Safe by His Side
Debra Webb
No one could find special agent Jack Raine if he didn't want to be found. So who was the beautiful amnesiac on his doorstep, and how had she gotten to his hideaway? When a killer soon followed, Jack suspected a trap–so he took the lady and ran…"Kate" couldn't remember her own name, but she wanted the strong and silent Jack Raine the moment she saw him. Even as a slow heat burned between them, Kate knew she risked falling for this stranger who'd saved her life–a man her flashes of memory suggested she might have been sent to capture…
“You have to get out of these clothes,” Raine told her.
He had to get this lady warmed up fast. As cold as she was, shock and hypothermia represented definite threats. Concern overrode his usual self-preservation instincts.
She lifted her hands to her blouse and worked on a button, her movements stiff and awkward. Raine swore under his breath. At this rate, she’d never get her clothes off. If she couldn’t do it, he’d have to do it for her.
He pushed her hands away and deftly released the remaining buttons. He peeled the wet blouse down her arms and pitched it to the bathroom floor. Steam billowed around them.
“Thank you,” she murmured. She squeezed her eyes shut and swayed back against the wall.
He knew the hot water wouldn’t hold out so he pulled her against him and turned her back to the hot spray. She clung to him helplessly. He bit the inside of his jaw to stifle the groan that rose in his throat at the feel of her firm breasts pressed into his chest.
This woman was going to kill him, and she didn’t even have a weapon.
Safe by His Side
Debra Webb
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debra Webb was born in Scottsboro, Alabama, to parents who taught her that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. She began writing at age nine. Eventually, she met and married the man of her dreams, and tried some other occupations, including selling vacuum cleaners, working in a factory, a day care center, a hospital and a department store. When her husband joined the military, they moved to Berlin, Germany, and Debra became a secretary in the commanding general’s office. By 1985, they were back in the States, and finally moved to Tennessee, to a small town where everyone knows everyone else. With the support of her husband and two beautiful daughters, Debra took up writing again, looking to mystery and movies for inspiration. In 1998, her dream of writing for Harlequin came true.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Katherine Robertson, a.k.a. Kate Roberts—Danger follows her to a mystery man’s doorstep, but she can’t remember why.
Jack Raine—He trusts no one, but can’t resist helping a woman who doesn’t know her own name.
Victoria Colby—The head of the Colby Agency is worried when her new operative doesn’t check in as scheduled.
Lucas Camp—He hired the Colby Agency to find Jack—to help Jack, or kill him?
Raymond Cuddahy—The leak in his organization means no one is safe.
Sal Ballatore—The man who killed his son will pay.
Dillon—He wants his money, and Jack dead—not necessarily in that order.
Many thanks to an outstanding guide, Lee Lewis, for his superior knowledge of Smoky Mountain trails, and to a terrific friend and expert drawer of maps, JoAnn Reynolds.
A special thanks to Natashya Wilson, a wonderful editor, for believing in my work and giving me this opportunity. This book is dedicated to the man who helped make all my dreams come true—my wonderful husband, Nonie.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Prologue
“Failure in this assignment is almost a given,” Victoria Colby told the investigator sitting on the other side of the immense oak desk that had once belonged to her late husband, James. “And should you choose to accept it, your life will be in constant danger—perhaps from more than one source,” she added cautiously.
“I understand,” Katherine Robertson replied.
Victoria eyed the young woman with more than skepticism—uncertainty…maybe.
Did she really understand?
Victoria wasn’t so sure that she understood, herself. This was the most sensitive assignment the Colby Agency had undertaken in the ten years since she had assumed the helm. She’d been reluctant to take charge at first, but the small Chicago-based private investigations firm her husband had operated for the final years of his life had been near and dear to his heart. So Victoria had worked hard to make the agency the best in the business. It was the one thing she could still hold on to and feel close to James.
She passed a thin manila folder with a red “Top Secret” cover sheet on the front to the eager investigator, who immediately opened it to review the meager contents.
“Who does Jack Raine work for?” Katherine asked, glancing up only briefly.
“He used to work solely for the CIA, but four years ago he shrugged off the brass and became a contract agent. Since that time, he’s worked for them all—NSA, DEA, CIA. He’d been under deep cover for the FBI for seventeen months when things went sour. The story is that he left the son of a prominent mob leader named Ballatore dead and an extraordinary sum of money missing.”
“He turned?” Katherine looked from Victoria to the folder and back in disbelief. “A guy with a record like this?”
Victoria nodded slowly. She could hardly believe it herself. Jack Raine’s work history might be restricted reading—which meant no significant details were available for their perusal—but his reputation was spotless, not to mention unparalleled. The man had every commendation his government could give him. Somehow, between the known and the unknown, things just didn’t add up—at least, not for Raine’s longtime friend Lucas Camp. Lucas had asked Victoria to take this assignment as a personal favor. Raymond Cuddahy, Lucas’s boss and the new director of Special Operations, didn’t like the idea of a civilian agency’s involvement. He had, however, given his consent—eventually, and off the record.
Like Raine, Lucas had worked for the government in one capacity or another for most of his adult life. He had recruited Raine into the CIA and was probably the only man alive who’d had an up-close-and-personal relationship with the elusive Jack Raine. Both men now worked, in different roles, for a highly covert special operations unit created to provide support when all else failed.
Lucas had shared a cage with Victoria’s husband as a prisoner of war during Vietnam. The two men had helped each other to survive. And Lucas had been a key factor in Victoria’s own survival in this cutthroat business after her husband’s death. Had it not been for Lucas, the Colby Agency might have gone under long ago rather than becoming the elite organization it was today.
Victoria owed the man.
“It’s your job to find out if he’s turned.” Victoria leaned forward and propped her elbows on her desk. She laced her fingers and rested her chin atop them. “And to bring him in, either way.”
Without responding, Katherine turned her attention back to the file in her hands and frowned.
Victoria noted again what a lovely young woman Katherine was. She had only been with the agency for one year. At twenty-five, she still lacked the life experience Victoria usually preferred in her investigators, but Katherine was an especially quick study. Her looks were definitely deceiving. She had a model-perfect build, with long dark hair and even darker eyes. But beneath that pretty exterior lay the wit and intelligence of an excellent tracker. Instinct and guts—that’s what had gotten Katherine noticed in recent months.
Victoria couldn’t help wondering why such a beautiful young woman didn’t seem to have much of a social life. Of course, the world was different now than it had been when Victoria was twenty-five. She studied the woman seated across from her. Perhaps Miss Robertson had the right idea, she mused. Career first and foremost—and then maybe a husband and family later. Those had been Katherine Robertson’s exact words in her interview thirteen months ago, and she’d been true to her word. She concentrated on work with a determination Victoria seldom saw in a person her age.
“How did the Colby Agency end up with an assignment like this?” Katherine asked, breaking into Victoria’s thoughts. “This case has federal jurisdiction written all over it.”
“For six months Raine’s own people have been unsuccessful in their attempts to bring him in. It’s difficult to capture a man who, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t exist. That—” Victoria gestured toward the folder Katherine held “—is all there is on Jack Raine. Each time his whereabouts have been locked on to, he’s managed to slip through their fingers.
“Unfortunately, Raine knows too much about too many things to simply write him off. If he’s turned, the government needs to know so they can defuse the situation. If he hasn’t, then he needs protection. Ballatore wants him dead.”
Katherine examined the one and only photograph the file contained of her target. “Well, if he’s a criminal, he’s certainly a handsome one,” she said without looking up.
“He is that,” Victoria agreed. With sky-blue eyes and sandy blond hair, Jack Raine was a breathtaking, lean and rugged six foot two. Victoria never doubted for one minute the other reputation Lucas had warned her followed Raine—lady-killer. But, beneath those devastatingly good looks, the man was a highly trained soldier, specializing in death and deception.
“Why me?” Katherine looked up, her surprise at being handed such an important assignment evident.
Victoria sighed. This was the part that bothered her most. “Raine is an infiltrator—the best in the business. He’s spent the past twelve years of his life living on the edge, getting in and out of places no one else could. He’s good, maybe too good. If you can find him, the extrication will be extremely risky. I have reason to believe that he’s playing some sort of game—dropping clues like bread crumbs. It’s more than possible that the few times he has been located were intentional. We might not get so lucky this time.”
Victoria paused a beat before she continued. “To answer your question as to why you were selected for this assignment, you’re a woman, and you’re young and beautiful. That will get you closer than anyone else in our agency. The fact that you don’t have a great deal of field experience will probably keep you alive.”
Katherine arched a dark eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“If Jack Raine suspects for one second that you’re tracking him, he won’t take the time to find out which side sent you.”
“Oh.” Katherine dropped her gaze to the folder in her lap and studied it for a moment. “I see.”
Victoria straightened and leveled a serious gaze on the Colby Agency’s newest investigator. “I’ll understand completely if you choose to decline. I’d never ask one of my people to take a job they didn’t feel comfortable with.” She drew in a heavy breath and added, “I have to admit, Katherine, this one worries me, but you’re our best shot at getting close to this guy.” And Lucas is depending on me, she didn’t add.
As Victoria had anticipated, Katherine met her gaze with a determined one of her own and, without the slightest hint of misgivings, asked, “When do I start?”
IGNORING THE DRIZZLING November rain that dampened her hair and chilled her to the bone, Katherine tossed the one duffel bag she’d allowed herself into her rented car. She checked her small shoulder bag once more to confirm that a full prescription of her heart medication was there. She shook the small bottle of pills and smiled. She was definitely ready. Her little secret would be safe as long as she took her medicine and steered clear of an in-depth physical examination until she had proven herself. Then it wouldn’t matter, the agency would keep her anyway. She had worked too hard for this opportunity to lose it because she couldn’t measure up to someone else’s perception of acceptable physical condition.
Finding Jack Raine hadn’t been as difficult as she’d imagined it would be. It had taken her only two weeks to pinpoint his location based on the latest information Lucas had given her. It seemed almost too easy. She wondered if Jack planned it that way. Did he savor the chase?
Catch me if you can?
