“I’m fine.” She sounded subdued. He wondered if she’d felt the strange current that had passed between them.
“Then let’s get out of here.”
He slipped into his shirt and pulled the backpack into place again, ignoring the pain when it nudged his wound. Taking the flashlight, he aimed it on the floor as they made their way to the door.
They were almost there when he heard the sound of a car turning onto the street. He switched off the light, then glanced through a broken window. Cruising slowly down the street, coming closer and closer, was a Midland police car.
“Damn it!” He yanked on Eleanor’s arm. “Get down! Now!”
She looked over at him, and he saw the indecision on her face. He understood perfectly. There was a squad car outside the window, and she was in an abandoned factory with a man who’d kidnapped her.
She’d be a fool if she didn’t try to get the cops’ attention.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he said as he pulled her down beside him. “If they see you with me, they’ll kill both of us. They won’t wait to listen to explanations. Now get down.”
When she hesitated, he pushed her to the floor and covered her body with his. He pulled his gun out of the waistband of his jeans and eased off the safety, then clamped his hand lightly over Eleanor’s mouth.
To his surprise, she didn’t try to scream, didn’t try to push him away. She sucked in a sudden breath, then stayed perfectly still beneath him, her muscles tense and rigid.
The police car slowed in front of the building. Probably taking down the license plate from Eleanor’s car, he thought grimly. So much for making sure she didn’t get involved in his mess.
Suddenly the spotlight from the police car played across the building. It hovered above them, then traveled slowly down the length of the building. Seconds dragged by, each one agonizingly long. Finally the light disappeared and the squad car moved on. Michael waited until the sound of its engine faded into the distance. Then he slid off Eleanor and took her hand, helping her to her feet.
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean? The cruiser drove away.”
“They’ll be back.”
“Because of my car?”
“That, and they probably saw your flashlight from the window. They must be waiting for reinforcements.”
She pulled away from him. “What’s going on?” she demanded, her face tightening with suspicion.
“I told you we don’t have time to talk about it now.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. “Just get in the car and drive.”
She hesitated for a moment, indecision in her eyes as she glanced at him. He could read her mind as clearly as if she’d spoken.
“Don’t even think about it.” As he tightened his grip on her hand, he could feel her gather herself, preparing to run. He held her gaze for a long heartbeat, then she turned away and climbed into the car.
As she pulled away from the curb, he saw headlights behind them. It was the police cruiser. Apparently it had just circled the block.
“Don’t look back,” he warned sharply. Tugging at his seat belt to lengthen it, he moved closer to her. “Keep driving. Don’t go over the speed limit or do anything to attract attention.”
He hesitated before bending closer, then cursed himself for a fool. He didn’t have time to worry about the niceties. Her life, as well as his, could depend on what he did in the next few minutes.
Taking a deep breath, he skimmed a kiss over her cheek, then nuzzled her neck.
When she jerked away from him, he caught her chin in his hand. Her skin was warm and incredibly smooth against his fingers.
“Don’t,” he said. “Act like you’re enjoying it. I have to give them some reason why we were in that building.”
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Beneath the sharp-as-glass glare in her eyes, he saw a bewildered vulnerability that intrigued him.
“Pretend you like me,” he muttered, holding her chin so she couldn’t move away from him. A drop of sweat formed above her ear and slowly slid down her cheek. He watched it, fascinated, then bent closer and caught it on his tongue.
His heart pounded as he inhaled her scent, something sharp and citrusy. It suited her, he thought. As he brushed his face against hers, unable to resist the contact, he was mesmerized by the creamy softness of her cheek.
She shivered, and he murmured in her ear, “We’re acting here, Eleanor. Make it look good. Slow down, turn your head and give me a kiss.”
She hesitated, and he said more sharply, “It’s not just my life that depends on this. Yours does, too. They have to think we’re a couple who’ve been making out in that empty building.”
“Like they’d believe anyone would go in there voluntarily?” But she turned her head, barely touching his mouth with hers.
Sensation rocketed through him. Heat pooled in his groin and he cursed himself. There couldn’t possibly be a worse time for his hormones to go on alert.
“What should I do now?” she murmured.
Touch me, he wanted to tell her. But he pulled away slightly. “Turn left here. We’ll get to a busier area.”
The police rode their tail but made no attempt to halt them. Michael slipped an arm around Eleanor and felt her tremble. “They haven’t stopped us yet, so they must think we got carried away by our passion and that’s why we were in that building.” He leaned toward her and kissed her once more.
She shivered again when his lips brushed her neck. Then she swallowed, and he felt the ripple of movement beneath his mouth. “I could get used to this,” he murmured into her ear.
She stiffened as he eased away from her. “Don’t bother,” she said coldly, but her voice trembled. “I don’t make a habit of kissing criminals.”
She glanced at him and he saw fury in her eyes.
“Look,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to make the cops less suspicious of us.”
“So now you’re apologizing to me?”
“I’m not a complete barbarian,” he said, his voice gruff. Her astonished, wary gaze roused disturbing sensations. Her eyes tugged on something deep inside him, finding a part of him that had been buried for years. He couldn’t look away.
