Raising the Stakes

And he wouldn’t feel so much as a twinge of conscience about the decep—

“Shit!”

He came up a low rise—barely a bump in the road, he thought, in the instant before surprise gave way to shock—and saw a woman and a stalled car directly ahead of him. He hit the horn, she whirled toward him, and he knew he’d never forget the white blur of her face, the look of horror that transformed it as he hit the horn, stood on the brakes, and prayed for a miracle to any god who might be listening.

His car came to a shuddering halt inches away from her. The stop threw him forward; the seat belt bit into his shoulder and hip. Adrenaline pumped through him, hot and fast, as he unlatched the belt, flung open the door and jumped out.

“Jesus Christ,” he roared, “what’s the matter with you, lady? You almost got both of us killed!”

“I didn’t realize—” She took a step back. “I—I’m sorry.”

She was shaking from head to toe. Good, he thought viciously, let her go into convulsions for all he gave a damn. She’d scared the crap out of both of them. His heart was still trying to beat its way out of his chest.

“You’re sorry? Sorry? You leave your car in the middle of the goddamned road and you think you can say you’re sorry and that’s the end of it?”

“I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Did you ever think of setting out flares?”

“I don’t have—”

“Well, you should. Or was the poor son of a bitch who came over that hill supposed to have ESP?”

“My car broke down. It just—it just…” She flung out a trembling hand. “It just stopped.”

“Yeah, well, you almost stopped. And if you think I want to sit around a police station and explain how I came to cream a woman too stupid to move her car off the road, you’re—What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

Hell. Gray hurried toward her, caught her by the shoulders as she swayed. She flinched, and he tightened his grasp.

“Let go,” she said in a tiny voice.

“So you can pass out on me? Yeah, that would be perfect.” None too gently, he walked her to the curb. “Sit.”

“I don’t need to—”

“Sit, dammit!”

Dawn felt his hands press down on her shoulders. It was the first time anyone had touched her in anger in four years but it didn’t matter. The old instincts were still there, trying to suck her down into submission. No. God, no, she wasn’t going to let it happen.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Lady, don’t be an idiot. You’re going to faint.”

“I’m not…” But she was. The world was spinning. She heard him curse, felt his hand wrap around her arm as she sank to the curb.

“Put your head down, dammit.” He put his hand on the back of her head and shoved her face toward her knees. She felt as if she were on an out-of-control merry-go-round. Any second now, her teeth would chatter. How could the sun feel so hot and she feel so cold?

“For God’s sake,” the man said, his voice thick with disgust. “Stay where you are, you hear? Don’t try to get up.”

Stay where she was? If she could have, she’d have laughed. It was hard enough to keep from pitching into the gutter. The last thing she was going to do was try to stand.

“Here.”

She felt something warm drop around her shoulders. Gratefully she burrowed into it.

“Do you have anything to drink in your car?”