She shook her head at the thought of the kind of man who would get his jollies that way. What purpose could it possibly serve for him to yank around the very system for which he had once worked? Something just wasn’t right. Katherine had that feeling—the one her father called cop’s instincts. Except she wasn’t a cop. She had failed the required physical. The same type required by the Colby Agency for investigators. But Katherine had already been employed by the agency as a researcher, so she had delayed the appointment after her promotion. Now all she had to do was prove herself. Then the results of the physical wouldn’t matter.
After arriving in Gatlinburg the afternoon before, Katherine had checked into a hotel. Within a few hours of her arrival she had located Raine’s residence and done a little advance scouting.
His place was the typical Smoky Mountain retreat, a rustic rental cabin that probably had a fabulous view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The place sat a good two miles off the blacktop in a particularly remote area.
The rendezvous point and estimated time of arrival had been arranged with Nick. All was go.
Katherine slid behind the wheel of the green Ford Taurus and checked her reflection in the mirror. She swiped the raindrops from her face and immediately banished the flicker of uncertainty she caught in her eyes. This was her big chance—she wasn’t about to blow it by getting cold feet.
“You can do this, Robertson,” she whispered sternly.
Despite her dislike of the reasons she’d been chosen for the assignment, she intended to make the best of it. She might be young and she might be new, but she was a damn good investigator and tracker. And she intended to prove that her physical limitations wouldn’t hold her back.
Nick didn’t approve. And her father would likely blow a fuse when he found out. But by then it would be a done deal and they would both see.
She could do this.
She would do it.
Katherine started the engine, set the transmission to Reverse and put her plan in motion.
Thirty minutes later, the drizzle and the fog making the curvy mountain road even more treacherous, Katherine neared her destination. She quickly reviewed her strategy one last time, then took three slow deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She assured herself once more that she could do this.
Katherine spotted the sudden movement on the highway in front of her too late. She slammed on the brakes and swerved hard to the right. She felt the wheels lock. Heard the squeal of tires.
And then everything went black.
Chapter One
Jack Raine jerked his front door open and stared down at the drenched woman standing on his deck. The freezing precipitation had gone from bad to worse in the last hour, and she appeared to have gotten the worst end of it. He had lived in this remote location for over a month without a visitor and he damn sure didn’t want one now. This wasn’t the sort of place that attracted door-to-door sales-people or that a passerby merely stumbled onto.
“If you’re lucky,” he said roughly, “you’re lost.”
The woman drew back a step at his brusque tone. “I’m…I had an accident,” she stammered.
“Accident? Let’s see some ID,” he demanded. He would never understand why anyone would be out on a crappy morning like this. In the mountains, days like these weren’t fit for man or beast. And whoever his visitor was, she certainly didn’t fit either category. She didn’t even have on a coat. “Where the hell’s your coat?”
“What?” The woman stared up at him as if his question made no sense at all.
For the first time, Raine noted the dazed look in her dark eyes. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, and she swayed slightly before she caught herself. With one trembling hand she pushed long, dark strands of hair from her face. Rivulets of water slid down her pale cheeks. A blast of cold November wind whipped across the deck. She shivered. And damned if her teeth didn’t chatter as well.
Raine swore under his breath and yanked her inside. This was the last thing he needed. He slammed the door and stared down at the trembling female with complete irritation and utter distrust. She was dripping wet from head to toe.
“I—I just need to use your phone,” she said weakly. Her frail attempt to free herself from his grasp only served to send her swaying backward. When he steadied her, she almost wilted in his arms.
“Whoa,” Raine said, concerned. “You need to get out of those wet clothes and warmed up before you do anything else.”
“The phone…I just need to use the phone,” she whispered before she closed her eyes and sagged against his chest.
Instantly he felt the wet and cold invade the warmth of his dry clothes. Raine blew out a breath of frustration and did the only thing he could—he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. He had to get this lady warmed up fast. As cold as she was, shock and hypothermia represented definite threats. Concern overrode his usual self-preservation instincts.
He settled her on the closed lid of the toilet and watched for a moment to ensure that she wasn’t going to fall over. She shivered uncontrollably. He crouched in front of her and removed her hiking boots and rolled off her socks. She sat there, seemingly unaware of his movements.
Raine opened the shower door and twisted the hot-water valve to wide open. Once the water was steaming, he adjusted it to a bearable but still plenty hot temperature.
“Okay, lady, let’s see if we can’t get your body temperature headed in the right direction,” he muttered more to himself than to her. If she heard him, she didn’t react.
Raine pulled the dazed woman to a standing position and then helped her into the shower. When the hot water hit her she gasped, shuddered violently and sagged against the translucent glass wall. Before Raine could catch her, she slumped to the tile floor, the water spraying directly on her face.
“Damn,” he growled. He reached inside and tried to pull her to her feet, she only whimpered and huddled more deeply into a fetal position. Muttering expletives, Raine stepped into the cubicle and pulled her to her feet, then wished to hell he had turned off the water first. Too late now. Besides, she needed the heat a lot more than he needed comfort.
“You have to get out of these clothes,” he told her. Liquid heat pelted his skin through his flannel shirt.
She lifted her hands to her blouse and worked on a button, her movements stiff and awkward. Raine swore under his breath. At this rate, she’d never get her clothes off. Raising her body temperature was top priority. He had hoped to allow her some privacy during the process. But if she couldn’t do it, he’d just have to do it for her.
What the hell? He’d undressed plenty of women in the past. He pushed her hands away and deftly began to release the remaining buttons.
She jerked back and stared up at him. He could see that it took her a while to bring him into focus. “What are you doing?” she asked weakly and clutched at his hands. Her pupils were unevenly dilated.
He cursed through clenched teeth.
Concussion.
She had a damn concussion. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? He knew the signs. Her left temple was bruised. Gingerly he touched the discolored spot. She winced and drew away but not before he felt the size of the lump that had formed there.
“We need to take the rest of your clothes off. We have to get you warm and into something dry,” he said as he resumed the unbuttoning process. To his relief, her hands fell away and she made no further protest.
“Thank you,” she said softly, her breath whispering across his downturned face.
Raine tightened his jaw. He wouldn’t say she was welcome—because she wasn’t. He didn’t want her here…didn’t need her here. But he couldn’t just let her die out in the cold any more than he could neglect an injured animal. He looked at the woman silently watching his fingers undo the final button of her blouse and wondered if he was making a big mistake.
He peeled the wet blouse down her arms and pitched it to the bathroom floor. Steam billowed around them and sweat beaded on his forehead as he reached for the hem of her undershirt. She automatically lifted her arms and closed her eyes. When he pulled the undershirt over her shoulders and then her head, he tensed. The scrap of cotton slipped from his fingers and joined her blouse on the wet tile floor.
Raine’s gaze riveted to her naked breasts. Not particularly large breasts, but they were nicely rounded and the rosy tips tilted slightly upward. He had the sudden, insane urge to draw one into his mouth and taste it.
She shivered and he forced his gaze back to her face only to find her watching him from beneath half-closed lids. Her lips parted and for one instant Raine allowed himself to want her, but then she whispered, “I’m so cold.”
Raine turned his back and silently cursed himself for the bastard he was. “You can do the rest,” he said harshly. Surely she could get her jeans off. Hell, she probably could have gotten the blouse off if he’d given her time. Perverted SOB, he cursed himself once more.
What the hell had gotten into him? It hadn’t been that long since he’d had a woman. Ogling an injured female was about as low as a man could go. A muscle in his tense jaw jumped when he heard her small sounds of frustration and fatigue as she struggled with the wet jeans. Raine clenched his fists and ignored the urge to turn around and look at her. The spray of hot water on his chest did nothing to calm his mounting tension or the hard-on he had acquired in the last sixty seconds.
He flinched when she touched his rigid shoulder. “I can’t do it,” she said wearily.
Raine licked his lips and swallowed tightly. This was damn ridiculous. He’d seen more than his share of naked women, what the hell was the big deal with this one?
He turned around slowly and met her pleading gaze with an annoyed glare.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to say weakly before collapsing against the shower wall.
Raine set his jaw so hard he thought his teeth would crack. He grasped the waistband on either side of her slender hips and tried without success to peel the material down as he’d done with the blouse, but the tight-fitting jeans wouldn’t cooperate. He sucked in a deep breath and did what he knew he had to. Raine pushed his hands inside and worked the material, panties included, down over her icy skin.
She was lucky to be alive. The last time he’d touched skin this cold, it had belonged to a dead man.
As chilled as her body was, his was getting more heated by the moment. His groin tightened painfully when his hands moved over the swell of her hips and glided down several inches of thigh. He straightened, held her firmly by the waist, placed his bare foot between her legs and pushed the jeans and skimpy panties down to her ankles. He immediately averted his gaze from the triangle of dark curls between her thighs.
He almost groaned. He’d been in these woods longer than he’d realized.
She braced both hands against his chest while she struggled to kick her feet free of the soggy material.
“Thank you,” she murmured on a frail breath when she’d finally freed herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and swayed back against the wall.
Raine kicked the jeans to one side. “No sweat,” he lied.
He knew the hot water wouldn’t hold out much longer, so he stripped off his own shirt, pulled her against him and turned her back to the hot spray. She sucked in a sharp breath and clung to him helplessly. He bit the inside of his jaw to stifle the groan that rose in his throat at the feel of her firm breasts pressed into his chest.
Damn, this woman was going to kill him and she didn’t even have a weapon.
They stood in the steamy shower until the water began to cool and her shivers had subsided. Raine held her steady with one arm while he turned off the water. He guided her out and helped her dry. He focused intently on the job rather than the peach-colored skin flushed from the hot shower.
He used another towel to squeeze her long, thick hair dry. Neither spoke during the drying process. Raine refused to acknowledge how good her made-for-loving body looked. Curvy and firm, yet soft. Tall, but not too tall, with long, shapely legs. Chestnut-brown hair and dark chocolate eyes—eyes that would surely darken even more with passion.
