Beautiful Evil Winter by Kelly K. Lavender

Author:Kelly K. Lavender
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kelly K. Lavender Press
Published: 2015-03-10T19:00:00+00:00

23. TAXI TURMOIL

My eyes open suddenly and I stare at the ceiling in the dark room. It’s 6:45 am according to the green glow of the clock on our bedside table. Ethan’s snoring must have awakened me.

“Birthday Party! Birthday Party! It’s time to wake-up!” I whisper, nudging Ethan frantically with my hand.

“Wake-up! Wake-up!” I nudge again with more urgency. “We need to get out of here!” “What’s wrong? Is there a fire?” Ethan turns toward me, rubbing his eyes.

“No, silly. Today’s Zack’s birthday! Let’s get started!”

“And …It’s 6:50 am. They aren’t ready for us yet,” he announces with a yawn.

“Can you really go back to sleep? Let’s grab a quick breakfast and walk around or sightsee via taxi.” I grab his hand as if to pull him out of bed.

“Okay. I’ll call Natasha after breakfast and tell her we want to arrive early,” he says, a feebly controlled smile playing on his lips.

Two taxis appear outside our hotel early this cold, sunny morning. For comfort, four people, Natasha, Viktoria, Ethan and I and our gift baggage and video camera, travel in two separate taxis.

“I wonder if we’ll see the other children or just leave the gifts for them. I can’t wait to see Zack’s face as he examines his gifts.” I smile, looking dreamily at Ethan. Leaning over, he kisses the tip of my nose.

“Whatever his reaction, we’ve got so much to be happy about,” he says as he moves over to sit next to me. Grabbing my hand, he kisses it with courtly fervor.

“You’re right. I’m so thrilled to be right here right now.” Stretching up, I plant a kiss on his lips, giggling with joy.

As he puts his arm around me, I nuzzle into his chest as I stare blankly out the windows, peacefully lost in my thoughts.

For several miles, the taxis motors the waxy streets in caravan fashion as planned and discussed. Then, suddenly, our cab swerves left into an alley while the lead car maintains its course, heading straight down the road. The tires lose traction, and the back end slides.

I pull away from Ethan to look out of both windows.

Ethan taps the driver on the back, shakes his head (as in “no”) and motions toward the lead car. The driver waives him away, instead checking his rear view mirror.

Good grief! What’s this guy doing? The lead car is going a different way. How can he even drive that fast on these icy roads without flipping the car? You can’t see black ice on the road.

Ethan and I stare at one another, wide-eyed.

He’s got the same sinking feeling that I do.

Looking at my watch, I see twenty minutes pass as he screeches to a stop in the parking lot of an old decaying apartment complex. Without a word, he grabs the keys, jumps out and sprints to one of the units.

My thoughts race and spin.

“What’s he doing? Why are we here? Do you think we’ll be kidnapped or robbed? This is a third world country where money can buy anything.

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