Shiver Sweet Read Online Free

Sorry.  Where are you?”
    “Parked outside your local shops.  Figured I’d see if she stopped here on the way.”
    “Stay where you are.  I’ll cut through the alley and walk to you.  Has your sister arrived yet?”
    “Erm.  Well...”
    His reluctance to answer made my stomach cave in.  “Erm isn’t an answer.”
    “She’s kind of got... car trouble.”
    There it was.  I stood bolt upright.  “Sarah’s home alone?”
    “Yes.”
    I had to keep my cool.  Brian loved Sarah and would never leave her alone purposefully.  If it weren't for my unsettled nerves from last night, it wouldn't have been such a big deal.  After all, Sarah was thirteen.  “Look.  I know you’re worried about Claire, but the whole point of Sarah being at your place is so she’s safe.”  Not only from burglars.
    “I know, and I’m sorry things haven’t gone as planned.  But I’m also worried about you, you know.”
    Something twigged.  “Is that why you phoned me for help?  To get me out of the house?”
    “Of course not!”  His overly-dramatic voice did little to squash my theory.  It charmed me how deeply Brian cared.
    "Thanks.  But I'm a grown woman.  Anyway, I’m not alone.”
    He didn't respond straight away.  “You’re not?  Oh, do you mean Nicola or...”
    “See you in five.” 
    “W-wait.  Hold on!”
    I ended the call and turned to Nicola who battled to stop her long, curly hair from sticking to her green mask.  “Follow me.” 
    We turned left down the next street, trudged through a snow-thick alleyway and came out into the local pub’s icy car park. 
    We walked across it and picked up the pace on the less slippery surface at the other side.  Then, suddenly, tyres squealed as though braking on ice.  This was followed by an immense bang and the crumpling of metal.
    “Holy crap!” I shrieked, eyeing Nicola.  “That didn’t sound good.”
    Nicola geared into panic mode.  "Come on."  She hurried me around the corner where a car, the left side of its bonnet crumpled against a stone wall, belched steam into the winter night from its radiator.
    “Oh, my God!”  I slid to a stop and slammed my hand on the mangled bonnet.  I stooped to look through the front window as Nicola raced to the driver side.  A dark-haired man sat behind the steering wheel, his face partially obscured by the deflating airbag. 
    I knocked on the bonnet to get his attention.  “You okay?  Are you injured?”
    Nicola yanked the door open.  “He’s alive.”
    I rounded the car and stood at her side as the man raised his unshaven face.  “Christ!” he said, running a shaking hand across his eyebrow and finding a trickle of blood.  “Damn, stupid weather.”
    “We’ll call an ambulance.”  I fumbled for my phone and pointed at him.  “Don’t move.”
    “How do you feel?”  Nicola leaned across and unclipped his seatbelt.  “There.  Is that more comfortable?”
    He nodded and swung a leg out of the car.
    “Hey, hey!” I said, lowering my mobile.  “You shouldn’t move.”
    “Yes, he should.”  Nicola frowned at me.  “What if the car blows up?”
    I rolled my eyes.  “It’s a crash, not a bomb.  And I can’t smell fuel.”
    “I’m fine,” the man insisted.  “J-just a bang to the head.”  He glanced up at the sky, twitched and groaned.  “I couldn’t tell which was road and which was...  Just snow flying at me.”
    “You’re lucky you’re in one piece,” I commented.  "This town is a minefield of danger when it snows.  Are you from here?"
    "Kind of."  He pushed up off the seat and paused as he caught my gaze.  A haunting look filled his dark slitted eyes.
    I tilted my head.  Did I know him?  No.
    “Th-thanks, but don’t bother phoning for help.”  He shifted focus to Nicola, frowned, then used the door for support and hauled himself up.
    “Why not?” Nicola asked, steadying him as he staggered out of the car.
    “There’s a big pile up in