When her hair was as dry as it was going to get without a blow-dryer, Raine wrapped a clean towel around her and tucked the corner beneath her arm. He quickly dried his chest and arms and tossed his towel to the floor, then swiped his wet feet.
She gazed up at him with those dark, shimmering eyes, a ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I feel much warmer now.”
Before he could respond, her knees buckled and Raine barely caught her before she hit the floor. He drew her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. After depositing her on the bed, he rummaged through the chest of drawers until he came up with a bulky sweatshirt. It would fit more like a dress on her, but it would have to do. Besides, he decided, beggars couldn’t be choosers. He looked at his unwelcome visitor as he retraced his steps to the bed. At the moment she didn’t look as if she cared about much one way or another.
“Hold up your arms,” he ordered. She obeyed and Raine immediately regretted his command. With her arms extended above her head, the towel fell away from her upper body, giving him another good look at her perfect breasts.
Raine shoved the sweatshirt sleeves onto her arms and then pushed the neck opening over her head with a bit more force than was necessary. She winced as the material slid down her face.
“Dammit,” he muttered. He’d hurt her, and all because he couldn’t prevent his body’s reaction to hers. Raine stepped to the side of the bed and drew back the covers. When he had readjusted the irritating bulge in his wet pants, he walked back to the foot of the bed and lifted the woman into his arms. She pressed her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes. He frowned when his heart skipped a beat or two at the feel of her soft cheek against his skin. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t usually get so worked up over a blasted female.
Raine placed her in the middle of the bed and covered her with every blanket and quilt he could find. He stalked into the great room, fingered the thermostat to a higher setting, then placed several logs on the fire. He stoked the blaze until he was satisfied that it wouldn’t go out for a while. Then he trudged back to the bedroom and adjusted the blinds to let in the warm glow from the sun that had finally broken through the thick clouds hanging in the sky. The rain had stopped.
The newscast had said that the temperature would reach a pleasant forty degrees today, if the clouds cleared. Raine blew out a disgusted breath and turned back to the bed.
There was no telling how far his mystery guest had walked before she had stumbled upon his place. Raine had picked this particular cabin because of its seclusion. With the high volume of tourists floating in and out of Gatlinburg, his was just another face in the crowd on the rare occasions that he went into town. The last thing he had expected way out here was company.
As soon as he was sure the woman was out for the count, he’d put on dry clothes and take a ride to check out her vehicle. There would likely be some form of identification in her car. He wanted to verify her accident story as well, for his own peace of mind. She certainly seemed harmless enough, but Raine hadn’t survived this long by letting his guard down—even for a beautiful woman in distress.
If she had merely had an accident and showed up at his door for help, she had nothing to worry about. He’d keep an eye on her and rouse her every couple of hours just to be safe. When she awoke, he would drive her into town and drop her off at the emergency room. He had enough medical training to know she would probably be fine, but medical attention wouldn’t hurt.
If anything at all appeared suspicious about her ID or the means by which she had arrived at his door, she wouldn’t need medical attention—she’d need an undertaker.
HER EYES OPENED and she blinked to focus. She stared at the white ceiling for a long time before it occurred to her to try to move. Her head ached and felt oddly heavy. She licked her lips. Her mouth was as dry as sandpaper and she could hardly swallow.
On her left, sunlight poured into the room from a large window, spreading its golden glow across deep green carpet. The bright light hurt her eyes, but at the same time felt good against her face. She was tired and it was quiet. Maybe she should just go back to sleep, she thought, her eyes closing of their own accord.
“How’s your head?”
She snapped her eyes open and jerked her attention to the right, toward the deep male voice. Every aching muscle in her body tensed, and her head screamed in protest of the sudden move.
He sat in a chair a few feet away, watching her. She blinked and then frowned. Did she know this man? He looked vaguely familiar. She inspected his features more closely. Blond hair, light blue eyes. His face was lean and angular, exceptionally handsome. He seemed tall, but it was hard to tell with him sitting down. Still, she couldn’t put a name with his face. What had he asked her? Her head…yes…how was her head?
“It…” She cleared her rusty voice and tried again. “It hurts.”
“My guess is that you have a concussion. You probably need to see a doctor. I’ll take you into town to the hospital.”
He didn’t sound as if he relished the idea. She wondered if this man had some reason to dislike her. She pushed up into a sitting position and the room spun wildly for a sickening moment. Her stomach roiled. She groaned and rested her head in her hands.
“Where am I?” she asked in a thready whisper.
“Don’t you know?”
She thought about that for a while, but no matter how hard she tried to form an answer she couldn’t. She had no idea where she was. She shook her head and immediately regretted it.
“Your license says Virginia. Is that where you’re from?”
Virginia? Was she from Virginia? She should know where she was from. If her license said so, then she must be. “Yes,” she finally told him for lack of a better answer.
He didn’t speak again for a while, but his intense gaze never left her. His close scrutiny made her uneasy. “Who are you?” she ventured hesitantly.
“What’s your name?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“What?” That was a ridiculous question. He’d seen her license, he should know her name without asking. She scanned the room once more. Besides, why would she be in a strange man’s bedroom? He must know who she was. He had to be playing a joke of some sort. Well, she didn’t want to play. Her head ached.
“Tell me your name,” he repeated sternly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came. She frowned and snapped it closed. Her name…what was her name? She had to know her own name. Panic slid through her veins.
Everyone knows their name.
She threw the covers back and stood too quickly, only to plop back onto the bed. As soon as the dizziness had passed, she stood again, a bit more slowly this time. “I have to go,” she announced as calmly as she could. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She had to get out of here. Away from this man. Away from his questions.
“Your name is Denise.”
She silently tested the name as she took another step toward the door. Denise. It didn’t ring a bell, but if that’s what her license said… “Yes, that’s it.”
He snagged her arm and pulled her around to face him. He shook his head and swore, an ugly four-letter word. “Then why does your driver’s license say Kate?”
How had he moved up behind her so quickly, so quietly? Why was he holding her arm so tight? “I…I don’t know,” she stammered, her voice faltered as fear mushroomed inside her.
He pulled something from his pocket and placed it in her hand. A driver’s license. “That’s you.” He pointed to the picture. “Kate Roberts.”
She stared at the picture, concentrating. Was that her? She suddenly realized that she didn’t know what she looked like. Hysteria bubbled up in her throat. How could she not know what she looked like? She jerked free of his grasp and half ran, half stumbled to the dresser. She peered at her reflection in the mirror.
Terror gripped her. She didn’t recognize the face staring back at her. She moistened her lips and swallowed tightly. She looked at the reflection again, mentally inventorying the details. Dark hair and eyes, pale skin. She looked at the picture on the driver’s license once more. It was the same face. Kate Roberts, she read. Kate. That sounded right.
“Your clothes should be dry by now. When you’re dressed, I’ll take you to the hospital.” He started toward the door.
“Wait,” she called after him. When he faced her, she asked, “Why don’t I know my name? Is there something wrong with me?” The panic tightened like a steel band around her chest now. She braced her left hand against the dresser for support. The license dropped from her slack hold as her right hand fluttered to her throat where her breath had caught.
He hesitated, seeming uncertain of how to answer. “You were in a car accident. It looks as if you hit a deer. I think maybe you bumped your head pretty hard.” He shrugged. “They’ll be able to help you at the hospital.”
She released the breath she’d been holding as she watched him disappear. She turned all the way around in the large bedroom then. Absolutely nothing looked familiar. She noticed the bathroom door open and walked slowly in that direction. At least she knew she had to relieve herself, that was something.
After she’d taken care of necessary business, she picked up a comb from the vanity and fought with the tangles in her hair. She stared at her reflection. “Kate,” she whispered. She looked like a Kate—didn’t she?
When she was satisfied with the state of her hair, Kate walked sluggishly back into the bedroom. She found that if she didn’t move too quickly, the dizziness didn’t overwhelm her. The man stood quietly waiting for her. He’d piled jeans, panties, T-shirt, socks, shoes and a wrinkled blouse on the bed.
“The sooner you’re dressed the sooner you’ll get the medical attention you need.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. Kate moved to the bed and inspected the stack of clothing. Were these the kind of things she liked to wear? She had no idea.
Kate heard the door close and she looked around to find herself alone. She pulled off the huge sweatshirt and tossed it on the bed. After donning the panties, socks and jeans, she pulled on the T-shirt. Kate reached for the wrinkled blouse, but thought better of it. She’d just keep the warm sweatshirt. She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged on the high-top boots.
Kate picked up the driver’s license and tucked it into the pocket of her stiff jeans. She looked at herself again in the mirror and summoned her courage. A doctor would know why she couldn’t remember who she was. Everything would be fine just as soon as she got to the hospital.
Kate firmed her resolve and went in search of the man who had promised to take her to help. She found him in the great room warming by the fire. He’d already pulled on his coat. He stepped to the sofa and picked up a parka and a small purse. “These were in your car.”
Kate accepted the items and draped the long, narrow strap of the purse over her shoulder, then pulled on the tan-colored coat. The sweatshirt hit the tops of her thighs, the coat only came to her waist. What a fashion statement, Kate mused. But at the moment, she truly didn’t care. Remembering the license, she stored it in the purse.
“Do you know what these are?” he asked, holding out what appeared to be an unlabeled prescription bottle for her inspection.
Kate took the bottle and twisted off the cap. She peered at the small blue pills it contained, then shrugged as she recapped it. “Are they mine?” She met his watchful gaze. Why did he look at her like that?
“They were in your purse, so I would assume they belong to you.” He plucked the bottle from her hand and jammed it into his coat pocket. “There was a duffel bag in the trunk, I’ve already put it in my Jeep. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” she told him, somehow as anxious to be away from him as he appeared to want to relieve himself of her. Though she didn’t quite feel threatened, something about him made her uneasy.
Katherine followed the man out into the cold sunshine. It looked to be late afternoon. The sun hovered just above the tops of the evergreen trees surrounding the cabin and the small clearing. A gravel driveway veered down the slope and off into the woods. Did she know this place? Had she been here before? With him? Her gaze darted to the handsome stranger who appeared to be her reluctant savior.
