Danger Zone

by Dee J. Adams

  Ellie pulled out of her spot and Quinn put the Mustang in gear. He ignored his sweaty palms. Goddammit. It wasn’t like he was going to have a head-on collision the first time back behind the wheel of a car. In fact, his chances of another head-on collision ever again had dropped to a miniscule amount. Hell, those odds alone should’ve made him feel better.

  They reached the hospital without incident and after a thirty-minute visit with Ashley, they hit the road for real. Unfortunately, traffic crawled. Quinn wouldn’t have minded too much except it took time away from Ellie on the backend of the trip. The time he’d have her in his arms and her bare skin at his fingertips.

  Quinn’s phone rang and he adjusted the headset. He didn’t need to look at the caller ID. He saw Ellie glancing at him from her rearview mirror. “You rang?” He answered in an extra low voice and she laughed. Hearing that sound brought him a sense of happiness he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  “Hey, I forgot to ask,” she said. “Did you want the top down?”

  “No. I’m not a fan of flies in my teeth.”

  “Flies don’t get into your teeth. They splat on the windshield.”

  He grunted. “Not in this traffic. In this mess they fly around your head and make fun of you. Besides, it’s a little overcast. With my luck it would pour and I’d get soaked. Of course, this is California. You probably get rain…what? Twice a year?”

  Ellie laughed, but quickly changed her tone to sound offended. “Hey…at least three times.”

  Quinn smiled. He loved talking to her, joking with her. Had history repeated itself, he’d have flown the coop after finally being with her, but he had no itch to run. Sure, he’d promised to drive her today and he wouldn’t have gone back on his word, but the usual urge to vacate the premises after sex never materialized. Instead he’d turned into a tea-making, mail-fetching suck-up. And he’d do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant having Ellie. Being with her made him feel…whole. If he really wanted to delve into his past, he couldn’t ever remember feeling that way. As if his presence made a real difference in someone’s life.

  Or that someone else’s life made a difference in his.

  “Sorry about this,” Ellie said, adjusting her earpiece and looking in her rearview mirror. “I really thought we might be able to cruise in pretty easily. Especially on a Saturday morning. I’m guessing this is the traffic that wanted to bug out of town last night and couldn’t because of the gridlock.”

  Quinn actually liked the slow pace, but he didn’t dare confess it. Instead he practiced his new second favorite pastime. Teasing Ellie. “Tell me again, how long have you lived in this state?” He sensed his wry question put a smile on her face. “Wait. I know. Probably as long as this drive is going to take.”

  Chuckling, Ellie shook her head. “I’ve lived here all my life.”

  “You live in the traffic capital of the world and you like driving…why?”

  “And you don’t like driving…why?”

  Quinn tightened his hold on the wheel. The answer was too gruesome to mention aloud, but it formed in his head anyway. Because he’d killed a person. Yeah, anyone could argue it wasn’t his fault alone, but he had culpability. A lot of culpability.

  “Hello?” Ellie said softly. “Anybody out there?”

  “I’m here.” But he didn’t know what else to say.

  “It’s the accident, isn’t it?” When he didn’t say anything she kept going. “God, Quinn, this is the first time you’ve driven since then, isn’t it?”

  One of the reasons he liked her so much was because of her smarts. She’d nailed this one.

  “Give the lady a lollipop.” She deserved the truth even if it was only the partial truth. “The accident happened six months ago,” he said.

  “Why? Why are you doing this? I could’ve found someone else.”

  “I didn’t want you to find anyone else.” He couldn’t imagine another man taking this trip with her, having this time with her when he wanted her all to himself. Even driving in separate cars they had an intimacy that he craved. “I wanted—I want—to be with you. I’ve wanted to be with you since the first day we met.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ellie shouldn’t have been shocked to hear those words when all of Quinn’s actions said it, but still, hearing him admit that he wanted to be with her sent her whole body into a deep flush.

