by Debra Webb
Kate didn’t have a watch, so she had no idea how long they had been walking. But her body was telling her that it had been a very long time and that she needed to rest.
No way would she even ask him to slow down. If the bad guys caught up with them, it was not going to be her fault.
RAINE STOPPED at the creek and waited for Kate to catch up with him. She dragged at this point. He had known this journey would be tough on her and he felt bad that it was even worse than he had anticipated. She was young and certainly fit, but the head injury and overall battering she had taken in the accident had left her in a weakened condition. But they had to keep moving.
When she came alongside him, Raine gave her a moment to catch her breath before he spoke. “We’ll take a breather now.”
Kate dropped on the old bench next to the No Camping sign, the first indication of civilization they had seen since leaving the lodge. They hadn’t covered as much ground as he would have preferred, but they could still make up for lost time. Raine scanned the valley around them. They had the worst of the journey behind them, but there was still a ways to go.
He pulled a can of beans and a spoon out of each pocket and handed one of each to Kate.
“Gee, thanks,” she said wryly. “You certainly know how to treat a girl right.”
Raine allowed her a near smile as he pulled the top from his can. She’d been a real trouper most of the time, the rest of the time she had been a pain in the ass. Though he couldn’t help respecting her adaptability, he couldn’t make himself trust her. Too many years of not trusting anyone but himself, he supposed. He wasn’t about to change now. But that didn’t change the fact that he wanted her. And that was an unacceptable complication.
He shifted his gaze to Kate. Even with the dark crescents of fatigue beneath her eyes and the unnaturally pale quality of her face, she was still a hell of a looker. The memory of the shapely body that lay beneath that thick parka had permanently etched itself on the backs of his lids. Every time Raine closed his eyes, he could see her naked, the water from the shower sluicing over her toned body and the steam rising around them as he held her close against his own bare skin. Remembering the feel of her firm breasts against his chest made his groin tighten.
Raine shook off the images and forced himself to swallow the rest of his food. His only intention toward Kate Roberts was to keep her alive until he could get her someplace safe. She was an innocent bystander in all this, and he intended to make sure that she survived this close encounter with the game of life and death. But even Kate’s safety remained secondary to his mission. He had to stay focused on his goal: to find Dillon and the mole in Lucas’s organization. Even if that turned out to be Lucas himself. Every fiber of Raine’s being resisted that possibility.
Raine clenched his jaw against the rage that boiled inside him at the mere thought of Dillon. Dillon would die, and the mole would be tried for treason if he didn’t die first. Raine hadn’t decided if he would let the bastard live or not. This game would be just like any other, he would play the hand dealt him. He glanced at Kate. She represented a wild card. Raine hadn’t decided yet if she would make his hand or break it. Time would tell, and time was his enemy. He retrieved the half-empty water bottle and passed it to Kate, then drank the rest when she finished. They’d have to make it to a source of food and water tonight.
After they had eaten and Raine had buried their cans and spoons, they resumed their journey. Darkness descended as rapidly as the temperature. Raine felt a rush of relief once they emerged into Smokemont campground. The place amounted to nothing more than vacant open spaces for campsites, cold fire rings and a scattering of trees of varying sizes. A paved road circled the grounds. The last tourist had left more than a month ago. Raine had grown up in a nearby community, and there wasn’t much about this area that he didn’t know.
“What now?” Kate asked, exhaustion evident in her tone.
“Seven miles to Cherokee.” Raine didn’t look at her, but he heard her little gasp of disbelief.
“But it’s dark already.”
“Don’t think about it, just keep walking. It looks like rain.” With growing dread, he scanned the thickening cloud cover. The temperature hadn’t dropped low enough for sleet or snow, but precipitation appeared inevitable. And as long as they were moving, Raine could keep his mind off the woman. He needed to be physically exhausted before he spent another night in her company.