He reached to open the door of his Jeep, but hesitated. He cocked his head and listened, his gaze narrowed. “Damn,” he muttered and quickly shoved her against the closed door.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, frowning at the throb in her head generated by his sudden move. Then she heard it too. The distinct sound of gravel crunching beneath tires.
He spouted another curse and then turned to her, his gaze fierce. “Listen to me, Kate,” he said harshly. “If that’s who I think it is, we’re in deep sh—”
“I don’t understand,” she broke in, fear snaking around her chest and squeezing like a boa constrictor.
“Listen,” he growled, giving her a little shake. “They won’t hesitate to kill both of us, do you understand that?”
Kate nodded, ignoring the intense ache it caused. She couldn’t breathe…she couldn’t think. Kill them both? What was he talking about? Why would anyone want to kill her?
Call in…
The phrase flitted through her mind. What did it mean? Oh, God. What was happening? Her panic was complete now, fueled by her inability to comprehend the situation. She shuddered against it. Closed her eyes to make it go away.
His hands were under her sweatshirt, probing the waistband of her jeans. Kate snapped her eyes open. “What are you doing?” she cried, tears burning behind her lids.
“Kate, you’re our only chance at surviving this little party.” He captured her gaze with his, and the sheer determination there forced her to pay attention. “This—” he shoved something hard and cold that she somehow recognized immediately as a gun into her waistband. She instinctively recoiled, but he caught her by the waist and held her still “—is our only chance.” His cold blue gaze pierced hers. The feel of his roughened palm against her bare skin felt strangely soothing. “Just listen to me, and when the time comes, do what I tell you—don’t hesitate—just do it no matter what it is. Can you do that?”
Before Kate could respond, a car skidded to a halt right beside them. Two men jumped out of the black sedan, big, ugly guns in hand.
Oh, God. They were going to die. And Kate didn’t even know why. How had she gotten in the middle of all this? She lifted her gaze to the man standing beside her. What had this man done to deserve to be hunted down like this? Wary and uncertain as to how to react, she aimed her attention at the two men stalking purposely toward them.
“Well, well, Danny, looks as if we’ve found our man,” the larger of the two men said with a sneer. He waved his gun and added tauntingly, “And it looks as if he’s got the little woman with him, too.”
The man beside her shifted his body closer to hers. “She’s just a lay I picked up in town last night.”
Instinctively, Kate started to refute his words, but before she could speak, the goon with the gun moved closer.
Vinny grabbed her purse from beneath her jacket and looked inside, fishing out her license. “She looks a little worse for wear.” He winked at Kate and shoved license and purse back at her. “What’d you do, Rick, ride her all night?”
Rick… His name was Rick. Kate looked at the man standing next to her and tested the name. She frowned. He didn’t really look like a Rick. But what did she know?
“Maybe she’s still got a little fun left in her.” The goon moved closer, snagging Kate’s chin in his beefy hand.
Kate gasped. Rick pushed between them. “Don’t touch her,” he warned in a voice so deadly it sent shivers skipping down her spine.
“You ain’t in no position to be giving orders, Ricky boy. Pat him down, Danny,” he directed the other goon.
Rick stood stone-still while the man named Danny frisked him. The whole scene took on a surreal quality. It suddenly occurred to Kate that this was just like in the movies. Two big guys in black suits arrived in a black sedan carrying scary black guns and…she was going to die.
The urge to vomit burned at the back of her throat. Kate fought the impulse. She felt certain that such a move would not endear her to these men. If they thought she was sick they might just shoot her on the spot.
“That’s it, Vinny,” Danny announced as he handed the other man a gun that looked very much like the one they both carried.
Rick had been carrying that gun. Kate suddenly recalled that she, too, carried a gun. Did it look like that? She tried not to breathe too deeply now, remembering the cold steel object tucked into her jeans. Her head throbbed insistently.
“How the mighty hath fallen,” Vinny sneered, the words filled with sheer hatred. He stepped closer, until he was toe to toe with Rick. Vinny stood there for a long moment and stared before he spat in Rick’s face.
“You don’t deserve to live another minute. If I didn’t have strict orders to take you to Dillon, I’d kill you myself, right now.” Vinny’s mouth twisted in anger. “But the old man, he wants you to look him in the eye and tell him what you did. Otherwise I would do you right here.”
Rick rubbed his hand over his face to rid himself of the man’s spittle, then cocked his blond head. “What’s stopping you, Vinny? I won’t tell if you don’t,” he said in a patronizing tone.
“Shut up, you piece of crap,” Vinny bellowed as he shoved the tip of his gun barrel under Rick’s chin. “I might forget orders for once.”
Kate’s heart almost shuddered to a stop then, but Rick only laughed derisively. “Don’t kid yourself, Vinny, you’re a made guy all the way down to your Gucci loafers. You don’t take a piss without orders.”
“Get in the frigging car.” Vinny shoved Rick in the direction of the sedan.
Rick pulled Kate close to his side. She didn’t have time to decide if being near him was a relief or not. Gun barrels stuck in their backs, Kate and Rick were ushered forward.
“You, up front,” Vinny said, and propelled Kate toward Danny.
Danny half dragged her to the passenger side of the car and pushed her inside. Kate glanced at Rick in the back seat. She wondered if he had a plan. She hoped he had a plan. Was the gun in her waistband part of that plan?
Once Danny slid behind the wheel, they headed down the sloping driveway. Kate took one last look around her in hopes of remembering something, anything, but nothing came.
She studied the driver. He appeared young and almost innocent upon first inspection, early twenties maybe, but he looked as mean as a junkyard dog on closer examination. She listened to the heated conversation between the two men in back. Rick—the name still felt strange—goaded the other man unnecessarily, in Kate’s opinion. It looked as if he intended to get them both killed long before they reached a destination.
“How does it feel to know you slept with a killer?”
Kate jerked her head up and stared at the driver, Danny, who’d directed the question at her. “What?”
“Didn’t he tell you?” he quizzed with a widening grin. “Rick’s a cold-blooded killer. There’s no telling how many men he’s killed. Hundreds, I’d guess.”
Kate moved her head slowly from side to side in denial of his words. Why was he telling her this? She didn’t want to hear it.
“Well, it’s true.” He shot her a sidelong smirk. “But he’s going to pay now.”
Could she possibly believe anything this man told her? Who were these people? She closed her eyes. Maybe he was only taunting her, trying to scare her. He didn’t need to do that, she was already scared to death. God, her head hurt.
Call in…
The words skittered across her mind again. What did they mean? Call who?
“Too bad you had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, baby,” Vinny said as he kicked the back of Kate’s seat.
“Kate’s a lifesaver,” Rick remarked wryly. “She gave me a second chance.”
“A second chance at coming, maybe,” Vinny scoffed.
“Kate?”
Kate tensed at the sound of Rick’s voice when he said her name. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was about to happen.
“Remember what I told you, Kate. You’re my only chance,” Rick said slowly. “Our only chance.”
“Shut your frigging mouth,” Vinny commanded. Kate heard the grunt that followed a hollow thud, knowing that Rick had just been whacked across the abdomen by the goon in the back seat.
Kate’s head swam. What was she supposed to do? How could she save them? She could feel the cold steel jabbing into her pelvis. What did he want her to do?
And suddenly she knew.
Slowly, while keeping a close watch on the driver, she eased her right hand across her thigh and under her sweatshirt. With a swiftness that shocked even her, she drew the gun and expertly pointed it at the driver’s head. She even held it with both hands just as she’d seen in the movies.
“Stop the car,” she commanded in a voice she hardly recognized.
“What the hell?” Danny shouted, almost losing control of the speeding car.
“Give me that gun, bitch, or I’ll blow your man’s head off!” Vinny barked.
“Squeeze the trigger, Kate,” Rick ordered coolly.
Kate looked from Rick to the man driving the car. Was he insane? She couldn’t do that? How could she do that?
“Gimme the gun!” Vinny roared, pressing the barrel of his own gun hard into Rick’s temple.
Kate’s eyes darted back and forth between the men. What was she supposed to do? Everyone was yelling at once. Danny shot her quick, nervous glances, his knuckles white as he clutched the wheel. Vinny screamed vulgarities alternately at her and Rick. The car careened faster and faster down the winding mountain road, yet the events inside the vehicle seemed to lapse into slow motion.
“Squeeze the damn trigger, Kate! Now!”
The car suddenly swerved, Kate squeezed, the gun fired and all hell broke loose. She could hear the muffled curses and grunts of pain as Rick and Vinny wrestled for control of the gun. Danny struggled with the steering wheel, trying to pull the car out of its tailspin. A slim shaft of sunlight poured in through the small hole the bullet had made in the car’s roof. Kate peered at the perfect circle in total amazement and then at the man fighting the inertia pulling the car round and round.
As if she had done this sort of thing all her life, Kate pressed the barrel of the gun to the driver’s perspiring temple and said, “Stop the damn car or I’ll blow your head off.”
When the car skidded to a sideways stop in the middle of the road, Danny immediately stuck his hands up in the air. Just like in the movies, Kate thought again, a faint smile tugging at her trembling lips.
“Put your weapon on the floor and kick it under the seat, then get out of the car.”
It was Rick’s voice. He had Vinny’s gun now.
“You heard him,” Kate told Danny, her aim still level with his forehead. God, this was amazing. Had she done this before?
The two goons got out. Rick marched them to the edge of the blacktop. Kate followed behind him, her gun hanging at her side from a hand that had long since gone limp with aftereffects.
Rick cocked his head to one side, lifted his weapon and took aim. “Now run!”
“Hey, man, we can work this out—” Vinny began nervously.
“Run!” Rick roared.
“You’re not going to kill them?” Kate shrieked.
Gunfire erupted and Kate gasped. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped to her knees on the cold, hard pavement. Oh, God. She clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent the scream that twisted her throat. She didn’t want to see this. Didn’t want to be a part of it. Had no idea how she had gotten involved in it.
“Let’s go.”
Kate forced her eyes open, expecting to see two dead bodies lying in the ditch.
