by Liz Johnson
“I think I get it. But I just know I’m going to need some more practice. Do you have some time next week?”
Not really. But she felt bad for the other woman. It wasn’t her fault her husband had run off. Ivey tried to put on a good front, but her eyes were sad, and maybe a bit guilty. Danielle had seen that same look in her mirror for over a year. “Sure. Let’s talk in class next Tuesday and make a plan for a day to meet.”
Ivey’s smile was appreciative, and she daintily dusted her hands together then held them up in front of her face. “Do you have a restroom or sink?”
“There’s one right inside the office on your left.” Then she thought better of it. That restroom was never very clean, and it wasn’t as though Ivey was a complete stranger. “Actually there’s one in my apartment around the side of the garage. The door’s locked, but I’ll walk you around. It’s much cleaner.”
Ivey grinned in appreciation and reached toward Danielle’s arm as though she was going to pat it, then stopped short and laughed. “I better go wash these.”
The pair walked around the side of the building, and Danielle unlocked the door, pushing it open, so Ivey could enter first. Debating whether she should wait with Ivey, she decided that she’d best not leave the front unattended. Gretchen was still at lunch.
As she arrived back at the front of the building, Danielle spied a figure strolling down the road, his hands into his pockets, back and neck straight. She lifted her hand and waved gently, doing her best to tamp down the unruly butterflies bombarding her stomach. Why on earth was she so excited just seeing Nate?
He waved in return, and nodded his head in greeting. She ran a hand over her hair, tucking any stray strands behind her ear. Brushing dust and dirt from her coveralls, she tried not to dwell on the fact that she really was wearing the only thing less attractive than a potato sack.
But there was nothing to be done about it. Anyway, she wasn’t trying to impress Nate. He was just a client and a student. No matter what happened, she couldn’t drag him into the uncertainty—and possible danger—of her world. She couldn’t afford to be attached. If Goodwill ever found her, she’d have to hit the road immediately. No goodbyes, no see-you-laters. Attachments would just make that harder.
Since she wasn’t really interested in Nate as more than a client, it would be easy not to let it happen.
Right. She’d just think of him like that.
But her stomach didn’t heed her mind, as it nosedived when Nate reached the large opening of the garage door.
“Hi there,” he said, hands still in the pockets of his jeans and shoulder leaning on the doorframe.
“Your car’s all done,” she hurried to assure him.
“No rush.” He looked around. “Where’s Gretchen? Did she hide when she saw me coming?”
Danielle chuckled. “Not quite.” Gretchen had actually formed a bit of a crush on Nate, and hadn’t stopped talking about him since Danielle started working on his car. She would be sad she’d missed his visit. “She’s at a late lunch.”
“Hmm.”
Just then Ivey returned, and Danielle jumped in surprise. She’d forgotten that the other woman was even there.
“Thanks so much, Dan—” Ivey’s words broke off as she rounded the building and saw them both standing there. “Oh, hi, Nate. Didn’t know you’d be here today.”
“Just picking up my car. Cracked transmission pan.”
Ivey looked clueless and said to Danielle, “Well, I guess I should get going and let you get back to work. Thanks again for the lesson—I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. See you tomorrow at class.” Danielle waved at the older woman as she climbed into her black two-door coupe and kicked up dust and rocks as she took off out of the gravel parking area. Nodding toward the door that connected the garage to the office, Danielle indicated that they should go inside. “Your paperwork and keys are at the desk.”
Nate followed behind her, his steps steady and even on the tile. After she retrieved his key, and he paid the bill, she walked him back to his car.
“You’re all set, Nate.”
“Thanks for everything,” he said, the corner of his mouth quirked into a grin.
“No problem.” She ran suddenly damp palms over the heavy blue fabric covering her hips. Why did this man have the ability to instantly make her palms sweat. With a chill, she realized she’d only felt this kind of reaction once before—on that terrifying night when her father was murdered. Could she be in danger from Nate? Was her body trying to warn her that he wasn’t safe?
Or was it just a reaction to his smile and handsome face?
She’d felt uneasy around other men before, and this wasn’t the same. He’d never given her a reason to think she wasn’t safe with him. But maybe he was a good actor. Maybe her heart was getting too involved, which was bound to end badly. Hadn’t she proven that with her father?
It all boiled down to the fact that she knew she could trust him. But how did she know it so completely?
Shoving her wayward thoughts aside when she realized she’d been staring intently at him, she motioned to his car. But he didn’t take the hint. “So I’ve been thinking I should get out and meet more people in town. You know, more than just the people in class. Any suggestions where I should go to get more connected with people our age?” His deep voice was soft, but there was still a commanding presence to him—something in the way he stood, broad shoulders perfectly straight, feet shoulder-width apart. His muscles looked loose, yet as if he could move quickly at a moment’s notice.
He took a step toward her, and although there was still a respectable amount of space between them, she shuffled back, falling into the car. “Danielle? You okay?” he asked, grabbing for her elbow to steady her. But the zing shooting up her arm only served to make her knees knock together.