An hour later they reached the highway. Raine headed in the direction of Cherokee. The long, black road lay before them like a dark, endless river. The wind had gotten stronger, determined to blow up a storm.
“How far now?” Kate asked wearily.
She hadn’t complained at all during the past hour, but Raine knew she had struggled to keep up. He had pushed hard, he knew, and now she was paying the price. Damn, he’d done nothing but screw up since meeting her.
“Not far,” he assured her. He would flag down the first vehicle that passed if he had to use his Beretta to get the driver’s attention. It was obvious now that Kate couldn’t make it much farther, and carrying her would only slow them down. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Thank God,” Kate muttered. “I hope I never get another assignment like this one.”
Chapter Five
“What did you say?”
Kate didn’t know whether it was the stone-cold blue eyes that glittered at her through the darkness or his bruising grip on her left forearm, but uneasiness stole over her. She’d said something wrong—something Raine didn’t like.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” A fist of fear squeezed in her chest.
“You said,” he replied tightly, “you hoped you never got another assignment like this.” He stepped closer, his size and strength bearing down on her now. “What did you mean by that?”
Kate held her ground—she couldn’t have moved if she had wanted to. Her weak and exhausted body had gone limp with absolute fear. She stared into the icy depths of his arctic gaze and said the only thing she knew to say, “I don’t know what I meant.” Straining with the effort, she swallowed. “I didn’t realize I had said it until you repeated it to me.” That same gaze that had singed her with heat only a few hours ago now chilled her to the bone.
Kate knew one thing for certain, she would never forget the hard, unflinching expression on his chiseled features. If he felt anything—anger, disbelief, sympathy—neither his face nor his eyes showed any hint whatsoever of what might be going on inside his head. His piercing blue gaze bored into hers, searching, analyzing.
The noose of uncertainty tightened around her neck.
Call in filtered through her haze of fear.
Headlights seemed to come out of nowhere, the flash of light flickering across Kate’s face, breaking the charged moment. Raine glanced over his right shoulder at the approaching vehicle before settling his gaze back on hers.
“I’m telling the truth, Raine,” she said quickly, in a last-ditch effort to convince him. “I don’t know why I said that. Maybe I’m a reporter or something. I just don’t know.” She released the breath she’d been holding and then added, “You’ll…you’ll have to trust me on this.”
“There’s only one person I trust, Kate, and that’s me.” He turned toward the twin beams of light steadily growing larger, extended his arm and stuck out his thumb in the universal gesture indicating that he wanted a ride. He cut Kate a sidelong look. “But, if it makes you feel any better, I do believe you.”
Kate closed her eyes and uttered a silent thanks. He believed her. That’s all that mattered at the moment. If Jack Raine suspects for one second… Kate’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice echoing inside her head. Suspects what? And how the hell did she know his first name was Jack? Had one of the goons from yesterday called him Jack? She replayed the words over and over, but the answers would not come. What did that warning mean? Who did the voice belong to?
“Is it safe to be hitching a ride?” she suddenly hear
d herself ask. Kate didn’t know if she was cautious by nature, but the thought that their pursuers might be driving down this same road made her uneasy. Not to mention the voices inside her head, and the man standing next to her. Come to think of it, Kate decided, she had a number of things to be uneasy about.
“Not driving something that sounds like that,” Raine said impatiently.
An old pickup truck that was surely built before the invention of mufflers lurched to a stop in front of them. Raine opened the passenger-side door and leaned into the vehicle. Kate listened as he asked the driver about a ride to Cherokee. The old truck didn’t look as if it would make it another mile much less all the way to Cherokee, but anything was better than walking in the frigid darkness with a storm threatening.
The man mercifully agreed to give them a lift. Raine stepped aside for Kate to climb in first. She eased onto the worn bench seat, the sensation of warmth inside the cab almost making her light-headed. Even the musty odor of stale tobacco and something resembling oil couldn’t detract from Kate’s appreciation of a ride. The heat blasting from the heater far outweighed all other unpleasantness.