No one…no bodies.
She looked up at Rick. “I thought you shot them,” she croaked.
He grinned, a dangerous yet ridiculously sexy widening of his lips. Kate shivered at the insane turn her thoughts had suddenly taken.
“Who says I didn’t?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
Kate stood on shaky legs and stole another glance at the thick woods beyond the ditch. She still saw no bodies. She settled her gaze back on the face of the man guiding her back to the car. Savior or crucifier, she wondered.
“What do we do now?” she asked, her voice thin.
He opened the car door. One eyebrow quirked when he swung that intense blue gaze back on hers. He lifted the weapon from her loose grip and said, “We get the hell out of Dodge.”
Chapter Two
Raine mentally reviewed every move he had made in the last four weeks as he drove like a bat out of hell down the steep mountain road. How had Ballatore’s hired guns found him? He hadn’t made a single mistake—he never did. The two times he had been found by Lucas’s men in the last six months were intentional. Allowing only a glimpse, he had wanted Lucas to know that he was alive. The man deserved that, if nothing else. Raine couldn’t quite bring himself to believe that Lucas was the leak who had blown his cover and almost gotten him killed.
But it was definitely someone in Lucas’s organization. Raine knew that for certain now. He had called Lucas’s private voice mail only three days ago and left the number to a downtown Gatlinburg pay phone. The information had to have filtered down to Ballatore—there was no other way the old man could have known to look here for Raine. But how many were involved in working Raine’s case? Cuddahy, Lucas’s boss, for sure, and at least three other special ops agents. Raine would have to find a way to narrow down that tight little group. But right now he had to concentrate on not getting caught.
Raine groaned when a stab of pain knifed through his gut. Vinny hadn’t broken anything, but he had damn sure given Raine something to remember him by.
Steering the car onto Highway 321, Raine decided his best course of action would be to get out of Gatlinburg in a hurry. He would worry about dumping the car and picking up another means of transportation farther down the road. It would take Vinny and his sidekick a while to walk down to civilization. Not much traffic found its way to where he had left them. And even if someone did come along, no way would they pick up two strange men—especially a couple of guys who looked like refugees from Alcatraz.
He should have killed them, but he hadn’t. She had distracted him. He glanced at the woman clinging to the passenger-side door. He never allowed anyone to distract him. Raine could analyze that bit of irony later.
He estimated he had about two hours before a new and much more intense search began. Maybe he’d get lucky and Vinny would get lost in the woods and freeze before finding help. “Scumbags,” Raine muttered.
“You…you were going to drop me off at the emergency room.”
Raine snapped his head in the direction of the small, hesitant voice. She trembled beneath his irritated glare. He forced his gaze back to the road and the ever-increasing traffic as they headed south on 441 and into Gatlinburg proper.
What was he going to do with her? If he let her go, they would find her and kill her. A professional never left loose ends. If he took her with him, she could easily be caught in the crossfire and wind up dead anyway. Raine set his jaw and considered his options. He didn’t owe this woman a damn thing, but if she ended up wearing a toe tag it would be his fault.
He released a frustrated breath. Kate Roberts was an innocent bystander in his world of death and mayhem and Jack Raine didn’t off innocents—directly or indirectly. She was his responsibility now whether he liked it or not, and he sure didn’t like it. If he kept Kate with him, she had a chance of surviving, slim though it might be.
Slim? Who the hell was he kidding? Anorexic would be a more accurate description. Raine knew the odds of his being able to evade capture much longer without doing a permanent disappearing act. And they weren’t good, especially now.
But he had to find that leak. To do that, he couldn’t afford to get caught—at least not yet.
Raine no longer owed the government anything, but he did owe it to the other men, like himself, who put their lives on the line for that government. Contract agents were especially vulnerable since the very agencies that hired them denied them when an assignment went south. If a leak existed at a high enough level to have access to Raine’s assignments, then no one was safe.
He snatched another glimpse of the woman in the passenger seat. Kate would just have to come along for the ride until he could tuck her away someplace safe.
“I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans,” he told her. He might as well get this over with. No point in keeping her in the dark.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyebrows knitted with concern. Her hands twisted together in her lap, her face looked pale and drawn.
She was scared to death, Raine decided after giving her another sidelong glance. “It would be a mistake for me to leave you behind. These people don’t like loose ends and you’re definitely a loose end.”
“I don’t understand.” The pitch of Kate’s voice rose steadily. “You said I needed medical attention…I don’t understand,” she repeated.
Raine cursed under his breath when he saw tears slip down her cheeks. He had no tolerance for crying females. What the hell had he done to deserve this? Raine swallowed the hard, bitter answer that climbed into his throat. He knew what he’d done. He’d sold his soul a long time ago and now he was going to pay for it, in the form of a weepy female amnesiac.
A tiny sound, almost a sob broke loose from Kate, jerking Raine from his reverie. “There are a lot more guys like Vinny after me—a helluva lot more—if any of them get their hands on you, medical attention won’t do you any good.” He shot her a fierce glare. “That’s just the way it is, so shut up and let me think.”
Raine focused his full attention on the road before him. The next town with transportation possibilities was his destination. He had to get somewhere—anywhere—as fast he could without taking a chance on speeding and drawing attention to himself. He couldn’t allow any distractions, not Kate’s whining or his own uneasiness. He had to concentrate on driving. He didn’t have time to waste. This sedan would soon be a heavy liability.
KATE’S MIND RACED like an out-of-control roller coaster. She had to do something. This man, Rick, wasn’t going to drop her off at the hospital as he’d promised. She should have known better than to trust him. Of course, her options had been limited. He certainly seemed considerably less threatening than the other two goons she’d met today. He was definitely the lesser of the evils.
But would he drag her along with him and get her killed? Kate might not remember her life, but she instinctively knew she wouldn’t have a death wish if she did. She shot the man driving an assessing glance. And this guy certainly had himself some unsavory enemies. Kate had to think of something…something that would provide her with an avenue of escape.
If she could get away from this man, she could call the police and tell them everything. The police would get her to a doctor who could help her to regain her memory.
The harshness of that reality slammed into her with such force that it sucked the air right out of Kate’s lungs. She didn’t just not know her name—she didn’t know anything. Where she was from, what she did for a living, whether she had any family. Nothing…she knew nothing.
“Oh, God,” Kate muttered. Panic clawed at her throat, making her want to scream despite the knowledge that it would do her no good. Her heart pounded in her chest and her head ached unmercifully. She had to get out of here. A definitive click of the power door lock told her that he knew exactly what she was thinking.
Kate refused to look at him, afraid she’d give away her swiftly deteriorating condition. She had to calm down and think of a plan.
Any kind of plan.
Call in.
The words shook her with their intensity. That inner voice louder now, demanding action.
Call in, she repeated silently. “555–4911,” she mumbled involuntarily. The numbers spilled from her mouth as naturally as breathing.
“What?” he demanded, his eyebrows crunched in irritation.
“I have to use the phone!” Kate blurted. “I have to…call in,” she added more slowly.
“What the hell are you mumbling about?” he growled, glaring at her as he stopped for a traffic light.
“Rick, I have to—”
“Don’t call me that,” he warned.
Kate blinked, confused. “But those other men called you that.”
“And look where it got them.”
Kate stifled a gasp. Was he trying to shock her?
He chuckled and turned his attention back to the busy street. “You,” he said, tossing her an unreadable look, “can call me Raine.”
Fear trickled through Kate. Raine. She swallowed tightly. Your life will be in constant danger. Words, images, sensations crashed through her consciousness. Kate trembled with the effort of maintaining her composure under the mental assault. This man was dangerous. She didn’t know how she knew, she just knew. And every moment she spent with him put her in danger. Constant danger.
She had to get away from him. “Please,” she began in an unsteady voice. “You have to let me find a telephone.”
“I don’t have to let you do anything,” he told her flatly, without ever taking his eyes from the road. “Besides, who will you call? You don’t even remember who you are. Remember?” he taunted irritably.
“I…I remembered a number. I think maybe it’s my mother’s. Maybe she lives here and I was visiting her when I had my accident. I need to let her know that I’m okay,” she pleaded with all the vulnerability and femininity she could muster. Kate had no idea if she even had a living mother, but neither did he.
“No.” The single word was cold and emotionless.
Anger shot through her, but Kate tamped down the emotion. She had to approach Mr. Hardass with something a little different. Like an actress given her cue, Kate burst into tears. “Oh, please. You have to let me call. Maybe if I can hear her voice it will help bring my memory back. Please,” she pleaded.
Raine ignored her completely.
Kate moved on to plan B: she sobbed relentlessly. The occasional peek she dared take in his direction reassured her that she was winning the battle. Raine literally squirmed in his seat. She kept the theatrics going at a steady pace.
Hey, she thought, maybe I’m an actress.
“All right, all right. Just shut up, for Christ’s sake.” He plowed his hand through his hair. “One phone call and then I don’t want to hear another peep from you.”
“Thank you,” Kate murmured humbly. She stared out at the passing landscape and gave herself a mental pat on the back. She allowed her tears to dry slowly, swiping her eyes occasionally for added effect. Kate was certain that this man was smarter than most; it would be better not to regain her composure too quickly. No point in risking his finding out that she had pushed his buttons to get what she wanted.
Maybe she was a psychologist, she mused, biting her lower lip to prevent a tiny smile.
A large visitors’ center came into view up ahead on the right. Kate felt her hopes rising. Somehow she’d find a way to ditch him there. She could easily get lost in the crowd. Raine passed the center and her hopes plummeted.
“Why didn’t you stop? You said I could have one phone call.”
“Too crowded,” he told her, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead. “The fewer people who see us the better.”
Kate huffed an indignant sound and crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned back in the seat and forced herself to relax. She had no choice but to acquiesce to his authority—she was, after all, his hostage. Kate frowned at the thought, but it was unfortunately accurate. For all intents and purposes she was the hostage of this Raine character.
He’s the best in the business. The words echoed inside her aching skull. She glanced at the man driving and considered again if somehow she did know him. The best in the business of what? she wondered.
