by Lori Foster
Everyone looked toward the windows but could see nothing in the black abyss.
Stasia felt like weeping. Damn it, she’d wanted nothing more than to return to her cabin, take another hot shower, and then curl up beneath her warm blankets in bed. Unless she got back home quickly, her woodstove would die out, leaving the cabin cold. And without electricity, her meager water supply would provide only enough warm water for a flash shower.
Thinking about a cold shower made her groan.
“What’s wrong?” Harley asked her.
“Nothing.”
“You made a sound.”
“Of disappointment, Harley, that’s all. My cabin is going to get cold quick.”
“Yeah.”
He kept her behind him, but she could practically feel him thinking. Probably trying to figure out a way to help her.
Not in this lifetime.
“Harley, stop. It’s not your problem. I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself. And don’t forget, you promised your uncle you’d get on the road.”
“After I took you home.”
“I would appreciate the ride. But that’s all.”
He turned to face her. In the darkness, Stasia could only see the glimmer of his eyes.
“Do you have any enemies?”
She laughed—but Harley didn’t. “Enemies who would cut the power to an entire town? No, Harley, I can’t think of anyone resourceful enough to do that. It’s just an outage, that’s all.”
Still he didn’t relax. “Forget the outage and think about your truck. It’s possible that something just went wrong with your truck, right? A maintenance problem maybe? Have your brakes been scrubbing at all?”
“No. I would have had them checked if they did.” She put a hand to her forehead. “I maintain my truck, Harley. I have the oil changed every three thousand miles, and everything is checked over then. Any little dings, any lights that come on, I get the truck serviced.”
Harley put a fist beneath her chin and tipped up her face. “That’s what I figured. You strike me as the type who takes care of her belongings.” His thumb brushed her bottom lip. “So, Stasia, who tampered with your truck? A friend?”
It made her brain cramp to think about it. “I don’t know. I guess there are people who don’t like me.” One particular couple came to mind right away. Then she shook her head. “But I can’t think of anyone who’d want me dead. And taking out my brakes is the kind of thing that could kill someone.”
“Exactly.” His hand went from her chin to the side of her face. “Someone tried to hurt you, you don’t have a phone, and now you don’t have electricity.”
She winced and hoped he couldn’t see her.
“Do you really think I’m just going to leave you alone with all that?”
Oh God. She didn’t want to be responsible for keeping him away from his uncle. “Look around, Harley. I’m not alone.” And if he’d give her a few seconds to think, she could probably figure out what to do. Because he was right; in the off chance that someone came looking for her, she didn’t want to be alone in her cabin.
Harley continued to stand there, saying nothing, but she felt his disapproval.
Damn him.
“I have an idea.”
Sighing, he dropped his hands. “Let’s hear it.”
“If you wouldn’t mind too much, I could grab a few things from my cabin, then ride with you to the nearest motel. You’ll be taking the expressway home, so I’m sure there’ll be a lot of choices along the way. You can just drop me off and then be on your way.”
In answer, Harley ran a hand through his hair.
“It probably won’t add but another hour to your trip.”
“It’s not that. I have time to spare.”
“If you’re feeling gallant, don’t. I’m a big girl. I know how to deal with my own problems. I’ll wait until tomorrow when the roads are clearer and the electricity is back on, then I’ll catch a ride home and get everything straightened out.”
The crowd stirred uneasily. A few candles and a flashlight weren’t sufficient to keep card games going. Then a fight suddenly erupted—someone must’ve caught someone else trying to make off with the pot.
Curses filled the air. Crashes sounded around them. Several people headed outside, a few others came in. From one heartbeat to the next, chaos reigned.
“Time for us to go,” Harley said to her, and two seconds later, he began stuffing her into his coat.
This time she didn’t argue. “Fine. Thank you. But I can dress myself.”
He pulled the collar together under her chin. “I don’t know what it is, Stasia, but something’s not right tonight. I feel it. The sooner we’re away from here, the better I’ll like it.” He took her hand and turned them to go; Ned stood there, blocking them.
A lighter in Ned’s hand gave off scant illumination. The play of light and shadows turned his craggy face into an eerie visage. “I need a favor, Harley.”
Again, Stasia found herself shoved behind Harley, but he kept one hand on her as if to reassure himself that she wouldn’t get taken away.
“I’m in a rush, Ned.”
“Yeah, and you’re with Anastasia, I know.” That clearly puzzled him; but then, she had never dated while staying at the cabin, so she could understand Ned’s confusion. “I’m sorry to intrude.”
“What is it?”
Ned’s lighter went out. He muttered to himself, clicked it several times, and it came on again. “Sorry. The thing is, my ride just passed out drunk.”
“Your ride?”
“Yeah, me and Gene were hanging out all day and just ended up here. He drove.”
Harley rubbed his face. “So what do you want from me?”
“I don’t live far from here, but it’s too damn cold for me to walk.”
“And too dark,” Stasia added, thinking of the people who’d run her off the road. On a night like this, it’d be far too easy for someone to get seriously hurt.
