The Black Feather Read Online Free Page A

could feel perspiration popping out on her body creating random splotches over the material of her blouse. Dampness soaked her hair beneath the scarf. She tore the offending strip of silk off of her head and tossed it defiantly to the floor. She glared at Thad ready to argue if he insisted she put it back on, but he merely raised his brows and continued driving.
    “I have a feeling you lied about being a teacher, considering what’s going on right now. Who are you really and why all this mystery?”
    “I didn’t lie. I do teach – well, on rare occasions, anyway.”
    “What’s the course description? How to defy the law of gravity and make a Jeep fly? Obviously teaching isn’t all you do. Why do I get the feeling you lead some kind of double life?”
    “Must be your imagination, but it sounds intriguing.”
    Suzanne studied his profile. She didn’t miss how he looked in the rearview mirror or how his eyes kept careful watch of their surroundings.
    “Why do you keep looking around like that?”
    “Just taking in the scenery.”
    “Don’t give me that. You’re worried we’re being followed, aren’t you?
    “Whatever gave you that idea?”
    She glared at him.
    “I’m not blind. Does this have anything to do with the guy watching the house from that yacht? I think I have the right to know who we’re running from since I’m being abducted.”
    “Who said anything about abduction?”
    “I’m being taken on your version of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride against my will. This obviously isn’t a leisurely sightseeing trip. I want to know why you aren’t giving me straight answers.”
    “Maybe because you’re not asking the questions I want to hear.”
    “There you go again dodging the issue. Listen up, Thad Novak. I’m hot. I’m thirsty. I’m scared and I’ve just had my vacation ruined, so you should know I’m in no mood for . . .”
    Another Jeep came crashing out of the jungle at that moment causing Suzanne to let out a startled shriek. A small projectile whizzed by her head before it smashed into the windshield poking a neat hole in the glass. Thad ground out a curse and pressed down on the accelerator, as he glanced over his shoulder.
    “Undo your seatbelt, and get down on the floor. Now!” he yelled when Suzanne hesitated.
    “Please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was. It almost gave me a new part in my hair.”
    “Get down unless you want that new hairdo,” Thad growled, as another bullet ricocheted off the rearview mirror followed by a third shot that grazed his upper arm causing him to swerve the Jeep.
    Suzanne clawed at her seatbelt while her heart pounded like a jackhammer. She scrambled to the floor a nanosecond before another bullet whistled over her head splintering a small branch. She watched in horror as blood began to seep through Thad’s shirt, staining a spot bright red.
    “Oh my God, they shot you!”
    Thad shook his head.
    “Just scraped me.”
    His expression became a mask of grim determination, as the Jeep careened crazily through the jungle cutting through the thick foliage like a huge machete. Thad crouched low over the steering wheel doing his best to dodge more bullets that continued to fly at them.
    “You’re bleeding. Let me see if I can use the scarf to try and stop it.”
    “No. I want you to stay down.”
    Suzanne fixed her eyes on his wound. She’d never seen anyone who’d been shot. If he continued to bleed would he lose so much blood he’d pass out? The thought of Thad being unconscious leaving her to face their assailants on her own made her shiver despite the warm air.
    How much longer could they go on like this with bullets popping around them like firecrackers at a Chinese New Year’s celebration? She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if one hit the gas tank. Suzanne decided she couldn’t stay down cringing like a coward while Thad risked his life, even if she did blame him for getting them into this jam.
    She grabbed the scarf,