Immortal Games

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Someone grabbed Madeline’s arm and pulled her back onto the sidewalk. The double-decker zoomed past, and the other cars kept moving. If it had been New York, she would have stirred up a hideous bout of road rage. Madeline was still dazed. She turned around and looked at the man who had just saved her life.

“Are you okay?”

“Thank you,” she automatically said and immediately realized that those words she kept in her vocabulary inventory didn’t exactly answer the man’s question.

Then Madeline shook her head. Focus. Stay strong. You’re Jo’s only hope, she scolded herself. She turned toward the man, who was still looking at her with concern.

“I’m fine. Thank you. I’m sorry. The jetlag is killing me. And apparently, I was looking the wrong way.” She gestured toward the traffic and smiled. “Madeline. I’m from New York.” She reached her hand out for a handshake.

“Peter. I’m from . . . here . . . apparently.” He fumbled with his briefcase, swapping it to his left hand so that he could respond to Madeline’s greeting.

Madeline pointed at the building across the road. “I’m looking for LeBlanc Pharmaceuticals. But I think I’ve got the wrong address. That building looks more like military barracks than business headquarters.”

Peter arched an eyebrow, looking Madeline up and down.

“I’m a journalist. I’m writing a business column about one of their new products. Is there a problem?” Madeline asked.

“Oh, no. No problem at all. Nobody has any problem with the LeBlancs.”

Madeline smiled and waited for the next part of Peter’s speech, but it never came. Instead, he shrugged. “Well, to be honest, even the locals know almost nothing about them. I’m sorry I can’t help you. But I can certainly show you around if it does any good. And the I around the corner is one of London’s hot spots. I’m sure it will help cure your jet lag.”

Madeline smiled but cursed on the inside. Peter was a decent-looking man. She hadn’t been in a serious relationship for a while—not that no one was interested in her, but her situation was too complicated to let anyone into her life. Still, it was nice to be hit on occasionally.

She was tall, slim, and attractive enough, but Madeline didn’t consider herself pretty. She had a slightly long, oval face, big brown eyes, a generous mouth with full lips, and a dimple on her left cheek. A sea of brunette curls wrapped around her shoulders.

A hot cup of coffee was tempting, but now was not a good time. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to get this done, or my boss will be very unhappy. Thanks for the offer, Peter. Maybe next time.” Madeline waved her gloveless hand goodbye and scurried away, shivering in the winter chill.

She glanced at the reflection on the shop window and saw that the smile on Peter’s face had been replaced by a strange look.

She wouldn’t be mistaken. She had seen that look several times. It was the look of a predator who had just lost his prey.

Instead of going straight home, she turned to the opposite direction and headed toward a crowded shopping center.