The moment lengthened and tightened. Anticipation quivered in the now-silent car, until she jerked her gaze back to the street in front of them.
“Barbarian is exactly the right word,” she said. A slight tremble belied the tartness in her voice. “I’m not going to trust you just because you suddenly remember the manners your parents taught you.”
The heat inside him vanished in a flash. “I knew you were a smart woman. You’d be a fool to trust me. Don’t ever count on the lessons I learned from my parents.”
When she looked his way, he saw doubt and fear in her eyes again. “Who are you?” she whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Keep your attention on the road,” he ordered as the car veered toward the sidewalk. “I need to get the hell out of Midland.”
He noticed her fingers tighten on the steering wheel. He knew that if she lifted her hand it would be shaking.
Silently cursing himself for allowing her to distract him, he reached along the back of the seat and twined his own fingers in her hair, pulling strands from her messy, crooked bun.
She reached up and slapped his hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“You have to look the part if we want the cops to think we’ve been fooling around.”
“Do you expect me to believe the cops would notice something like that?”
“Absolutely they would. Cops notice everything.”
“Spoken like a man who has spent a lot of time with them,” she said with a sniff, and he had to restrain a reluctant smile.
“You don’t back down, do you, Ellie?”
“I’m not about to dissolve into a puddle of tears, if that’s what y
ou mean.”
He leaned back in the seat again and watched her. Eleanor Perkins was certainly unique. He didn’t think he’d ever met a woman quite like her. She’d stood up to him from the very beginning. And it wasn’t as though she wasn’t afraid—he’d tasted her fear, seen it in her eyes, in her trembling hands.
Now she was involved in his sordid mess through no fault of her own. He’d hoped to have her home quickly, without telling her his name or anything about him. But it was too late. The police had her name and address. By tomorrow, they’d know she was missing. If they ever put two and two together and connected him to her disappearance…
“Pull over here,” he said abruptly as the police car moved closer.
The car rolled to a stop beneath a broken streetlight. He slid next to her, pulled her into his arms and fastened his mouth to hers.
She stiffened immediately and tried to push him away. “The cops are watching,” he muttered against her lips. “Unless you have a death wish, make this look good.”
He felt her resistance, but slowly she allowed him to pull her closer. When he wrapped his arm around her and buried his fingers in her hair, she tensed again. But as he massaged her scalp, he felt her relaxing against him. Finally, with an odd little murmur, she slipped her arms around him. She held him awkwardly, but she was holding him.
It was all for show, he told himself. They were only acting. But he noticed the taste of coffee in her mouth and the softness of her lips. He drank in the tiny sound in her throat as he touched his tongue to hers, and he felt the way she clutched his shoulders.
What the hell was he doing? This was a woman he had kidnapped at gunpoint. They weren’t on a date. He had no business kissing her like he meant it.
He jerked away as if he’d been burned. As he stared at her in the darkness, her ragged panting echoed the thundering of his heart.
The police cruised slowly past, but he hardly noticed. Time stretched and grew taut as Eleanor’s wide eyes gazed into his, inches away. Her breath feathered against his mouth and he tightened his fingers in her hair. The thick strands felt cool and heavy against his suddenly hot skin.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw brake lights flash, and he tightened his grip on her. But then the squad car moved on and finally turned the corner.
As he eased away to put some distance between them, Michael took a deep, shuddering breath. “I guess we convinced them we were for real,” he said.
“I never knew I had such a talent for acting,” she said coolly. But the quaver in her voice spoiled the effect.
“You did a damn good job.” He swallowed hard. “Let’s get out of here.”
“No. I’m not going with you.” Her voice was firm, but he saw a mixture of fear, awareness and humiliation in her eyes. “Take me back to the library.”
“This isn’t an optional trip,” he said, leaning toward her, hoping he looked menacing. “Get moving.”
But instead of putting the car in gear, she opened the door, jumped out and ran.
CHAPTER THREE
AS ELEANOR SPRINTED DOWN the dark, deserted street, she could hear the sound of his footsteps pounding closer and closer. Apparently the wound on his back wasn’t slowing him down. But even if she couldn’t outrun him, she had to try. She couldn’t bear to be in the car with him for another moment.
Not after the way she’d reacted to his kiss.
He had just been acting. He’d had to convince the passing police that they were lovers in the throes of passion. But for a long, mortifying moment she had forgotten they were pretending. She had lost herself in his kiss, forgetting it wasn’t real. And she was sure he’d realized it.
Could she be more pathetic? Now her kidnapper knew she was desperate enough, and pitiful enough, to be attracted to a criminal. She couldn’t face him again with that humiliating moment between them.
Suddenly an arm snaked around her waist and jerked her back against a solid chest. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he rasped into her ear.
“Help!” she screamed. “Help! Police!” Her voice bounced off the vacant buildings and resonated in the darkness.
