Chapter One

by Judith Rochelle

  She sucked in a huge breath and somehow pulled herself together.

  “Oh. Okay.”

  He took a cautious step forward again. “I’ll see if I can find out what’s wrong here.”

  Clenching her jaw, she moved out of the way and stood there trying to swallow the fear that had decided to show up again...and aware that the racing of her pulse and her increased heartbeat had nothing to do with that fear. She had to get her inconveniently and inappropriately suddenly raging hormones under control here. Just in case he turned out to be something other than an unexpected Good Samaritan.

  “I-I hate to bother you,” she stammered. What if her car really wasn’t broken and he did something to it? What if somehow he was...no! She had to wipe those crazy ideas from her mind. She was seeing demons where there weren’t any. Except that was how she’d been staying alive, watching every corner for shadows.

  “It’s no trouble.” His voice was flat, neither friendly nor unfriendly. She could have been a telephone pole he was talking to. “Anyway, I’m already here, so let me eyeball this. Maybe I can spot something and fix it easily.”

  “All right.” She backed up, needing to put space between them. Her skin still burned where he’d touched her and her pulse was still thumping erratically. “Thank you.”

  His gaze raked over her face, something indefinable flashing briefly in his eyes. Then he blinked and it was gone. Whatever it was, she was sure she’d imagined it.

  He turned back to the car, popped the hood and looked inside. In just a few minutes he closed it again, shaking his head. “I don’t know where you got this piece of junk but I hope you didn’t pay too much. You can’t drive this anywhere tonight.”

  Inside she was shaking, and the pounding in her head had increased, making even her skull throb. All her carefully constructed defenses were beginning to fall apart. She tightened her hands into fists, desperate for some shred of control. Now was not the time to lose it. She’d known the car would die sooner or later. She’d just hoped it would be later, and not in the middle of no place without any other options.

  “Are you positive it won’t move?” She shoved her hands into her pockets, knowing how stupid the question sounded. “Maybe you missed something?”

  He looked at her with dark eyes like black ice. She had never seen eyes so intense and she shivered slightly.

  “Believe me,” he insisted, “I’m sure. I know cars. The carburetor is a mess and I think the engine block’s cracked. Neither of those are good.”

  “You’re kidding.” Oh god, now what would she do?

  “Unfortunately I’m not. Do you by some chance have anyone you can call?” He looked at his watch. “Because at this hour every garage close enough is closed. You’re at least an hour from San Antonio and unless you’ve got some kind of road service you’d have a hard time getting anyone out here this time of night anyway.”

  “N-No road service,” she told him, feeling more and more like an idiot. But running for your life didn’t allow for amenities or anything that would leave tracks for people to follow.

  He studied the car. “Those plates are from California. Did you drive from there in this piece of junk?”

  “It’s...just temporary. I’m traveling.” He had to know she was lying. God, maybe she’d be better off if he just went off and left her.

  No! That would leave her totally defenseless.

  The look he gave her seemed to see right into her. “Not in this car you’re not.” He kicked at a front tire. “I’m surprised you made it this far.”

  “It’s what I have,” she told him with what little bit of defiance she could muster. “I just need to figure out how to fix it.”

  Again he stared at her with that penetrating look. “I don’t suppose this happens to be the area where you were heading, is it? Maybe you have some friends around here you can call?”

  The only ‘friends’ I have right now are busy trying to kill me. I don’t think I’ll be calling them.

  She wet her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. “No. There’s no one.”

  He tapped the hood of the car with his fingers. “Whoever you are, this vehicle isn’t going to move and you sure as hell can’t sit here on the side of the road. Come on.” He touched her arm, lightly as if expecting her to jump away. “I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

  “Take me somewhere? Why would I just go off with you?” She yanked her hands from her pockets and wrapped them around her body, quaking as the full impact of her situation hit her.

  “You’re trembling.” There was a faint note of surprise in his voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you, but this is a ridiculous situation. You can’t stay out here and I can’t go off and leave you like this. The next person who comes along might not be as harmless as me.”

  When she still didn’t move, he drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Look. I’m just worried about you, okay?”

  “Where would you take me?” Her head was spinning. How could this happen to her? “I mean, I don’t know you. Why should I trust you? And what am I supposed to do with the car?”

  “You can’t drive this thing so you’ll need to get it towed and—”

  “Towed? Who would I call to tow it? You said yourself everyone’s closed around here.”

  A muscle jumped in his cheek. “I can help you with that if you’ll let me finish.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.” Did her voice sound as shaky to him as it did to her?

  “I have a friend who will tow it for you. He and my dad went to school together and he’ll do me a favor. And you have to have a place to stay for the night,” he explained with exaggerated patience. “Like a motel. Lucky for you there’s one just a few minutes away. I’ll drive you there. Okay?”

  “A motel?” God, I sound like a moron.

  “Jesus. Yes. A motel. You know. Where people rent rooms and go to sleep? Which, by the way, is something you look like you haven’t done for a long time.” His eyes raked her from head to toe. “Can you even afford a room? Maybe we should think of something else.”

  “I can handle it. No problem. I have money.” She forced herself not to touch the fanny pack.