A strong profile defined the angular features of his handsome face. His forehead and nose were prominent, but not too much so. A strong chin and chiseled jaw finished out the lean lines. He wore his thick, sandy hair a little too long. And those eyes. Kate closed her own eyes and summoned the image of those stormy blue eyes. Among his many assets, including a strong, muscular body, Raine’s eyes were definitely the most appealing. His personality, unquestionably the least.
Kate opened her eyes wide. What had gotten into her? There wasn’t the first thing appealing about the man! He was hell-bent on getting her killed, and besides, her interest in him was purely professional.
Kate started. Her heart rate accelerated. Professional. She did know this man. Then why didn’t he know her? Vivid images of her naked breasts pressed against his bare chest flashed through her mind. Him removing her clothes…his strong arms wrapped firmly around her. In the shower. Oh, God, they’d showered together—naked.
Oh, God. Raine had told the truth. She wasn’t an actress or a psychologist. She was a bought-and-paid-for whore! Oh, God. Kate closed her eyes and willed the tears to retreat. Every fiber of her being rejected the idea. But what else could those snatches of memory mean?
Raine slowed the car and took a hard right. Kate blinked rapidly to clear her blurred vision. He parked the car in a slot in a large, vacant parking lot. As had been the case when she’d stepped out of his cabin that afternoon, they were surrounded by dense woods. Nothing looked even remotely familiar.
A large painted sign read Alum Cave Bluff Hiking Trail.
Kate didn’t realize Raine had gotten out of the car until he opened her door. “Get a move on,” he ordered in a military tone.
Kate dropped her feet to the pavement and pushed herself up and out of the car only to be slapped in the face by a cold blast of wind. She sucked in a sharp breath of frigid air and shivered. The only thing that kept her convinced that she hadn’t died and gone to hell was the arctic chill of this damn place. At least it wasn’t raining. She glanced around the unfamiliar area. In fact, it looked as if it hadn’t rained here at all.
Raine ushered her toward a pay phone that looked strangely out of place in the deserted parking lot surrounded by trees. He picked up the receiver and listened for a dial tone.
“Okay,” he said roughly. “You’ve got one minute and don’t say anything you’ll regret.” He pulled some change from his pocket and thrust it at her, then leaned against one side of the open blue canopy that served as the telephone’s protection against the elements.
Kate nodded mutely. She accepted the change and receiver and tried to pretend that he wasn’t so close, but no way could she completely block out his powerful masculine presence. His scent, leather and something vaguely citrus, invaded her senses, making her feel even more disoriented.
She deposited the coins, then reached a shaky hand toward the numbers on the face of the telephone. Call in, she silently repeated to herself over and over. No matter how often she said it, the numbers she’d remembered so clearly only minutes ago would not resurface. Kate licked her lips nervously and stabbed a string of meaningless numbers, stopping after the seventh one. She quickly replaced the receiver in its cradle, the change rattled into the coin return.
Now…she had to think of something now!
“It…was busy,” she stammered. “May I try again?” She bit her lower lip and prayed he wouldn’t realize what she’d done.
Raine straightened and she almost gasped. He glared at her impatiently. “So try again. I don’t want to be here all night.” His gaze darted from her to the entrance of the parking lot and back several times while she dropped the coins in and redialed.
It was during one of those split seconds when he looked away that Kate propelled herself into action. She brought her right knee up into Raine’s crotch as hard as she could. She nailed him square between the legs with all her might.
A wounded, animal-like grunt sounded from deep in his throat. Surprise flashed through his blue eyes and then he was on his knees on the ground. Instinct absorbed all thought, Kate dropped the receiver and ran as fast as she could toward the trail disappearing into the woods.
Kate pushed forward trying to stay off the main trail. Branches and undergrowth slapped at her arms and legs.
Faster! She had to run faster or he would catch her. Thick old growth and trees forced her to return to the main trail. She ran as rapidly as she could, despite the fact that her legs felt like rubber and her head throbbed as though it might explode any minute.
Tripping and clutching at anything in her path for support, she didn’t look back. She couldn’t stop. Run! She had to run!
Kate’s lungs felt ready to burst. Her chest hurt. She gasped for air, but she couldn’t stop. She had to keep going.
What was that sound?
Louder…it got louder with every step she took. Her heart hammered in her chest, her blood roared in her ears.
Water. It was only the river running alongside the trail.
Run, Kate, run. She pushed forward a little faster. Her entire body stung now from a lack of oxygen, but the desire for survival spurred her on.
What was that?
Kate shifted to look back, lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. It took a few moments for her mind to catch up with her sprawling body. Kate jerked herself up and turned around, fully expecting to find Raine towering over her.
There was no one or nothing there.
Kate shook herself, trying to shrug off the prickling feelings. She had to keep moving.
She moved swiftly but cautiously across a footbridge that was nothing more than a fallen tree with the top side hewn down flat. A primitive handrail provided support. After crossing the footbridge, she walked up the massive stone steps of a natural-rock formation. Under different circumstances, the formation might have captured her attention, but not now.
Right now she had to move as quickly as she could.
The steps took Kate through the huge rock and back to the trail. There was still no sound behind her. She smiled to herself. Undoubtedly Raine was still on the ground curled into a fetal position holding his pride and joy. She’d really nailed him good. He’d be in serious pain for a while yet.
Or maybe, she considered hopefully, he had decided going after her would be too much trouble and had already taken off in the car. Could she be that lucky?
Just to be sure the coast was still clear, Kate glanced over her shoulder once more as she started to run again. At first the sight of Raine moving swiftly toward her didn’t register in her brain—then suddenly it did.
He was only a few yards behind her. Kate lunged up the trail’s steadily climbing grade as fast as her weak body could take her. She couldn’t let him catch her.
Faster! She had to move faster!
The trail made a sudden left. Kate veered a bit too sharply and lost her balance. Raine’s powerful arms closed around her and they both tumbled to the ground.
They skidded to a grinding halt in the rocks and dirt. Kate struggled to free herself, but Raine pinned her to the ground with his full body weight.
“Let me go!” she yelled vehemently as she managed to grab a handful of his sandy hair.
A string of curses exploded from his mouth when he jerked her hand out of his hair. His eyes blazed like fire. He clenched his jaw so hard a muscle jumped furiously in his cheek as he immobilized her completely beneath his strong body.
Kate could do nothing now. The run and subsequent struggle had drained her already weak body.
For several seconds, neither moved or spoke. The only sound was the wind shifting through the trees and their ragged breathing. He felt hard and heavy on top of her. She watched his nostrils flare and that same muscle tic in his jaw. His mouth looked hard and grim. When their gazes collided, he tightened his hold on her wrists to a bruising intensity. For one fleeting instant sexual awareness sparked between them, strong and hot. Then it was gone, replaced by fury.
“Let me go,” Kate demanded once she’d caught her breath. Fear zipped through her at the possibility of what lay in store for her. He was really angry. A number of unpleasant scenarios flitted across her mind.
“I ought to do just that,” he growled as his blue gaze burned into hers. Kate could see the depth of the barely checked rage there. “You’re nothing but a pain in the ass—more trouble than you’re worth. I should just leave you for the cleanup team. That would put us both out of our misery.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kate managed to say with the last bit of strength she could muster. “I want you to let me go.” Her entire body trembled as much from weakness as from fear of the man crushing her into the ground.
“You just don’t get it, do you?” His tone was cold and impatient, his piercing gaze ruthless. “They’ve seen you with me. You’re marked…history…dead meat.” With a frustrated exhale and a pained groan, Raine pushed himself up, pulling Kate up in the process.
Kate watched in confused disbelief as he dusted himself off and shoved the hair from his face. It pleased her immensely when Raine’s face paled slightly and his hand went to his stomach as a wave of nausea obviously hit him.
“Why should I believe you?” Kate crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. She was covered with dirt and her hair was a mess, but she didn’t care. She only wanted to get away from this man…this killer. Danny’s words replayed in her head. There’s no telling how many men he’s killed. Kate backed up a step. “I…I don’t believe anything you say,” she stammered.
“You know, I really don’t give a damn whether you believe me or not. If you think those guys we left back there weren’t for real, then maybe you’ve lost more than your memory.”
Kate tried to decide what to think. How could she know what was real and what was not—who she could trust and who she couldn’t? She didn’t even know who she was! Completely overwhelmed and scared out of her mind, she broke down and cried, real, soul-shattering sobs. She couldn’t take any more, she was truly at the end of her emotional rope.
“Don’t start that again.” Raine ran both hands through his hair and shifted uneasily.
“What am I supposed to do?” Kate gasped out between sobs. “You got me into this mess.”
Raine blew out a long breath, his eyes softened just a little as he took the step she’d retreated. “I know I got you into this mess.” He looked away for a moment before continuing. “You have to understand that as long as you’re with me and I’m breathing, I’ll keep you safe. But if you pull another stupid stunt—” Anger flared in his eyes again. “You could get us both killed.”
Kate’s knees went weak. He was right. She had no idea what was going on. She didn’t stand a chance without him. “Are you still going to take me with you?”
With a resigned sigh, he replied, “Yes.” His eyes locked with hers. “I just hope I don’t die regretting it.”
Relief flooded Kate at his response. She didn’t understand the situation, but she felt certain he did. She would just have to trust him to straighten things out.
“Thank you.” She swiped at her tears. “I promise I’ll do whatever you say from now on. You won’t regret it.”
“I already do.” Raine turned and headed back in the direction of the parking lot.
Kate combed her fingers through her mussed hair and let out a weary breath. Relief rushed through her, calming her frazzled nerves. She dusted the dirt from her clothes and started out after her less than saintly savior.
Raine stopped abruptly and turned around. He grabbed Kate by the shoulders and squeezed hard. His expression was stone cold as he stared into her eyes for a seemingly endless moment before he spoke. “But, I swear, if you do anything else that pisses me off, I’ll kill you myself.” With that said, he released her, turned and stalked away.
Judging by the look in his eyes, Kate had no doubt that he meant exactly what he’d said. She hugged herself tightly for a moment and watched his angry retreat.
