Deadly Race Read Online Free Page B

her eyes round as she backed away from it. This kind of scene was played on television or in the movies, not in real life, at least not in hers.
    Slade picked up the gun. “I don’t like this one bit.”
    Neither did she. It was worse than she thought, since King Kong must have had instructions to come and get her now. She couldn’t believe she was worth all the trouble Mr. Martinez was going to. “I don’t understand this,” she murmured out loud, confused by all that had happened to her in the past few days. So she had overheard her former employer talking in English to the police chief because no one else in the household spoke English well. What did he think she was going to do with the information? Okay, maybe she was going to alert the authorities, but not until she reached the United States. She was just a governess, not Jane Bond.
    “I think I do.”
    Her eyes widened. “You do?”
    “My company set up the new computer system for the government. Someone obviously wants the information I have. We’ve got to get out of here before someone just like him decides to pay us a visit.”
    There was one more, to be exact, Ellie thought, and wondered if it were possible the two goons were really after Slade, not her. In her gut she didn’t think so because they had followed her from the marketplace. But her survival instinct kicked in and she had no intention of informing Slade, since she needed him to get out of Bella Isla. The time for revelations would be when she landed in the United States.
    “Is he dead?” she asked when Slade bent down to check the man’s vital signs.
    “No, but hopefully he’ll sleep for a few hours.”
    Slade looked up at her, standing a few feet from him in his pajama top that didn’t conceal enough of her legs. “You’ve got two minutes to get dressed, Ellie.” He tossed her jump suit to her.
    “What timing. In a hotel room with a beautiful woman and all I’m worried about is getting out alive,” Ellie heard Slade mutter as she hurried into the bathroom.
    Acutely aware of the desire that had momentarily flared in his eyes, she practically tore his silk top off her and dressed in a minute. A definite record for her!
    When she came out, he finished tucking in a white dress shirt. He threw a few things into a duffel bag that he slung over his shoulder. “Ready?”
    She nodded, stunned by his transformation from a businessman in a suit the evening before to a man dressed in the same shirt and pants as the night before but who now looked dangerous, more than capable of taking care of himself—and her.
    He jammed the gun into the waistband of his slacks, then stooped over King Kong and tied his hands and feet with the shoelaces from the man’s boots. After stuffing a handkerchief into King Kong’s mouth and tying the tie Slade had worn the night before around the intruder to hold the gag in place, Slade straightened, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Let’s go.”
    For a few seconds Ellie stood transfixed, amazed at the efficiency of Slade. King Kong was trussed and effectively silenced in less than a minute. Where had Slade learned that? Had she stumbled across a James Bond protégé? Maybe Mr. Martinez wanted Slade after all.
    “Ellie! We need to move now.”
    Acknowledging the wisdom of his words, she quickly followed him to the door, which he opened a crack. Peering out into the hallway, he muttered something she couldn’t hear and shut the door quietly.
    “Someone’s coming,” he whispered.
    Godzilla. Ellie flipped off the overhead light.
    “Good thinking.”
    Someone tried the doorknob, slowly opening the unlocked door. Ellie backed away while Slade flattened himself against the wall again.
    Round two, she thought as the second goon slipped into the room. This man, though, was alert for trouble and spun around as Slade started to hit him in the back. Godzilla blocked Slade’s arm while swinging his own fist at Slade, hitting him in the stomach.
    Groaning, Slade fell