“Yes, fine. Just clumsy, I guess.” She tried to laugh it off, but it came out sounding like a choked sob. She searched his blue-gray eyes with her own and saw kindness and concern there. The skin at the corners of his eyes wrinkled, as though he was smiling, but his lips stayed in a straight line.
She’d felt safe here—until he’d come into town. Was there a connection between Nate and her sudden fears about her past? Was his presence bringing her nightmares to life?
No. Definitively not.
His eyes weren’t cruel. His hand around her arm offered support not domination. He wasn’t a threat. She knew it in her gut.
And she was equally confident that she could handle the danger that she instinctively knew was at hand. She’d be fine on her own.
Gently pulling her arm from his grip, she stepped to the side and took a deep breath. Even if he wasn’t a danger to her, she needed her own space.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” His face showed concern.
“Yes. I’m fine, thanks. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
He nodded as she walked past him headed toward the next car in need of service.
Danielle’s hands shook violently as she sat behind the steering wheel of Andy’s work truck the next evening. She’d spent nearly half an hour trying to talk herself into riding her bike to the college again, but memories of the terrifying bike ride home just two nights before still made her queasy.
Squeezing her fingers into a fist, she took control of her quaking nerves. She could handle this. There wasn’t anything out there in the fading sunlight that she needed to fear.
That was true, but it didn’t remove the clouds covering the sun or the lack of any other people in the vicinity. She was going to have to get out of the truck’s cab and walk two hundred yards to the auto shop building regardless of her unease. Taking several deep breaths, she steeled herself for the moment of opening the truck door.
She was stronger than this. And she knew it.
Blowing out a hard breath, she wrapped both hands around the door handle and yanked it open. The telltale click of the door’s release rushed through her ears like the air be
ing sucked out of an airplane. Inhaling sharply, she pushed the door open with her foot and grabbed her book bag as she stepped onto the asphalt.
A brisk wind chafed her cheeks as she locked, then closed the door. Immediately moving toward her destination, she didn’t see the figure until his hand clasped on her arm.
And she didn’t know how loudly she could scream until the sound echoed off the buildings and dissipated into the twilight sky.
FOUR
As Nate rounded the corner into the parking lot on two wheels, he spied a scene that didn’t make sense in his mind: Danielle backed up against her truck and a looming figure in front of her.
He’d been running late because he’d checked out three local bike shops to see if anyone working there might know Nora. Now he floored his accelerator to get to Danielle’s side as soon as possible.
His headlights illuminated the scene in front of him. A terrified Danielle slid along the side of the garage’s truck, obviously trying to get away from the man in front of her. But her efforts were futile because the intruder moved in time with her, never letting her step free.
The headlights of Nate’s car washed out her complexion, but he thought she looked paler than she should. When she saw his car, her eyes found his. He doubted that she could see him in the darkness, but he had no problem seeing her and the broad shoulders of the man blocking her escape.
Whipping into a tiny parking spot, he killed the engine, practically leaped from the car as his door nicked his neighbor’s vehicle. Keeping his face firm as he strode toward the pair, he didn’t let his true concern show. This wasn’t like walking into an assignment he understood. His mind really should be on the case, but there was no way he could let Danielle be hurt right in front of him. He rubbed his bicep over his side, reassuring himself with the feel of the butt of his gun in his shoulder holster. Whatever was to come, he was prepared.
The other man turned around, probably at the sound of Nate’s clomping boots.
“Nate!” Danielle called breathlessly. She took a quick step around the man and hurried to Nate’s side but stopped just before touching him.
He looked at the other man, who pursed his lips and nodded at them. Ridley Grant. All suave moves, perfectly coifed hair and trendy clothes. Nate didn’t like him already. “Ridley.” He offered only a nod and scowl in return, unwilling to take a step closer and extend his hand for a shake with his classmate.
Danielle took a tiny step closer to Nate, and he could feel the warmth of her body on his arm. He could also see the trembling of her hands as she crossed her arms around her stomach.
“We should get to class,” Nate said, looking the other man in the eye and daring him to disagree. Putting his hand behind Danielle’s back, he guided her through the rows of parked cars without actually touching her. Ridley stalked ahead of them so that the gap between them quickly became large enough that Nate could put his arm around her shoulders, tugging her gently to his side in a friendly embrace. “You all right?” he whispered.
“Yeah. He just surprised me as I was getting out of the truck.”
“Did he try to hurt you?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” he double-checked.
“Mmm-hmm.” She nodded emphatically and continued looking straight ahead at the back of Ridley’s quickly disappearing head.
He squeezed her shoulder, trying not to think about how well she fit into his side, and she leaned into him even more. “Do you want to tell me what happened? What he said?”
She took a shuddering breath. “He didn’t say much really. I’m not really sure what he wanted. I was just getting out of the truck, and then all of a sudden he was there. He scared me at first, put his hand on my arm.” She placed her own hand on her forearm to demonstrate. “But when I screamed and jumped back, he just got closer and closer, leaning toward me but not really saying much. Then he touched my hair.”