He was crazy. He had to be. But, she was hopelessly at his mercy. Those other men were killers. It would take a killer to protect her from them, if everything he said was true. Kate had no alternative but to follow him and do whatever he told her.
And she did, still feeling dazed and brushing the dirt from her rumpled attire.
The last of the sun’s warmth showered down on them through the opening canopy of tree branches as they neared the parking area. Kate noticed that her breath fogged the cold air. She wondered, as she marched behind Raine like a prisoner being led to her execution, where in the world they were. She had no idea even what state they were in.
Without warning, Raine stopped and Kate smacked into his wide back. He motioned for her to keep quiet as he stepped closer to the edge of the woods and surveyed the parking lot.
Kate peeked around him. A uniformed man was inspecting their car—the car they’d left in the parking lot, she amended. It wasn’t really theirs, it belonged to the two goons. After the man in uniform circled the vehicle, he returned to his truck and spoke into his radio mike. He wasn’t a policeman. Kate strained to make out the markings on the truck.
A park ranger.
So they must be…she suddenly made out the rest of the words: Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. A ranger! He could help them. If only… She looked at Raine.
“Damn.” Raine pulled back from his viewing position. He glanced at Kate and then frowned. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What’s he doing?” she asked innocently, as if she had no idea what he’d insinuated. How could he know that she’d had the overwhelming urge to scream her head off?
“He’s running the plates.” He swore. “They’re strict about abandoned vehicles around here. Let’s get moving.” Raine turned and headed back up the trail.
“Where are you going? We can’t go that way,” Kate exclaimed in a stage whisper. She flung her arms heavenward in mute frustration and then muttered heatedly, “There’s nothing back there but trees and mountains.” Kate stood her ground. She wasn’t about to go back into those woods, not when a perfectly good car waited in the parking lot. If Raine didn’t want to talk to the ranger, all they had to do was wait. He would leave eventually.
Raine glared at her impatiently. “The guys who are after us will be monitoring reports made by the local authorities, especially the report of an abandoned car with a bullet hole in the roof. Not to mention a couple of loaded nine millimeters under the seat. When that ranger ran those plates he gave them our exact location. They’ll be here soon, you can bet on it.”
“Don’t you mean the guys who are after you?” Kate set her hands on her hips and glared back at him, all memory of the promise she’d made gone.
“Same difference. You’re either going or you’re staying. I’m going.” Raine stalked off, leaving her to decide for herself.
“But the ranger could help us!” Kate called after him, still clinging to the hope that she might separate herself from this whole nasty mess.
“Dream on,” he called back without stopping.
Kate rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. What was she supposed to do? Run to that park ranger and risk being turned over to the other bad guys, or follow a man who could very well be a deranged killer himself?
One thing was certain, Raine could have killed her already if that had been his intent, but he hadn’t. He had, in fact, done everything he could to protect her. She hadn’t forgotten how he’d stepped between her and Vinny.
Maybe Raine was a good guy. Instinct told her to go with the known rather than the unknown. But could she trust her instincts? She didn’t even know who she was, how could she know whether to trust her judgment?
Still less than convinced, Kate headed in the direction into which Raine had already disappeared.
Chapter Three
Crossing the primitive footbridge again, Kate reminded herself that following Raine was her only logical option. Besides, even if she had decided to make a mad dash for the park ranger, Raine could easily have stopped her. She watched his strong, confident strides. He moved with more fluid grace than a man his height and size had any right to. And quietly as well. Hardly any sound at all accompanied his steps.
Raine.
Kate concentrated with all her might to grasp that fleeting hint of recognition that flitted through her consciousness each time she looked into those piercing blue eyes or considered his name. She just couldn’t quite latch on to it. She knew him, yet he was a total stranger.
Maybe in another life? Right, Kate, you can’t even remember this life.
Kate shook off the mental frustration and climbed the steps that would take her back through the large, unique rock formation. She paused to admire the natural beauty of the awesome rocks. She smoothed her hand over the cold, rough surface, tracing the imprints time and the elements had left forever embedded.
Maybe, Kate thought with a smile, she was a geologist.
“You’re wasting daylight.”
Startled by the sharpness of his voice cutting through the silence, Kate snatched her hand back like a child caught reaching into the cookie jar.
He stood some ten yards away, as still as the stone she’d been admiring, hands on hips, glaring at her. Damned if he didn’t make a hell of a picture when he was angry, she suddenly thought. Tight jeans encased muscular thighs and a worn leather bomber jacket filled to capacity covered his broad shoulders.
He glanced up at the sky and then directed his scowl back at Kate. “The sky’s clear, it’s going to get really cold tonight. Unless you plan to sleep under the stars, you’d better get a move on. I won’t stop to remind you again,” he added before he turned and continued.
Kate had the sudden, almost overwhelming urge to click her heels and salute. God, he would make a great drill sergeant. She quickly scanned the vast, blue sky. It looked much bigger somehow from here. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen. He could be right, Kate supposed. Obviously she wasn’t a meteorologist. She didn’t know one cloud from another, or what their absence meant in regards to their current circumstances. She shrugged and forced her weak, wobbly legs into gear. She’d have to hurry to catch up or risk being left behind.
The trail climbed steadily upward. Kate was a little winded by the time she got within conversational distance of Raine. Not that he would be interested in conversation—he’d made that point quite clear. Her chest still ached, but she attributed the discomfort to fear. This man, she glowered at her leader, scared her. His friends—no, make that his enemies—scared her.
The trail took a hard right, which brought them into an area of total and unexpected devastation—a raw, open gash in the side of the mountain. Kate was taken aback by the stark contrast to only moments before.
There was absolutely nothing growing—no trees, no bushes, no nothing. The large expanse looked like the aftermath of a savage hurricane. Massive boulders lay scattered like marbles. Huge trees had been tossed about like toothpicks. In the distance, trees, logs, mud and rocks lay piled at least fifty feet high, a decaying monument to whatever had taken place to wreak such destruction.
Raine trudged on relentlessly, taking little note of their surroundings. Kate had been so engrossed in the unnatural phenomenon that she’d fallen way behind again. True to his word, Raine didn’t appear concerned about whether she kept up or not. Pushing herself to move faster, Kate soon caught up with him.
“What caused all that? It looks like an artillery battle was fought here.” She took one final look back over her shoulder at the naked area. In some stretches the earth had been scraped down to the bedrock. How could that spot look as if it had been hit by a holocaust and everything around it still appear so lovely and tranquil?
“A flash flood.” Raine stopped and looked back as if he’d only just noticed his surroundings. He stared at the devastation for a long moment.
Just when Kate was sure he didn’t intend to say anything else, he continued. “They say a monster storm hit, dumping massive amounts of water in a matter of minutes. Cresting at—” he shrugged “—more than twenty feet, it was like a highland tidal wave surging through and taking with it everything in its path.”
Kate looked around warily. “That doesn’t happen on a regular basis around here, does it?”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “You don’t have anything to worry about as long as you don’t stand in one place too long,” he said, and then pushed off, heading ever upward toward wherever the hell they were going.
Kate didn’t find his little jab amusing. She heaved a frustrated breath and obediently trudged after him. In her efforts to keep up with his long legs, she tripped over every exposed root and loose rock in the trail. She glared at his broad back. Raine seemed to know exactly where to place each step. His self-assuredness frustrated her all the more. Just once she’d like to see him lose his footing or trip over one of nature’s obstacles, she mused as she kicked another rock out of her path.
Kate shivered in her parka. The sun was dropping slowly but surely behind the mountains in the distance, taking its waning warmth with it. Orange and purple streaks slanted across the sky behind the slope of majestic trees that gave way to the valley below. The view was breathtaking. Though Kate felt sure she had heard of the Smoky Mountains, somehow she knew she’d never before seen a view like this one.
An occasional squirrel scampered into the open, gave Kate a curious look and then disappeared back into the forest. Birds went about their business, flying overhead or squawking from their perch on a nearby tree limb. Kate didn’t readily recognize any of the varieties. She obviously wasn’t a bird-watcher.
Raine, on the other hand, seemed to know his way around this place. How did he know so much about the mountains? she wondered. Had he always lived around here? For that matter, what did she really know about him at this point?
Nothing.
Except that he was dangerous, she reminded herself. She had no idea where they were headed, either. She was cold and achy. Dusk had descended upon them. And she was starving.
She had a right to know where he was leading her, didn’t she?
Damn straight, she did.
Kate stamped off after him. “Excuse me!” she shouted to his back.
As she had anticipated, he ignored her.
Her anger brought with it a burst of energy, Kate broke into a dead run. “I said, excuse me,” she repeated when she skidded to a halt right beside him.
He paused, turned to her and lifted one eyebrow, a look of bored amusement on his too-handsome face. “I’d be more careful where I stand if I were you,” he warned. He inclined his head toward her side of the trail.
Kate glared at him for half a beat before looking in the direction he’d indicated. Her eyes widened in fear when she realized she stood on the edge of a precipice. Instinctively, Kate flung herself at Raine. His arms went instantly around her as her feet shifted in the loose dirt and rocks that scattered over the edge.
“Holy cow,” she muttered as she clung to his jacket. His arms felt strong and reassuring around her. “I didn’t even see it.”
Raine set her away from him and on solid ground. “You should be more careful,” he said smugly, giving her an amused look.
“Thanks for the warning,” she retorted, her heart still thundering painfully in her chest. She called him every vile name she could think of under her breath.
Raine reached out and grasped a heavy wire cable that had been strung alongside the trail for some sixty or seventy feet. “Hold on tight and watch your step,” he called back to her.
Kate uttered a nasty four-letter word, one she didn’t even realize she knew until it rolled off her tongue.
Raine didn’t have to tell her twice to be careful. She held on to the cable with both hands as she cautiously edged forward. She took one hesitant look at the drop-off and cringed. It plunged a good hundred feet down. If a person survived the rolling, tumbling fall, climbing back up would be a real problem. Kate felt fairly certain that Raine wouldn’t be interested in helping her climb back up.