  “Look,” he said. “I haven’t been behind the wheel of a car since my accident. I’ve tried a couple of times…back in London, but it didn’t feel right. I don’t think I was ready to commit to the roads. Just so you know,” he hurried to explain, “I felt okay when I got in your car. I’m not worried about driving.”

  He paused for a second and the fact that he seemed more worried about her reaction sent a fresh jolt of emotion through her heart. His concern for her seemed never-ending. “You’re the only one who knows my secret. And because of that,” he paused and his tone changed, “you now have to tell me one of yours.”

  She laughed at his unequivocal order as he turned the serious moment into a funny one. He had a way of doing that. “I do?”

  “Absolutely. Fair is fair. And make it a good one.”

  A good secret. But she had so many. Which one to choose? She could tell him she was functionally illiterate. That would go over real well. Not. She could tell him she’d lied her way through life, but, alas, no points there either.

  “Hello,” he prodded. “Now I’ve lost you.”

  “No, no. I’m here.” She tapped her steering wheel. “Just thinking.”

  “You have that many secrets?” he asked.

  “A girl likes to be mysterious.”

  “What if I want to unwrap the mystery?”

  Her heart thumped at the picture. His fingers opening buttons the way he’d done this morning. Pulling down her pajama bottoms until nothing separated her from his gaze. Goose bumps broke out along her arms. “I believe you’ve done all the unwrapping there is to do.

  “Did I mention the temperature in my car has suddenly gone up?” she added. “I think I may overheat.”

  “As long as the car doesn’t overheat. And don’t change the subject,” Quinn said, but she heard his smile over the phone. “Although, remind me to get back to the overheating part. It sounds interesting. Now. A secret. Or I turn around at the next off-ramp and leave you stranded in Barstow.”

  She grinned, knowing full well he wouldn’t abandon her, but huffed over the headset. “Jeez, you’re touchy. Hold on, I’m thinking.” She blew out a hard breath, feeling a certain reckless safety with a car’s distance between them and his voice in her ear. “This is between us, right? You won’t tell anybody. No one.”

  “Cross my heart.”

  She touched the brake as traffic slowed even more. “Remember our first date and we talked about stunt work and doing something else?”

  “I remember. I remember a few other things about that night too.”

  Like their kiss at the door. “The first and last.” Ha. If she’d known what life had had in store she might not have been so afraid to take a chance with him that night. She’d blown over a week.

  Ellie sighed and got back to the subject. “I do want to get out of the business. I want…I want to drive race cars.”

  Nothing. Not a peep. She’d completely silenced him. Either that or the call had dropped.

  “Hello?”

  “I’m here.” He sighed. “When did you decide that?”

  “The first time I went around the track in the Arrow car. I’d never known that kind of exhilaration. It felt so freeing…like it’s the place I was supposed to be. I mean, I’ve enjoyed stunt work and I have an ability to do it, but I’d never known—really known—what it felt like to do something I was meant for.”

  There was a long pause until he sighed again. “Wow. What were the odds?” he mumbled. “Okay. Well, that’s great. I’m sure you’ll be great.” His tone sounded strange. She couldn’t label it insincerity, but he sounde
d less than enthusiastic.

  “Let me ask you something?” His gaze rocked her through the mirror even with all the distance between them. “If you’re serious about this race thing then you must be considering moving, right?”

  Cars inched forward and Ellie eased the Honda into first gear and crept along with them. “That’s a serious consideration. Yes.” The consideration that made the move completely impossible. Reality crashed in on Ellie for the second time. She couldn’t change her life that fast. She was more stuck than a pig in the middle of quicksand. Talking to Trace about her school wouldn’t matter. She couldn’t go anywhere until she learned to read. Hell, she still wasn’t sure if she’d be able to RSVP to Mary Jane’s stupid wedding. Most importantly there was Ashley…

  “It got awfully quiet up there,” he said. “I know,” he continued, his voice soft and full of understanding, “you can’t imagine leaving with Ashley still in the hospital.”

  She jumped on the excuse because it was the truth. “She’s my best friend. I can’t leave her.”