  He waited the space of one heart beat. Two. “That answer all your questions? Can we go now?”

  The calm, reasonable tone in his voice washed over her, taking the edge off her anxiety. She had to trust someone. She couldn’t keep running aimlessly around the country with death breathing down her neck. Minutes ago she’d prayed for someone to help her, here he was, and soon, he’d decide she was too much of a pain in the ass and leave her stranded. It would serve her right.

  “This isn’t an open-ended offer.” She could tell irritation was getting the best of him. “If you want to just hang out here on the highway, be my guest. But it’s late and I’m tired, so what are we doing here? You staying or coming with me?”

  Looking more closely she suddenly noticed the fatigue shadowing his eyes and deepening the grooves in his face. He’d stopped at this late hour to see if she, a total stranger, needed help, yet here she was, giving him nothing but grief. He had no way of knowing why she was so terrified and that trusting him would be a real leap of faith for her.

  At that moment, as if to underscore the tenuousness of her situation, fat raindrops began to splatter everywhere—the shoulder of the road, the highway, her rattletrap car, and most of all, the two of them.

  “Oh, great,” she muttered, shivering as the density of the rain increased. In a moment she was soaked, rubbing her arms to chase away the chill.

  “Okay. If you want to stay out here in the rain, fine by me, but I’ve got better sense than that.” He started to turn away.

  No. Don’t go.

  She almost shouted the words. She sure didn’t have a lot of choices now. If he was actually connected to Peter he could have simply knocked her out, searched her car and hauled her off in his truck. So it was either stay here like a stupid fool catching pneumonia in wet clot
hes or take a chance with a complete stranger.

  “O-Okay.” The rain was coming down more heavily and her clothes were plastered to her. “T-Thank you.”

  “The first thing to do is get you out of this rain and dried off. Come on.” He held out his hand and she reluctantly took it.

  They jogged to his truck, a black leviathan as dark and dangerous-looking as he was. He opened the passenger door and practically threw her inside.

  Guiltily she realized he was as drenched as she was.

  He opened the back door of the dual cab and pulled out a torn towel and an old blanket.

  “I always carry odds and ends,” he told her. “Dry off as much as you can with the towel and wrap the blanket around you. Do you have anything you need in your car?”

  “A duffel. A tote bag. Oh, and my cell phone.”

  “A cell phone.” He grunted. “At least you have one necessity. I’ll get them and be right back.”

  Kate didn’t argue with him. She had no desire to get out in the rain again and there was nothing in the car that could give away her real identity or she’d never have let him near it. She was scrupulous about not leaving anything lying around that could identify her, or scratch at someone’s curiosity.

  She blotted the rain on her clothes and her hair, then wrapped the ragged blanket around her still shuddering body. She was huddling into it when the door on the driver’s side opened, and the man climbed in and tossed her tote and duffel in the back seat. Digging around he pulled up another towel that he used to wipe himself off as best he could.

  “I’ll turn on the heat in a minute,” he told her, “and see if we can ward off pneumonia.”

  Suddenly she was so tired she could hardly stand up. “Where did you say this motel is you’re taking me to?”

  “There’s a little town where I live just off the next exit. The motel’s on the main street. You’ll be safe there.”

  No place is safe for me. But maybe...

  Okay, here goes nothing.

  Silently praying she’d made the right decision, she wrapped the blanket more tightly...and was immediately hit with another problem. He must have slept on this at some time, or wrapped himself in it, because a distinctive, tantalizing male scent clung to it. And in the unexpected intimacy of the cab, this dark and mysterious man was having a sudden effect on her. There was an air of raw sex about him that stole her breath.

  Great. She was exhausted, terrified, soaking wet, and hanging onto the end of a frayed rope, and now her hormones decided to wake up. She inched as close to the door as her seat belt would allow.

  When he started the engine and pulled out onto the highway, she cleared her throat.

  “Excuse me, but I don’t even know your name.”

  He glanced sideways at her but said nothing.

  “This isn’t a trick question,” she pushed. “You do have a name, don’t you?”

  After another long silence, he spoke. “Quinn. My name is Quinn.”

  Chapter Five

  Tampa

  Peter Fleming was in a rage. Almost a week had ticked away since the night Kathryn made her unexpected appearance at the office and disappeared with the key to his life. Seven very long days and they were no closer to finding her and the tiny memory stick.

  He looked up at Miguel Osuna, the ever-present reminder of his situation, and slammed his hand on his desk.

  “Goddamn it, Miguel, I’ve told you that again and again. No matter how many times you ask me, the answer will still be the same. I don’t know what she was doing here that night. She was supposed to be at home.”

  Why had Kathryn decided to show up with no warning? That was the unanswered question. Whatever the reason, she’d run smack into a conversation not meant for her ears. Because of that, a copy of the entire operation was now missing.

  Every day Miguel materialized at Peter’s office to ride his ass about Kathryn’s disappearance and the loss of the flash drive. The daily process never varied. The questions. The accusations.

  The threats.

  Peter ground his teeth in frustration. Frantic was not a usual part of his personality, but right now he was as close to it as he could get. Running the business operation for the powerful Osuna cartel had its benefits but also put him in a vulnerable position.