To her surprise, he waited for her on the other side of the drop-off. When Kate made it to his position, she wrinkled her nose and asked, “What’s that smell?” The deep woodsy scent was gone, replaced by some sort of chemical odor. She couldn’t quite identify it, almost a metal smell.
“Alum Cave Bluff. The rain and subsequent slides bring out the metallic odor,” he told her flatly. He offered no further explanation, just turned and continued forward.
Kate stuck our her tongue at his broad back, but followed obediently. A regular Mr. Personality, she fumed.
The trail grew steadily steeper as the ground beneath her feet became more powdery and less rocky. Her close encounter with the precipice had caused her to forget the demand for information she had intended to make. She still didn’t know where they were headed.
The trail led them underneath the overhang of a bluff. The interesting terrain momentarily distracted Kate as she squinted to make out the formations. The natural beauty of the rocks and landscape grew more and more difficult to see as darkness closed in around them.
“Watch out for the icicles.”
Kate shifted her gaze from the rock wall to him. He pointed skyward and then moved swiftly beyond the craggy overhang.
“Icicles?” Kate frowned. What icicles? She looked up just in time to see a rather large one drop like a heavy dagger. The ice crashed to the ground a mere three or four feet in front of her. No further explanation required, she thought as she hurried past the overhang.
Raine had already resumed his trek upward. Kate plodded after him. They passed two more drop-off areas. She held her breath past both—each time seemed worse than the last with nothing more than moonlight to guide them.
Kate was freezing now. As she peered into the dense black forest, she wondered how long it would take to find a person’s body in this environment. A body out in the middle of nowhere like this probably wouldn’t be found until spring and by then it would have been something’s lunch. She shivered at the thought.
Bears. She suddenly wondered if there were bears in these woods. She opened her mouth to ask, but then snapped it shut. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of knowing her concerns.
Lost in thought, Kate looked up to find that she’d almost run into Raine again. He stood waiting near a particularly steep area. The trail inclined so sharply that log steps had been embedded in the mountainside to assist with the climb. Raine took the steps two at a time. Kate swallowed tightly. If he could do it, she could do it. By the time she reached the top her heart fluttered wildly, but she had done it.
Before long the trail leveled out somewhat and Kate’s breathing finally returned to normal. She hoped they would get to their destination soon, her feet and ankles were aching. Her head joined in the symphony of pain and her chest felt oddly tight.
The trees grew dense, almost blocking out the moonlight and making their trek even more precarious. Fraser firs soared high into the sky like giant Christmas trees. The crisp evergreen scent teased Kate’s senses. She smiled and wondered if there were evergreens where she came from.
Virginia. Raine had said she was from Virginia. Virginia had evergreens, didn’t it?
Her next step sent her feet in opposite directions. Ice, she realized too late. A shriek escaped her lips at the same time that her feet skated out from under her.
Raine’s arms encircled her waist, catching her a split second before her bottom slammed against the hard dirt. He steadied her on her feet, but kept his arms wrapped tightly around her.
“I guess I’m not an ice skater,” Kate whispered hoarsely.
“Guess not,” he said, his warm breath feathered across her mouth. His ice-blue gaze seemed to capture the sparse moonlight and do strange things with it. Kate found herself mesmerized by his eyes, his nearness. She couldn’t move or take a breath, she could only hold on to that worn-soft bomber jacket and absorb the heat emanating from his powerful body. Her mouth traitorously yearned for the taste of his, her fingers tightened on fistsful of leather.
“We’re almost there,” he said finally, breaking the charged silence. Raine dropped his arms, turned and strode off into the darkness.
Kate’s legs moved of their own volition. She was too stunned to do anything but operate on autopilot. She blew out a long, slow puff of air that fogged against the cold night.
Get a grip, Kate. It was nothing. Just exhaustion, hunger and the play of moonlight.
A sign welcoming hikers to LeConte Lodge came into view. Kate silently thanked God for some form of civilization. She hoped this was their intended destination. Rustic though it might be, she added when they entered the clearing and the unobstructed light of the moon gave her a better look.
Several cabins, maybe a dozen or so of varying sizes, dotted the clearing. Not a single light pierced the night. It wasn’t that late, someone should still be up.
The trail wound to the right of the lodge compound and disappeared into the blackness. A welcome center of sorts stood at the entrance. To Kate’s distress, rather than enter the compound, Raine stayed with the trail.
“We’re not staying here?” Kate hastened her pace to catch up with him again.
“The lodge is closed for the winter. There’s no one here except maybe a caretaker, and we can’t chance him seeing us.”
“So, what are we going to do?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Without bothering to respond, Raine took a sudden left through the knee-deep weeds and headed in the direction of a small cabin at the very back of the compound.
Kate followed, relieved to be heading toward shelter. She waded through the thick dead-for-the-winter grass. Sharp, prickling pain brought the sudden awareness that the grass was accompanied by saw briars, which pulled at her jeans and the skin underneath.
Raine made it to the cabin well before Kate. She watched him survey the door and windows—deciding on the best method of breaking and entering, she realized. By the time she made her way to the cabin, Raine was already inside.
The single room held one narrow bed, a kerosene lamp sitting on a table, two chairs and a small kerosene heater. The floor and walls were rough, unpainted wood, as best Kate could tell.
Rustic had been an understatement. Primitive was a much more apt description. But at least it would provide shelter from the cold wind and damp ground. She appraised the narrow bed once more. Anything was better than sleeping on the ice-cold ground.
But where would Raine sleep? she wondered absently.
Kate shivered. Shelter or no, it was still cold. She took the few steps that separated her from the bed and sat down with a satisfied sigh.
Dear God, it felt wonderful just to sit. Kate closed her eyes and succumbed to the exhaustion she’d been holding at bay. She pulled a scratchy wool blanket up around her and relaxed more deeply into the thin mattress. She licked her lips and imagined strawberry lip balm and almond oil hand lotion. That would feel so good about now, she thought with another sigh.
“Stay put,” Raine ordered.
Kate opened her heavy lids to look up at him. He stood in front of the door, blocking the dim light the moon provided.
“If I have to run you down, you’ll be the one doing the regretting.”
“Where are you going?” Kate asked. He didn’t have to worry, she didn’t plan to move, much less run.
“If we’re lucky, there’ll be some canned food left in the dining cabin.”
“Okay,” Kate muttered, but Raine had already vanished from view. He left the door open, for the light, she supposed. The constant sound of the wind rustling through the treetops lulled her toward sleep as the cloak of moonlight and nocturnal silence folded around her.
WHEN RAINE RETURNED to the cabin with his booty, Kate was fast asleep. He set the cans of beans and franks and the bottled water he had found on the table, along with a couple of spoons.
He thought about just letting her sleep. She’d been nothing but a pain in the ass the entire trek up the mountain. But he knew she hadn’t eaten anything, at least not since early morning, and he wasn’t comfortable with her sleeping too much in the first twenty-four hours since her accident. Eating was a necessity. She’d need her strength to make the rest of this hellacious trip.
With a frustrated sound that was more groan than sigh, Raine walked over to the bed and shook Kate. “Kate, you need to eat.” He shook her again. “Wake up.”
Kate’s eyes popped open, she sat bolt upright, quickly scanned the room and then assessed him. “What?” she eventually asked.
Raine frowned. Most people didn’t wake and immediately take stock of their surroundings. She peered up at him with those dark, chocolate eyes. Maybe he’d startled her.
“I found some food. You need to eat,” he told her firmly.
Kate seemed to consider his words then said, “Okay.” Still shrouded in the blanket she had found on the cot, she struggled to her feet and followed him to the table. After claiming one of the two chairs, she watched as he popped the tops from two cans and passed one to her.
“What is it?” she asked, trying to read the label in the almost complete darkness.
“Beans and franks.”
“Ugh. I hate beans and franks,” she complained.
Raine paused, spoon halfway to his mouth. “How do you know if you like them or not?”
Kate paused, frowning at the stuff inside the can she held. “I don’t know. I just know.”
“Eat it anyway,” he ordered, then nudged the water in her direction. “And drink. You’ll need lots of energy tomorrow.”
She met his gaze across the table. “What happens tomorrow?”
“More of today,” he said flatly.
“Oh, God,” she groaned.
Reluctantly she drank from the water bottle then poked a spoonful of the beans and franks into her mouth and chewed. She shivered when she swallowed. Raine didn’t know if it was from the cold or the cuisine. He bit back a grin and opened a second can. Food equaled survival, and the sooner Ms. Roberts learned that, the better off they’d both be.
“Have another,” Raine teased when she’d at last finished her can.
“No, thank you,” she said with another shiver.
“I’ll just save the rest for tomorrow,” he taunted.
“Great,” Kate muttered as she stumbled back to the bed. She plunked down on one end, leaned against the iron railing and hugged the blanket around herself. “I’m not moving until the sun comes up and sheds some warmth on this cold, godforsaken mountain,” she mumbled from beneath the blanket.
Raine didn’t say anything. No point in bursting her bubble, he decided. She’d find out soon enough that his day started well before dawn, and on this trip they followed his schedule.
He sat down on the other end of the bed and leaned against the iron headboard. He watched her for a long while, wondering about this woman of mystery. Raine had particularly good night vision and his eyes had long since adjusted to the lack of light.
He ran through his mental notes regarding his inadvertent hostage. She didn’t wear any rings, so he assumed that meant she didn’t have a husband somewhere searching frantically for her. Her hands were soft and her nails well manicured, indicating a white-collar job of some sort. Her clothing sported designer labels, as did her pricey hiking boots. Whatever she did, she got paid well.
Judging by her vocabulary, she appeared well educated. As her strength returned so did her confidence. She seemed in good physical condition considering her injuries. If the transformation thus far was any indication, she tended toward bossiness.
Raine didn’t know a lot about amnesia except that it could be temporary and usually returned sporadically.
“What?” she snapped from behind the blanket. All that remained visible were her eyes and that cloud of dark, silky hair.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/debra-webb/safe-by-his-side/) на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.