Kate glanced at the driver as he struggled to grind into first gear. The old man eyed her with more interest than curiosity, his mostly toothless grin and scraggly beard doing nothing for his weathered face. Kate moved closer to Raine, putting as much distance between her and the leering old man as possible.
As if sensing her discomfort, Raine slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her possessively against him. She was thankful for his strong presence as the truck jerked into forward motion. Kate had watched Raine in action. There was no doubt in her mind that he could handle whatever this strange man attempted.
Despite her misgivings about the driver, Kate leaned her weary head against Raine’s solid shoulder. At the moment she didn’t care if the man turned out to be Jack the Ripper, as long as she could rest for just a little while. Raine had promised to keep her safe and she had to trust him, even if he didn’t trust her.
She still couldn’t figure out why she would have used the word assignment, or why he had reacted so fiercely to it. Why would she hope never to get another assignment like this one? Wait a minute, did prostitutes consider their johns assignments? Kate shuddered at the thought. It had to be something else, she wouldn’t allow herself to believe that distasteful possibility. Maybe she was a reporter and somehow she had latched on to Raine’s story. Or, maybe she knew Ballatore’s story. Kate tensed.
Ballatore. Who the hell was Ballatore? Had Raine used that name? Or had one of the goons who’d tried to kill them mentioned it? Kate closed her eyes and forced the questions away. She didn’t know how she knew that name. She didn’t know why she called this an assignment. She didn’t know what her relationship with Raine amounted to. She didn’t know why she didn’t know.
God, she was so tired. Kate snuggled closer to Raine, and his arm tightened around her. He would keep her safe and that’s all that mattered right now.
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, they were in the middle of Cherokee. The town was one long strip nestled between the soaring mountains. Neon signs flashed, advertising typical tourist-trap junk. Casinos, restaurants, motels, and other tacky, run-down buildings dotted the main street through the small town.
“That service station on the right will be fine,” Raine told the driver. His voice sounded harsh after the long silence during the ride.
Without question, the old man pulled into the parking lot. Raine thanked him, opened the door and got out. Kate scooted across the seat and hurried out behind him. When her feet hit the ground, her legs felt rubbery beneath her. The cold night air seemed more brutal after the warmth of the truck.
“What now?” Kate asked, watching Raine as he surveyed the street in both directions. “A motel, I hope,” she added when he didn’t answer right away. “Or a restaurant, I’m starved.”
“Not yet,” he told her, his attention still focused on the mixture of gaudy and dilapidated businesses lining the long street.
“What then?” Kate hated the slight whine she heard in her voice. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest of taking another step; a dull ache had settled inside her head, or maybe it had been there all along but the task of keeping up with Raine had distracted her from the pain. Her chest still felt tight. She needed to eat—anything but beans and franks. And she was thirsty again, she suddenly realized.
“We need transportation out of here,” he said as he started down the dimly lit street toward the busier end of town.
Kate flung argument after argument against her mental sounding board, but she trudged after Raine without protest. She had followed him this far, no point in changing her strategy now, no matter how much she wanted to check into a hotel and sleep for days. If he wanted to keep moving, she certainly didn’t have a better plan. He obviously had some sort of plan, and any kind of plan was better than none.
Raine wandered through the casino parking lot, looking over each vehicle as if he was about to purchase one. Kate shivered. The cold night air had consumed the last of the warmth her body had managed to build up during their ride to Cherokee. Kate wrapped her arms around herself. She would walk until she dropped. Raine had to be tired, too. If he could keep moving, so could she.
Finally Raine opened the driver’s-side door of an old Chevy sedan. After surveying the interior, he looked across the top of the car at Kate and said, “Get in.”
“What?” She frowned at his curt demand.
“Get in, dammit.”