“Can you give me a lift?” Ned asked.
Harley didn’t immediately answer.
Stasia nudged him for his rudeness.
“I’m just a few miles down the road,” Ned promised him. “It won’t take you long.”
“Couldn’t you ask someone else? I’m anxious to get Stasia back to her place.”
To Stasia, that sounded far too sexually suggestive, so she hurriedly explained, “I got stuck out in the weather when my truck went off the road.”
“You weren’t hurt?”
“No, I’m fine, just anxious to get back to my nice warm cabin.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Ned cleared his throat again. “But that’s just it, Harley. You’re the only one I know with a vehicle who can make it there.”
Stasia said, “Like me, Ned lives up the hill.”
Harley turned to her. “And you know this how?”
Positive that Harley glared at her, but unable to see him, she reached out—and her hand bumped into his rock-solid abdomen.
She snatched it back. He was closer than she realized. “It’s a small town, Harley.” Damn, her voice sounded strained. “Everyone here knows everyone else.”
Harley said nothing, but Stasia knew he watched her, and because it unnerved her more, she stepped to the side of him.
Sheila lit more lanterns and when she placed one closer to them, Ned put away the lighter. He now stood in shadows, but didn’t look quite so creepy.
“Of course we’ll give you a ride, Ned.”
Putting his arm around her shoulders, Harley asked her near her ear, “I agreed to that?”
“You’re a reasonable man. You were going to.”
Ned looked back and forth between them. “I appreciate it.”
Harley gave up with ill grace. “I’d leave you in here until I had my Jeep going, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Stasia agreed. “I go where you go.”
He smoothed a hand over her hair, dragged the hat down over her head to cove
r her ears, and said, “Then let’s get to it.”
The second they stepped outside, a gust of strong wind nearly toppled Stasia. Harley kept her tucked in to his side, shielding her with his body while they located his Jeep. It took another half a minute for him to get the near-frozen door open.
He started the engine and turned on the heat. While Stasia huddled in her seat, trying to stay warm, Harley and Ned cleared the windows. Even freezing, she would have offered to help with that, especially since she wore Harley’s coat, but she already knew it’d be useless.
When Harley finally got behind the wheel, Stasia stared at him. He didn’t shiver. Hell, his nose hadn’t even turned red. But he did hold his hands out to the heater and let them warm.
“How are you?” he asked Stasia. “Warm enough?”
That should have been her question to him. “I’m fine. I think your Jeep is warmer than the bar.”
“Probably.” He looked over his shoulder to the backseat. “Buckle up, Ned.”
“Oh, right.” Ned, who’d been busy hugging himself and shivering uncontrollably, struggled with the restraint before finally getting it latched into place. “Got it.”
Harley put the Jeep in drive and rolled out of the parking space.
Stasia marveled at that. She’d expected him to be stuck at least a little. “I like your car.”
“Jeep. They’re a vehicle all their own, and yeah, I like it, too.” He drove with proper caution, almost as slowly as Stasia had, and they made it to Ned’s place without encountering another car on the road.
When Harley pulled up to the driveway, Ned released his seat belt and sat forward. “I really appreciate it, Harley.”
“No problem,” Harley said, but added, “Stasia insisted.”
“Want me to leave my coat with you?”
“I’m all right, thanks.”
“You’re sure?”
Stasia saw Harley’s impatience, but Ned seemed oblivious. “Positive. Go on in. We’ll wait here until you’re in the door.”
Ned thanked them again, said his good-byes, and reluctantly left the warmth of the vehicle. Taking very high steps—almost hops—he dashed through the thick snow across his lawn to the front stoop. If he had a walkway, snow had long since buried it. After a few seconds of fumbling, he got the front door open, flipped on the porch light, and waved them off.
“You should have taken his coat,” Stasia told Harley. “Or I could have taken it and given you back yours.”
“The man smells of day-old sweat. No thanks.”
“That’s just Ned. He’s clean, but I think the smell of his garage clings to him.”
“Ned owns his own business?”
“You pass it on the way to the cabin, but it sort of sits off the road behind some trees. I’ll show you.” They rode in silence until Stasia saw Ned’s garage. “There it is. He does routine maintenance and repairs. Ned might seem a little goofy, but he does a good job, so he stays busy.”
Harley didn’t answer, and Stasia looked at him. He kept glancing in the rearview mirror.
“What are you doing?”
“I thought I saw headlights.”
She jerked around and stared, but they’d gone around a bend and she couldn’t see anything. Voice low, she asked, “Do you think it’s the same truck?”
“Don’t be afraid, Anastasia. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
His arrogance chased off her unease. “Listen up, Tarzan, I wasn’t asking for your protection.”
“You’ve got it anyway.” His shoulders flexed. “And good thing for you, because here he comes.”
“Oh, God.” She twisted around again. Far behind them, headlamps shone against the darkness of the night. “Do you really think it’s the same truck that tried to run me off the road?”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Harley shifted, settling into his seat and getting a firm grip on the steering wheel.
The lights closed in.