“What do you mean?”
Rubbing several strands of hair between her thumb and forefinger, she cringed at the memory. “I don’t know. He just touched it. He ran his fingers through it at the end right here. He just said it looked pretty.”
Nate had half a mind to agree with the jerk. Her hair was soft and shiny. Even in the growing darkness, he could see how it reflected the tiniest fraction of light. He didn’t blame the guy for wanting to run his fingers through her hair. If he had something more than heartbreak and pain to offer a woman and he didn’t have a case to focus on…well, no use wondering about those things.
“Then he leaned toward me, almost like he was going to kiss me.”
He went rigid, anger sparking inside him. He knew he wouldn’t be kissing Danielle. But a pang in his gut told him he sure didn’t want anyone else doing it, either, so long as he was around. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just stared at my feet and tried to push past him. But he didn’t budge. Then I saw your headlights.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.” Her body was still shaking slightly, and he hated to let her go. But they were almost to the classroom, and she didn’t need Ridley or anyone else thinking that there was something romantic between them.
Dropping his arm from around her shoulders as he used the other to push open the door, he said, “I’ll walk you back to your truck after class.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was soft, and the gentle clasp of her hand on his even softer. She looked up into his eyes and offered him a world of heartfelt gratitude in that one glance.
He certainly understood her fear from Ridley’s inappropriate actions. But something else reflected in her eyes. Something had her spooked.
For a second he wished he had the time to hunt it out. But his job wasn’t to help pretty mechanics, so he made his way to a seat at the back of the class as Danielle squared her shoulders, shook her head—as if dispelling any worries—and turned to face the class.
“Sorry we’re getting started a little late. We’ll have to move quickly to get through the material today, so if you have any questions please be sure to ask. Everyone open your books to page 204.”
He followed along with the instruction, but frequently had to force his mind back to the classroom at hand. It wasn’t as if he needed the college credit, and now that he had time to sit back and look around the room, his brain wanted to think about how any of the people in the room could be related to his case.
Ridley sat straight on his stool, as though it would take a bulldozer to send him sprawling on the floor. Arms resting on the table in front of him, he watched Danielle’s movements like a panther watching its prey.
Was he a ladies’ man, used to having easy conquests, who’d set his sights on Danielle? Or was he real trouble for her?
Suddenly the guy sitting next to Ridley raised his hand. Kirk Banner. For every clean-pressed line that Ridley sported, Kirk offered a wrinkle and a stain. His low-slung jeans were nearly shredded and his dark yellow shirt showed off what looked to have been a pretty hideous bleach accident. Was he trying too hard to fit in with the younger students?
“Yes, Kirk?” Danielle called from the front of the room.
He ran a hand through his greasy blond hair. “Is this going to be graded?”
Danielle’s sigh was silent, but Nate could see her shoulders rise and fall from all the way across the room. “As I mentioned in the last class, I’ll be grading you on participation and will be passing along my thoughts to Andy when he gets back. He’ll be grading your assignments, the ones you’ve already turned in and the ones that are coming up.”
Kirk sagged a little but didn’t look any more attentive than he had before he asked the question.
Just then Nate’s pocket vibrated. He surreptitiously pulled out his phone and pressed the button to open the waiting text message from Heather:
Roth says S is in place. Target nearly confirmed.
He and the Shadow were in the same city, and Nate was at least t
wo steps behind. He had to find Nora ASAP.
“All right. Let’s head over to the work area, and I’ll show you what actual brake pads and shoes look like and where they’re located.” As stools scraped on the floor and students made their way to the garage side of the room, Danielle turned to the large metal cabinet behind her. Her hands were steady for the first time since the beginning of class. Hunting through Andy’s enormous ring of keys, she found the one labeled Cabinet. But just as she moved to press it into the lock, she noticed that the door stood slightly ajar, and the silver lock was covered in scratches. It had been jimmied.
Quickly looking around at her students, she wondered who would be looking for something in there. It was used only to store auto parts, and a quick glance showed that nothing seemed to be missing. She tried to think of who had been early to class. But the truth was everyone had been earlier than her, except Ridley and Nate.
Kirk yelled from the far side of the old car they were using for teaching. “Is this going to take all night? Some of us have social lives!”
What had his knot wound so tight tonight? She refrained from rolling her eyes at him and instead grabbed the brake pads and shoes for demonstration.
When she rejoined the group, she wedged herself between Ivey and a traditional student with sleek good looks.
Glancing around the semicircle, she spied Nate standing directly across from her. He looked somber and deep in thought when she caught his eye. But then his nostrils flared and eyes crinkled like he was holding back something highly amusing. He just shrugged as if to tell her to continue.
Ivey, who stood to her left, offered a genuine smile and took immediate interest in the discussion of the use for and replacement of pads and shoes.
The rest of the class seemed to speed by, and in no time Kirk—the jerk, as her mind was apt to fill in for her—reminded her about his needy social life. “Hey, it’s time to go. Can we get out of here?”