Kate felt her eyes go round in genuine horror. “You’re going to steal this car!” she hissed, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. A thief! The man was a thief as well as a killer. She shook her head slowly from side to side in disbelief. He was crazy. She was crazy for tagging along with him.
“Get your butt in the car!” Raine commanded. He shot her a look that would have spurred a dead man into action.
Kate jerked the door open and plunked down onto the seat. Maybe his plan wasn’t so great after all, she decided. Stealing! And she was an accessory. Grand theft auto, wasn’t that a felony? Kate yanked at the obviously never-before-used seat belt. It wouldn’t budge. She pulled harder. By God, she might be forced to ride in a stolen vehicle, but at least she would ride safely. The engine suddenly roared to life.
Kate’s startled gaze bumped into Raine’s. “How’d you do that so fast?”
One of those rare, breath-stealing smiles spread across his lips. “Trade secret.” He winked, then leaned across Kate to reach the seat belt.
A tiny curl of awareness coiled inside her as she watched Raine pull the belt over her lap and snap the buckle into place. Kate had certainly been this close to him before, but there was something different this time. His protective gesture, that was it. Just like when he’d stepped between her and Vinny, and when the helicopter had come back he had pulled her to safety. She hadn’t asked for his help with the seat belt, he had simply taken the initiative, as if her safety was important to him. As if she mattered in all this madness.
“Thank you,” she murmured, sounding too breathless.
Still leaning across her, Raine paused. His gaze lingered on her mouth for a moment. Neon lights flashed and flickered, filling the car with a mixture of garish light and eerie shadow. When his gaze lifted to hers, the lean, hungry look in his eyes twisted that little curl of desire until heat funneled just beneath Kate’s belly button.
Raine abruptly banished the hunger in his eyes and straightened. He put the car in Reverse and muttered, “You’re welcome.” Without another look in her direction, he backed the car out of its slot and pulled out of the parking lot.
Kate rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she could warm herself by sheer determination. She relaxed against the cloth seat and tried to forget the needy look she had seen in Raine’s eyes. She knew it wasn’t right, but she couldn’t help thinking of the way she had felt when she woke that morning in his arms, ting
ly and warm all over. Although she had been fighting mad with him for having responded sexually to her, she was more angry at herself for her own body’s traitorous reaction. And then in the woods. She had wanted him to kiss her, and he would have if they hadn’t been interrupted. On some level it pleased Kate to know that he felt the pull of desire too.
Maybe he was a bad guy, but he had some good points all the same. Especially, she thought with a little smile, those amazing blue eyes. She could imagine how really touching him and losing complete control would feel.
Stop it, Kate! She bit her lip. She couldn’t think that way. There’s no telling how many men he’s killed, Danny’s words rang out inside her head. Jack Raine was a killer.
…this one worries me. That other voice echoed right behind Danny’s. Kate squeezed her eyes shut and tried to place the voice that haunted her. It was a woman. Someone she trusted. That’s all she knew. But who? Her mother? A sister? Who?
Kate sighed and stared into the darkness beyond the headlights. Was her past so awful that she couldn’t bear to remember it? Or was it her that was so unmemorable?
The beam of the headlights moved over a road sign up ahead that read Bryson City 10 Miles.
“Bryson City, is that where we’re going?” Kate turned to Raine, hoping he would choose to gift her with a straight answer. “What’s in Bryson City?”
“That’s where we’re headed. Bryson City has public transportation.” Raine didn’t look at her, and, if his tone gave any indication, he wasn’t interested in conversing. As usual.
Too tired to care, Kate leaned against the door and watched the first fat drops of rain splat against the windshield. The heater had finally kicked in, filling the car with its warmth. Soon the pelting against the glass grew steadier, turning the highway in front of them into a long line of black ink. The desolate road stretched out before them, taking Kate away from a past she didn’t recall and into a future she understood nothing about. Her mind felt as empty and desolate as the highway. She shivered again, but this time it had nothing to do with the cold.