Excerpt: The Cross and Wood

“Stop the car!” Helen Sky screamed!
The driver of the car ignored her; instead he dropped the stick shift back to third, thumped the breaks and spun the wheel. And the world outside twisted along with Helen stomach.
Helen saw her life flash in front of her eyes. It was a short life, unfortunately. High School. Straight As. College. Dean’s List. Lawyer. Single. Bride’s maid never a Bride. Now Partner at Dewey, Bookum and Howe the most prestigious Firm in Providence, Rhode Island and possibly the entire East Coast. Out for her celebration luncheon with the other Partners. She had excused herself to go to the bathroom and this man strong armed her out the door into his car that was double parked and still running and now –
She screamed as Kennedy Plaza swung around in windshield. “Stop stop stop!”
The driver, she knew he had a name. He had kidnapped her after all. All kidnapers have names. He probably had three names like Lee Harvey Oswald or John Wilkes Booth. Oh god, those were names of killers. Not kidnappers! She couldn’t think straight!
He had buckled a racing harness across her chest before this sleigh ride through downtown Providence had begun. He calmly let the wheel spin out of his control and the car, a Mustang judging from the shiny chrome inside, came to a screeching halt in front of the State House.
The driver looked around quickly and dropped the shifter back into first and the sound of tires screaming filled the car. “Friends of yours?” He gruffly asked and without waiting for a response, the accelerator kissed the floorboards and the wild sleigh ride began again in earnest.
Down Francis Street they howled and it even felt like they had actually left the ground. Helen swallowed her screams as the wheels came back down hard and the car roared through the red light like a bat out of hell. Much to Helen’s dismay no one seemed to be paying any of this situation any mind. If they had they would have see four black SUVs cut across Memorial Blvd and give chase.
“I dunno who you pissed off darlin’ but those aren’t the Police after us!” He hung a sharp right onto Washington Street and holiday shoppers dove for cover. “Anything you want to tell me, Janice?”
“Who the fuck is Janice?” She demanded as they crossed over the Route Ninety-Five, a left onto the Service Rd and then started a right turn onto Westminster St. “I am gonna –“
But the car came to deftfying halt in front of White Electric Coffee and Helen felt her half eaten lunch start to bubble up and for once in her life she actually wished to throw up on this man.
The driver leaned across and turned her face towards his. “Janice Skie?” He asked a bewildered look forming on his face.
“No. Helen Sky. Janice was fired this morning.” Helen was about to reach across to strangle this stranger when the racing harnesses clamps detached by themselves and the passenger side door opened by itself. “Wha-?”
“Sorry, there was a mix up,” the driver nudged her. “Get out.” He revved the engine at the sound of what had to be their pursuers. “Helen, get outta the car!”
Helen opened her mouth to argue when the driver turned and shot her a look reserved only in Anime Television Villains and bad black and white b-rated British Horror Movies from the sixties. “Oh-kay.” She murmured.
Helen pulled herself out of the car, the door closed and with a squeal of rubber the driver and the car were off like a shot. She stood there for a moment, hobbled over to the curb just as three black SUVs blew by.
A fourth one slowed and a sharp looking woman with a shock of red hair met her gaze for only a moment then they were gone out of Helen’s life forever...