  “I shouldn’t have waited to get rid of her.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “You were right about that.”

  Miguel’s face was like stone. “That’s correct. I urged you to get it done and over with.”

  “You know the reasons for it, though,” Peter reminded him. “So many deaths, coming one right after the other...”

  “Nevertheless, you have made an unforgivable error, Pedro. And because of that Kathryn Holt has disappeared with something that could destroy us all. If we hadn’t heard her and chased her to the garage, we might never know she has it. You’d find it gone and we’d all be screwed. Unfortunately she was too quick for us and now she’s disappeared.”

  “We’ll find her.”

  “You’d better be right about that. You know what’s on the line.”

  Peter dropped into his chair and raked his fingers through his carefully styled blond hair. Rage at the situation Kathryn had put him in surged through his system.

  “I’ll kill that fucking bitch when I get my hands on her!”

  “If you get your hands on her,” Miguel snapped. He was pacing, something he rarely did, but the situation had put everyone on edge. “Not when. I wouldn’t count on anything at this point. It seems Miss Holt isn’t quite as manageable as you thought.”

  Peter scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to wipe away the anxiety that wouldn’t disappear. “At least the files on the flash drive are encrypted.”

  “Small consolation.”

  “I told you I’ll find her. Count on it.”

  “We’ll find her.” Miguel pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

  Peter stuck his jaw out belligerently. “What does that mean? I made the calls to the people on our list and they’ve already missed her twice. What is it you think you can do that I can’t?”

  “I can run this more effectively. Right now I’m calling in every favor anyone owes me, a position you don’t happen to be in. It’s time for them to pay up. I’m ordering every corner of this country searched.” He punched in a number, and in a moment began speaking in rapid Spanish.

  Peter watched him and fumed.

  “She hasn’t the experience or the guts to figure out how to hide out,” he told Miguel when the man hung up. “Luck. That’s what she’s had. She’ll run out of it sooner or later.”

  Miguel stabbed a finger at him. “You should be prepared for the consequences once I report everything.”

  Then, thankfully before Peter could frame a reply, he was gone, with his bodyguards closing ranks behind him. Peter slumped back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Hell and damnation. He’d planned so carefully for everything. How had it fallen apart like this?

  ****

  Somewhere in Texas

  “Quinn what? Is that a first name or last?” Kate tried to keep her gaze away from his thighs and the muscles flexing under the soft denim.

  “Just...Quinn. That’s good enough.” When she didn’t comment, he said, “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  “When someone tells you their name, it’s customary to give them yours.” A tiny rough edge of humor colored his words.

  “Oh.” She twisted her fingers together. “I’m Kate. Kate Griffin.”

  “Well, Kate Griffin, you’ll be a lot better off at this motel than out on the highway. As soon as you get inside take a long hot, shower. Do you have anything warm to wrap up in?”

  “Um, I think so.” Actually, she was shivering so badly she could hardly think at all.

  “You have to get warm or you’ll get sick. While you register I’ll call my friend Mike to tow your car to his garage. Tomorrow we’ll see what needs to be done.”

  “Exactly where am I, an
yway?” she asked. They’d exited the highway and were driving into a small town.

  “Welcome to Windswept,” Quinn said, sardonic humor edging his words. “People say one day the wind swept through and when it left, there was the town.”

  Kate stared out the window, but it was dark and she was too fatigued, waterlogged, and cold to make much sense of anything. In a few minutes Quinn wheeled the truck up under the archway of a two-story limestone building. A sign hanging from it had the legend “Windswept Inn” sandblasted into it.

  “Must be a busy place,” she commented. The parking area was filled with cars, pickups and motorcycles.

  “The Inn’s been around a long time,” he told her as he jumped down from the truck. “They have a lot of repeat customers.”

  He jogged to the passenger side and opened her door. She clung to the blanket as he helped her down. When his hand touched hers the strangest feeling stole through her.

  Safe!

  She mentally shook herself, but when he dropped her hand the feeling didn’t disappear. Her mind was turning somersaults. What was happening here?

  “I need my tote bag,” she told him.

  He handed it to her and she followed him toward the entrance, feeling like a leftover from a cat fight. Her clothes were still damp, but warmed by the heater in the truck, they now stuck to her like a second skin. Her hair, cut more for serviceability than style, straggled around her face. She used the fold of the blanket to cover the fanny pack, which the shirt in its bedraggled condition could no longer disguise.

  “I have to know about my car,” she reminded him.

  She was already feeling helpless and vulnerable, the panic working its way through her again. She couldn’t just hang around to see what happened. Give Peter time to root her out.

  “I said I’ll take care of everything,” he told her, “and I will. While you get registered I’ll get that pile of junk towed. Then you need a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Which it doesn’t look as if you’ve had for a while, by the way.”

  Sleep. He was so right about that. For days she hadn’t closed her eyes except for brief periods. Even when she napped on the bus, she was never fully at rest and it was catching up with her. The fatigue that had grabbed her on the highway washed over her again. A full night’s rest beckoned so invitingly.