  “You also can’t stop living your life because hers is on hold,” he told her quietly. His unspoken words hung in the air. What if Ashley remained in a coma for months? Or years?

  Ellie didn’t have a reply. How much living did she do anyway? Her life existed in a box of her own making. One with limited doors. Setting up a new life somewhere else was out of the question. Not without someone to help her. Read for her. Plus, leaving Ashley would be close to impossible.

  “I’ll make you a deal.” His low voice came over the headset. “How about we pick another subject? I’ve got one. Let’s get back to you overheating. I want to explore it more.”

  She sputtered a laugh, happy to be off the serious topic. “No way. I’m not talking about anything overheating,” she said.

  “Scared we’ll end up having phone sex?”

  “Quinn!”

  He laughed. “What? It sounds good to me.”

  “I have no doubt it does. But we’ll stay clear of sex—of any kind—for now, and talk about something else. Tell me about yourself. And don’t tell me you want to talk about me, because we’re done there and you don’t have a choice.”

  “Fine. This won’t take long,” he said. “Lazy, unfocused, troublemaker.”

  That sounded like someone else’s description, but it gave her a lot more insight and brought up a ton of questions. “I don’t believe it. Who told you that?”

  “I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count.”

  After everything he’d told her at lunch yesterday, she had a good idea. “Mac.” The guy had sure put a dent in Quinn’s psyche. “Didn’t your parents have anything to say about that? I can’t believe they just let him say anything he wanted without any reprimand.”

  “Actually, I think my dad agreed with him.”

  “What about your mother?” she asked.

  “My mother wasn’t there. She died when I was two.”

  “Oh, Quinn. I’m sorry.” A familiar heartache blossomed in her chest. She knew the pain of losing a mother, though her situation was completely different. She glanced in her rearview mirror, searching for his reaction, but he didn’t even shrug.

  “It was a long time ago. I don’t even remember her. I think Dad and Mac expected one thing and got another. Nobody’s fault really.” He laughed. “Well, I guess it’s my fault.”

  “Why? How?”

  “I never did what was expected. I never came through like I was supposed to. Mac was this focused machine. He never stopped going after what he wanted. He wanted to race cars and he did. He wanted to go into business with Dad and then he took over after Dad got sick. He wanted Trace and he got her. Although I think there’s more to their story, but I can’t be sure because he doesn’t talk to me too much.”

  “Why doesn’t he talk to you?” Maybe she should clarify that. “Why do you think he doesn’t talk to you?” Traffic picked up and Ellie actually got into third gear.

  “Mac sees me as his kid brother that never did anything right. I never got good grades, I was at every party known to man. I took almost twice as long to get through college because I kept dropping courses. I’m the big screw up. I’m the disappointment.”

  The cars slowed. “What a crock of shit. You’re not any of those things. You’re generous and kind and smart…” Traffic came to a complete standstill and she looked behind her. He was smiling. “Why are you grinning like that?

  “Because I like how you’re always on my side. I like that you make me smile. But wait, back up a minute. I do have one very important question to ask you.” He sounded so serious that Ellie swallowed and got ready for something heavy.

  “Are you overheating? Anywhere?”

  She laughed. Then she talked. And he talked. About movies, about weather. About the gray clouds that hovered in the distance in front of them. They discovered they had very similar political views and had the same sense of humor. They had a shorthand that Ellie had never experienced with another man.

  The construction that had caused the jam came to an end and Ellie drove past the last orange cone and accelerated the Honda. It didn’t take long to go from first to fifth. All the cars in front of her had already zoomed ahead and the road cleared. Though Ashley’s car wouldn’t get up to seventy, Ellie stayed happy with sixty-five. She set the cruise control. “Now this is more like it,” she said. She glanced in her mirror and saw Quinn on her tail. “How are you doing?”

  “From what perspective?” he asked.

  He wouldn’t want her worried about him going full speed in her car so she came up with other alternatives. “The bathroom break, soda break, food break or ass break perspective.” She caught his smile in the mirror and melted the way she did every time he flashed that grin.

