Passion and Peril: Scenes of PassionScenes of Peril

by Suzanne Brockmann

  Where they’d made love.

  Images of their bodies entwined, undulating in front of the fire, bombarded her. If she buried her face in the pillows, she’d be able to smell him. Disturbed by the thought, she scrambled to her feet. The kitchen wasn’t safe, either. It reminded her of the magnificent pounding he’d treated her to.

  She took his book off the shelf and hurled it at the table in a futile attempt to dispel the erotic memories.

  Chest constricted, she sat down at her computer desk. A simple search of his name led to dozens of author photos and articles. He was a member of some kind of literary rat pack, hanging with a group of handsome, artistic-looking men and fashionable women. Tears blurred her vision as she clicked away.

  She found a recent news story about the stalking incident. Kathy King, his “biggest fan,” had broken into his apartment when he wasn’t home and fallen asleep in his bed. Since her arrest, she’d been released from jail and was awaiting sentencing. The photo accompanying the story showed a pretty, dark-haired young woman standing by a red car. She held an autographed copy of one of Colin’s novels.

  Paige studied the screen, troubled. What if he wasn’t lying?

  “Oh, my God,” she said, clapping a hand over her mouth. The red car in the photograph was a Mini Cooper—the same one at the cabin. Kathy King must have tracked Colin down on Friday afternoon. He’d risked the snowstorm in his haste to escape.

  It all made sense.

  Stomach twisted with tension, she drove back to Colin’s cabin. She considered calling 911 on her cell phone but she wasn’t sure what she’d say. There might be trouble at cabin seven? Serial napper strikes again?

  She parked her Volvo and grabbed the only weapon she could find, a heavy-duty ice scraper. Holding it in one hand and her cell phone in the other, she ran toward the front door. It was ajar.

  “Colin?”

  Eerie silence greeted her.

  Paige dialed 911 from the threshold, trying not to panic. “Colin, are you there?”

  Before the operator answered her call, a woman rushed through the doorway, wielding a small black object. Paige stumbled backward and tried to block the attack with her ice scraper, but it was too late. She was struck by a searing jolt of electricity. Her legs gave out and she collapsed on the snow-covered sidewalk.

  * * *

  COLIN REMEMBERED WHAT had happened Friday night.

  A stress headache had formed while he was arguing with Paige. He’d been anxious and annoyed with her for making false accusations, frustrated by his inability to defend himself. Had he hooked up with a ski bunny? It wasn’t something he would normally do, like driving fast in a snowstorm without a seat belt.

  He’d watched Paige’s car disappear, his fists clenched and his mood dark. Then, as he’d turned to approach the front door, a memory had hit him.

  Kathy. She’d been here on Friday.

  He remembered walking outside just as the snow started to fall. He’d been trying to call his mother, searching for an area with better cell phone reception. Kathy’s little red car had been parked down the street. She’d gotten out and approached him, smiling. They’d met several times at public events, so he’d recognized her. She was pretty and petite, dark haired. While he’d stood there, unsure what to do, she’d run to the open door of his cabin and dodged inside.

  It was bizarre behavior, to say the least. He’d never been in a physical altercation with her before. When she’d broken into his home in L.A., he’d noticed the busted locks and called the police. After her release, he’d been awarded a restraining order. She wasn’t supposed to come within a hundred yards of him.

  At that point, Colin should have climbed into his SUV and driven away. He didn’t for a very stupid reason: his laptop. He hadn’t wanted to leave his laptop in her possession, considering her penchant for smashing his stuff.

  He’d gone inside, thinking he could handle a small, slightly unhinged young lady. He hadn’t expected an ambush with a stun gun. Maybe she’d miscalculated the voltage, because the jolt hadn’t incapacitated him. When she’d tried to tie him up, he had knocked her hands away and lumbered to his feet, crashing out the door.

  His brain had felt sluggish, his muscles weak as he’d climbed behind the wheel. He’d glanced into the rearview mirror, worried that she would try to follow him. He’d seen Paige in the road and swerved. Everything after that was black. He still had no recollection of the crash or near drowning.

  The pain in his head faded as he weighed his options. He wouldn’t underestimate Kathy again. She was still inside, ready to electrocute him. He didn’t know if she wanted to cut off his balls or play house.

  Several of the nearby cabins appeared occupied, but he decided to walk to the lodge, which was about a mile uphill. Phone lines might still be out. He could wait in the lobby without disturbing anyone.

  He was almost there when the hairs on the nape of his neck stood up in awareness. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Paige’s car coming from the opposite direction. She was heading toward his cabin.

  “No,” he shouted, waving his hands in the air. She didn’t see him.

  Damn!

  Abandoning the idea to find help in the lodge, he broke into a run, determined to reach Paige before she got attacked by Kathy. He’d been able to shake off the jolt of electricity, but she might not fare so well. Her body weight and muscle mass were much lower than his. He slipped in the snow and almost fell, cursing. His heart pounded with adrenaline and a cold sweat trickled down his spine. He’d never been so scared in his life.

