met on the plane and on their way up to the garage, he turned to a man next to him and asked, “Is Durant’s still the best place in town to get a steak?”
    The man said yes, but other passengers disagreed and a short but lively discussion ensued. It was the noisiest elevator ride she’d ever endured. Once they were in the 4Runner and driving away, she mentally reviewed her topic list.
    “I don’t want to talk about the weather, the Diamondbacks or how much the valley has changed in the last four years,” he said suddenly,