“Whoever it is, he’s driving faster than us.”
Harley agreed. “He’s catching up.”
Stasia squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it.” He glanced at her briefly, then returned his attention to the road and rearview mirror. “Wanna tell me about any enemies while there’s still time?”
Her stomach knotted. “It’s far-fetched.”
“Then this is the night for it.”
Stasia had to agree. She looked over her shoulder again. The truck gained on them. Because of the storm, it’d take at least another ten minutes to make it to her cabin.
Not enough time.
“It’s a long story that, by necessity, I’m going to shorten.”
“Go.”
“One client misunderstood my interest in him. He thought it was more personal and…and he told his wife that he wanted a divorce so he could marry…me.”
Harley whistled.
Keeping an eye on the approaching truck, Stasia explained, “We had never done anything intimate, I swear. I only encouraged him about his business and talked to him about family problems as I do all my clients, but—”
“You don’t need to justify yourself to me.”
Good thing, because she had no justification.
The lights drew closer.
Heart hammering, Stasia rushed through the rest of her tale. “When he told me his intent, I set him straight. I told him I had no interest in him personally.”
Harley snorted. “Bet he took that well.”
She shook her head. “He refused to believe me. He hounded me for months, first trying to court me and then railing at me and calling me names. It got so ugly. Finally he tried to go back to his wife, but she couldn’t forgive him.” The memories burned, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. “She now suffers severe depression.”
Lacking her emotion, Harley said, “Guess he blames you for that too, huh?”
Stasia blamed herself. She should have seen his infatuation, should have been clearer, should have…“I haven’t heard from him for a month or so.”
“This is why you’re taking time off work?”
“Yes.” The headlights reflected off the mirrors. “Harley, he’s going to hit us.”
“Not if I hit him first.”
CHAPTER 5
STASIA couldn’t believe her ears. “What did you say?” “Hold on.” Harley slammed on the brakes, and the truck, taken by surprise, swerved hard in an attempt to miss rear-ending them.
It wasn’t entirely successful.
The front bumper of the truck clipped the back bumper of the Jeep. Harley kept control of the vehicle with some cursing, and ended up on the side of the road.
The truck didn’t fare as well. It swerved wildly before hitting a patch of ice and doing a three-sixty. The driver struggled, got the truck aligned, and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road, facing away from them.
He didn’t drive away.
Stasia stared at Harley in utter horror. “Are you out of your mind?”
“They would have rear-ended us, babe. At least this way, I kept control of the situation.”
Control? He called this control?
Harley carefully backed up and steered the Jeep around until his headlights shone into the cab of the other vehicle. “There’re only two of them.”
“Only two?”
He put the Jeep in park. “Listen to me, Anastasia. Soon as I get out, slide over here behind the wheel. Lock the doors, keep the engine running, and stay inside. If you need to, drive around us and go back to town.”
Drive around us… Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
When she said nothing, Harley moved away from her and opened his seat belt.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Stasia launched herself at him. Her stupid seat belt hindered her, so all she could do was grasp at him.
“I’ll be right back.”
Hands clenched in his shirt, Stasia tried to hold on to Harley. Something in his expression sc
ared her. He looked distant and enraged and…she didn’t know what to do. “You’re not going out there, Harley Handleman, so forget it!”
“I don’t have time for you to go hysterical on me now.” He pried her fingers loose, held them in his warm hands, and gave her a squeeze. “They’re sitting there, Anastasia, just waiting. They aren’t going away. If we try to leave, they’ll just turn around and follow us, maybe to your cabin. At least here I can see them and know where they are.”
Panic had her talking fast and too loud. “Let’s just go back to town, then. Someone there can help us.”
In contrast, his tone was icy with rage and in complete control. “I don’t think they’ll let us past them—unless I make them.”
“Harley, they could have guns.”
His eyes narrowed. “Anyone pulls on a gun on me, I’ll make him eat it.”
Incredulous, she slumped back in her seat. “You’re a lunatic. You really are. Oh dear God, I’ve aligned myself with a certifiable lunatic.”
Stony-faced and eerily calm, Harley opened his door. “Do exactly as I said and you’ll be fine.” He got out.
“Yeah, fine.” Immediately, Stasia scampered over and got behind the wheel. She left the door open, though, so Harley could hear her. “Fine enough to drive past your body after they trample you into the snow.”
Harley didn’t acknowledge her, but he hadn’t taken two steps when she remembered that she wore his coat. If the bullies didn’t kill him, he’d freeze to death!
Except…he didn’t look cold.
Or afraid.
He looked like six feet of walking rage.
Idiot. Fool. The Jeep’s headlights lit the scene. Knowing she wouldn’t miss anything, Stasia shut the door and locked it.
No need for them both to die.
Her eyes were so wide, it felt like they might fall out of her head. With her heart threatening to explode, a cold sweat sticking to the back of her neck, and her muscles tensed to the point of pain, she waited.
Before Harley reached the truck, two people got out.
Only two, as he’d said.
But they were big brutes, bundled from head to toe in warm layers.