  When he reached his cabin, he saw Paige sprawled outside the front door. She was alive and conscious. Kathy stood over her with the stun gun in one hand.

  Colin halted in his tracks.

  This was like a scene from one of his novels, only he was no hero. Neither was Investigator Burrows, but he always managed to have a stick of dynamite or some other handy item in his pocket.

  Kathy crouched down to pet Paige’s mussed hair. “Is this your girlfriend?”

  His voice shook with fear. “No.”

  “Don’t lie to me!”

  “I’m not.”

  “Why’d you run away from me?”

  “You shocked me,” he said. “I was...confused.”

  Kathy swept Paige’s hair aside and pressed the weapon against her pale throat. “Do you love her?”

  He took a deep breath, praying they’d get out of this unharmed. “No,” he said, too loudly. Unconvincingly, to his ears. “I love you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said, holding her hopeful gaze. “Leave her alone and come with me.”

  She moistened her lips, deliberating.

  “We can run away together.”

  Kathy removed the stun gun from Paige’s throat. Tears of relief filled Paige’s eyes, spilling down her cheeks. When he offered his hand to Kathy, she took it with a shy smile. He forced himself not to look back at Paige again.

  He was reluctant to climb in the Mini Cooper, but he didn’t know what else to do. The idea of tackling Kathy to the ground or striking her made him queasy. She still had the stun gun. If they tussled, she might use it on him and go after Paige again. He wanted to get Kathy as far away from Paige as possible.

  She put the Mini in Reverse and backed up too fast, narrowly missing Paige’s Volvo. “Oops,” she said with a nervous giggle.

  He massaged his temple, racked by uncertainty. Kathy didn’t look like a dangerous psychopath. She was young and cute, with chic clothes and expertly tousled brown hair. If she hadn’t been a fan, he might have asked for her number.

  Before he met Paige, that is.

  She veered left toward Twin Lakes. Her driving was probably not erratic enough to attract the attention of law enforcement. Colin studied the door handle, won
dering if he should try to take a dive.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “Not far.”

  After they passed Paige’s cabin, she accelerated steadily, her tires slipping and sliding across the icy roads. Maybe she suspected he was considering an escape attempt. “I know you don’t really love me.”

  He made a strangled noise, unable to form a response.

  “But this way we can be together.”

  With a sinking heart, he realized what she planned to do. The next curve in the road skirted the edge of the lake. It was only a few hundred yards from the spot where his SUV had submerged.

  “No,” he said, bracing himself for the impact. “Don’t do this.”

  She drove faster.

  “Please!”

  The car sailed off the edge of the road, hitting the surface of the lake with a terrific splash. Her air bag deployed in a burst. Colin had neither seat belt nor air bag, so he was treated to a hard slam against the dash.

  Within seconds the cab started to fill with icy water.

  He shook his head to clear it, fumbling for his door handle. There was an ominous click as she pressed a master button to lock the doors and windows.

  Trapping them inside.

  Her air bag deflated quickly, leaving white powder on her face. Even that looked cute, as if she’d just powdered her nose.

  “Unlock the door,” he growled.

  She shrank away from him, holding the stun gun in her clenched fist. “No.”

  He gritted his teeth as the water poured in the engine compartment, swirling around his ankles. The car continued to sink downward. Colin searched for an object to break the window and came up empty. He shoved a hand into his jeans pocket, finding his set of keys...and a single nail, left over from last night’s emergency roof repair.

  The Mini Cooper was a convertible with a sturdy canvas top. Ripping through it with his bare hands would be about as easy as kicking out the window with booted feet. But maybe he could tear a hole with the nail.

  Gripping the blunt end of the nail in his fist, sharp end sticking up, he punched at the canvas, ripping a tiny slit.

  Kathy squealed a protest and tried to stun him.

  “Goddamn it,” he muttered, blocking her attack with his left arm. He grasped her slender wrist and twisted her hand around, turning the weapon back on her. He worried that the water would disperse the electroshock, but it didn’t.

  She convulsed like an epileptic and slumped over the steering wheel.

  Tossing aside the stun gun, he went back to work on the top. After several more blows, he’d created a large enough hole to fit his hands through. The freezing water was above his waist now, robbing the strength from his muscles and impeding his ability to breathe. Holding the nail in his teeth, he gripped the edges of the canvas and tore it apart.

  Before he left the vehicle, he glanced at Kathy. She was still groggy. Even if she wanted to get out, he didn’t think she could manage without him. Leaving her here meant letting her die. Precious seconds ticked by as the water crept up to his chin.

  Attempting to save her life might endanger his own, but screw it. Colin pulled her toward him and shoved her through the narrow opening in the roof. The vehicle was almost completely submerged. Once she was outside, he followed. It was a tighter squeeze for his broad shoulders. Just when he thought he wasn’t going to make it, the canvas ripped wider.

  He broke through as the car shifted, plummeting toward the bottom of the lake. Kathy almost slipped beneath the surface. He shoved his forearm under her chin and started swimming. It was less than twenty feet to the shore.