  “I’m tough. I’ll last as long as you.”

  “Ah…I love a macho man. I should’ve expected that answer.”

  Ellie cracked the window and smelled the fresh scent of rain in the air. A few minutes later, large drops splattered against the windshield in a heavy drizzle and she flipped on the wipers. Within minutes, the clouds opened up and rain poured in heavy sheets. “You sure you don’t want the top down?”

  “Funny,” Quinn said.

  Water pooled quickly on the dry land. Heavy clouds completely obscured the sun and it seemed more like dusk than early afternoon. Ellie spotted the turn off Aurora had told her about. A new exit had been built and part of the access road was still under construction.

  “We’re getting closer,” she singsonged. “Isn’t it beautiful out here? All this land.”

  “Yeah, space,” he quipped. “What a concept.”

  It was true. All the roads in this area seemed to disappear into the desert with no destination, but the mountains hid scattered homes and trailer parks.

  Ellie took the long off-ramp and eased on the brake. The back wheels fishtailed and jolted her sideways. She gripped the wheel in a white-knuckle hold as she corrected the car. Adrenaline shot through her veins.

  “What the fuck was that?” Quinn demanded.

  “Beats the hell of out me.” Ellie punched the cruise control. The green light came off, but the car didn’t slow down. She glanced at the fast approaching intersection for signs of traffic. Again she touched on the brake and nearly lost control of the car.

  “Ellie! Cut that shit out. It isn’t funny.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny,” she shot back. She glimpsed the gas pedal then focused on the intersection. “The gas is stuck on the floor!” Pounding rain on the windshield suddenly got a lot louder.

  While she was still twenty yards out, a lone car paused at the stop sign before crossing the intersection. Moving like a bullet, Ellie laid on the horn and flashed the lights as she came through. She swerved hard and dodged the car, barely managing to keep control of the Honda. She had a long stretch of road ahead of her.

  “Jesus,” Quinn huffed on the phone. “You okay?” He’d kept up with her, st
ayed close.

  “Yeah.” If no one counted the drops of sweat pouring from her body.

  “Downshift!” Quinn said.

  “I’ll strip the gears.”

  “Fuck the gears.”

  “Right.” Ellie stomped on the clutch and downshifted. The gears screamed as the car shook. The wheel rattled in her hands and Ellie thought she might lose control on the slick ground. She quickly shifted back into fifth. “I can’t. It didn’t feel right.”

  Ellie’s slight reprieve with the long road came to an alarming halt. Off in the distance, she saw a concrete barricade. A huge construction truck was about to turn onto the road and he would be headed straight toward her. She spotted a detour sign pointing to the right.

  “Oh, shit,” she murmured.

  “What?” Quinn asked sharply.

  She’d done a stunt a year ago where she’d climbed from one moving car into another. The scene had been teenagers playing chicken and she’d been in the backseat of one car trying to get into the backseat of the other. But the stunt had been choreographed to the inch and the cars had been going a solid thirty miles per hour slower. She’d also had cables attached to her waist and protective gear on her body. And there hadn’t been a drop of water anywhere near the road.

  “Elle! Talk to me! What’s happening?”

  “Hang on a second.” She glanced at her bag filled with weights, some rope and some bungee cord. Maybe…if she did this right… “Quinn, I need you to trust what I’m going to do. Don’t ask questions.”

  “I hate the sound of this.”

  “Roll down the passenger window, pull up next to me and stay even with the Honda.”

  “Elle.” The warning note in his voice spoke volumes.

  “Quinn, just do it. My car’s not automatic. You’ll have to lean over to open it.” She fished in the bag and found the short bungee cord. After hooking it under her legs to the lever that adjusts the driver’s seat, she hooked the other end to the bottom of the steering wheel. Gingerly she eased her grip and tested the play in the wheel. It stayed straight. Thank you, God. She rolled down her window and warm hard rain pounded into the car, soaking her right arm instantly.