He clapped his palm over her mouth and lifted her off her feet. Kicking and struggling, she tried to pry his hand away and get free. But he was too big and too strong. He held her almost casually against the hard muscled planes of his body, as if she was so small that he didn’t even notice her weight.
“Stop it, Eleanor!” His voice was a harsh whisper next to her ear. “If the police find us, they’ll kill both of us. I told you that.”
She yanked at his fingers again, trying to pull them from her mouth. His hand bit into her lips. “If I let go, will you promise not to scream?” he rasped.
When she jerked her head in the affirmative, he set her on the sidewalk and cautiously eased his hand away. But he kept his other arm wrapped around her waist.
She couldn’t turn to face him. “Take me home,” she begged, ashamed to hear her voice shaking. “I promise I won’t call the police.”
His arm tightened again. “You know, Ellie, I almost believe you. I think you’re a woman who keeps her word. And that scares the hell out of me.”
“Why?” she managed to ask.
“Because I can’t afford to trust anyone.” His breath whispered through her hair and his lips hovered near the crown of her head. She held her breath, wondering if he’d move closer. “Especially not a woman I’ve just kidnapped.”
“You said the police would kill both of us. Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I promise I’ll explain later.” He stepped away from her, but didn’t let go of her arm. “We have to stick together,” he said, and she heard weariness in his voice. “Neither of us has a choice.”
His hand was oddly gentle on her arm, but she knew that was an illusion. If she made an attempt to pull away, his fingers would lock into an iron band.
There would be another chance to get away from him, she told herself. He would have to sleep sometime. He couldn’t watch her every single minute. As soon as his back was turned, she would be gone.
But it wasn’t going to happen right now. She slowed as they reached the car, and the pressure of his hand increased slightly. Just enough to let her know he was in charge.
“You drive,” he said gruffly.
“Afraid I’ll jump out the door if you’re driving?” she asked.
“Yep. It’s just the kind of damn fool stunt you’d pull.”
Instead of being offended, she was oddly pleased at his words. She’d never been the kind of person who pulled damn fool stunts. But suddenly she could picture herself doing just that.
Settled behind the steering wheel, she sensed him watching her steadily. If she made a move toward the door, he would no doubt grab her before her fingers touched the handle.
“Where to?”
“Head over to Park Street,” he said, naming one of Midland’s busier highways. “There’s a lot more traffic over there.”
She eased the car away from the curb, and a few minutes later merged onto the busy street. She speeded up slightly, and he leaned closer.
“No speeding.”
His words were sharp with warning, and she wondered what he would do if she ignored him. He wouldn’t use the gun on her. She was certain of that. A man who would shoot a woman wouldn’t have hesitated to leave her alone in the abandoned warehouse.
She pressed harder on the accelerator, tempted to find out. Then she slowed down. Pick your battles, she told herself.
He grunted with approval. “Stay at this speed.”
Traffic thinned as they headed away from the business district, but quite a few cars still surrounded them. A flash of white caught her eye: a police car hidden in a small alley, its engine running. She gave the accelerator a small tap, hoping it would push them above the speed limit.
“Slow down,” Michael said sharply. “I saw that police car, too.” He leaned closer. “You’d better hope like hell he doesn’
t follow us.”
She tried to ignore the flash of heat that shot through her with his face inches away from hers. Glancing into her rearview mirror, she felt her pulse skip a beat as she saw the cruiser pull out and slide into traffic behind them.
Michael noticed it, too, and swore under his breath. “I’m not kidding, Eleanor, this isn’t the time to do something stupid.”
She drove steadily, trying to keep the speedometer needle just below the speed limit. Much as she wanted the police to stop them, Michael’s warnings had made her nervous. Anxiety swelled in her chest as she waited to see where the squad car would go.
It wasn’t going anywhere. It followed her closely for another block, then blasted its siren once. The bar on the top of the car erupted with flashing lights.
“They want me to stop.” Her heart pounding, her mouth suddenly dry, she gripped the steering wheel desperately. She couldn’t take her eyes off the lights behind them. “I have to pull over.”
“Damn it!” He gave her a hard look, as if he suspected she’d done something to attract their attention. Then he sprawled on the seat, suddenly boneless. “I’m drunk and you’re driving me home.” His steady gaze bored into her. “I still have the gun, Eleanor. And I won’t hesitate to use it.” He slumped as if he’d passed out. Only his back was visible.
She pulled to the curb. Her hands, damp and cold, slipped on the steering wheel and her stomach heaved as she stared in the mirror at the squad car behind her. Michael might not shoot her, but apparently he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot the police officer. This stranger’s life now depended on her acting ability.
Sweat dripped down her neck and pooled between her breasts. Fear made her light-headed and she struggled to breathe. An eternity seemed to pass before a police officer got out of the car and approached her window.
Eleanor leaned forward, trying to block his view into the car and deprive Michael of a target. “Yes, Officer?” she said.
He leaned closer, but instead of answering her, he looked past her at her passenger. His gaze lingered on Michael’s limp form for several long moments, then the cop looked at her with expressionless eyes.
Two on the Run (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 3