  The distance stretched into infinity.

  By the time he arrived, his body was shaking uncontrollably. He felt as if his heart might seize from the cold. They could both go into cardiac arrest. Panting and shivering, he dragged Kathy out of the water and rested her on the snowy bank.

  Her skin was pale, her lips blue. “Why did you help me?”

  Colin didn’t have an answer for her. Two squad cars approached from the opposite side of the lake, lights flashing.

  Thank God.

  Chapter Nine

  IT TOOK PAIGE several minutes to climb behind the wheel of her car.

  The aftereffects of the electroshock made her clumsy. She picked up her phone and dropped it twice. Cursing, she tried again, redialing 911.

  “I need help,” she told the operator.

  “We traced your previous call, miss. An officer is on the way.”

  Paige reported the incident, along with a description of the assailant’s car, as she left the scene. Her heart raced with anxiety as she drove down Twin Lakes Road. She spotted the crash site and pulled over, sobbing with relief when she saw Colin on the snowy embankment.

  The rest of the day passed in a blur. Kathy and Colin were treated for mild hypothermia at the local hospital. Before her release, Kathy was arrested for violating the restraining order. She offered a tearful apology, admitting that she suffered from a chemical imbalance and hadn’t been taking her medication.

  The arresting officer took her away in handcuffs. He predicted that she’d serve time in a criminal facility or mental institution.

  Paige and Colin were interviewed by the police department. Crime-scene investigators searched his cabin and took photos of the contents before they returned his belongings. Kathy had ransacked the place, but she hadn’t destroyed his clothes or laptop. Both vehicles were dredged from the lake that afternoon.

  Colin opted to stay at the lodge for the remainder of the week. He also made arrangements to rent a car. It was almost sunset by the time they left the station.

  “Why don’t I buy you dinner?” he asked, leaning against his rental. He was wearing jeans and a brown wool pullover. His hooded jacket looked insufficient for the cold. Typical Southern Californian style.

  “I should buy you dinner.”

  “We’ll flip for it.”

  After promising to meet him at the lodge, she went home to change. She selected a pair of faux-suede leggings and a soft cowl-neck sweater with tall leather boots. After applying light makeup, she left the cabin.

  They shared a surprisingly relaxed evening, considering the circumstances. He didn’t bring up their earlier argument. She got the impression that he just wanted to be with her. Nothing else was important.

  Although she felt the same way, she knew they had to talk. She couldn’t move forward without acknowledging her mistakes.

  “I’m sorry about Kathy,” he said, beating her to the punch.

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “I feel responsible. She attacked you because of me.”

  She sipped her hot cider, contemplative.

  “If I’d been up-front with you from the beginning, we wouldn’t have argued. I might have remembered what happened sooner.”

  “You weren’t responsible, Colin. I’m sorry for not believing you.”

  He seemed to understand why she’d overreacted. Why she was slow to trust and wary of relationships. “It’s okay.”

  “You’re nothing like him.”

  “Your ex?”

  She nodded. “I think success changed him, but we were both so young. He craved the limelight and basked in attention from women. He wouldn’t have thought twice about introducing a pretty actress to a producer.”

  His mouth quirked into a smile. “I’d rather avoid the limelight, especially after today.”

  She smiled back at him, her stomach fluttering. Her former boyfriend had been wildly passionate. So was Colin, but his intensity translated into deep caring for others, whereas Derrick had wallowed in self-absorption. Paige was still uneasy about their whirlwind romance, despite Colin’s good-guy credentials. Her feelings for him scared her. She didn’t want
to be consumed by desire, subsumed by love.

  “My parents had a very emotional relationship,” she said. “They weren’t settled, if that makes sense. They didn’t get too comfortable and take each other for granted. My mom got mad and tossed my dad’s cell phone into the lake one year. I think they argued because they loved each other so much.”

  He reached across the table to hold her hand.

  She took a ragged breath. “I’ve always wanted a love like they had, but I’ve been afraid of getting hurt again. It broke my heart to lose them.”

  Colin didn’t downplay her fears or tell her she should change. He simply accepted them and accepted her for who she was. “I’m surprised to hear you’re afraid of anything. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

  Sniffling, she wiped her cheeks with her fingertips. “You’re pretty brave yourself. Rescuing a woman who tried to kill you.”

  “Why did you come back to my cabin?”

  “I found an online article about the stalking incident and a picture of Kathy beside her red car. I realized that I was wrong about you. When you said you loved her, I knew you’d been telling me the truth.”

  “How?”

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  He laughed, squeezing her hand. His claim that he wasn’t in love with Paige had also sounded false. Although she didn’t mention it, and neither did he, an undercurrent of emotion surged between them.

  “We don’t have to rush anything,” he said. “I have this week off, and most of next month. I can write anywhere.”

  “Maybe I could visit you in L.A.”

  “Really?”

  After a short hesitation, she nodded. “I can work anywhere, too.” Nature photography was her main interest, but the shoot with Colin had encouraged her to branch out. She might have been avoiding portraits and weddings because they were so emotive.