Blue Ridge Ricochet. Paula Graves
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his aching body into motion, he moved as quietly as he could down the hallway until he could hear Nicki’s end of the conversation.
“And Davey can’t come in?” There was a brief silence, then she sighed. “No, I get it. Everybody else has family to see after, except me. I’ll be there in a few.”
She must be talking to someone at the diner where she worked, he realized. He eased away from the door and turned to go back to the kitchen. But his foot caught in the carpet runner in the hall, tripping him up. He landed against the wall with a thud, the impact eliciting a grunt.
Before he could tamp down the pain in his bruised ribs enough to breathe again, Nicki emerged from the bedroom, her blue eyes flashing.
“What the hell are you doing?” she challenged. “Eavesdropping?”
His pain-fogged brain tried sluggishly to catch up. “Bathroom.”
Her dark eyebrows arched. “You passed it to get here.”
Damn.
“What did you expect to overhear?” she asked.
Ah, hell. Maybe he should just tell her the truth. “How about why you left the cabin for an hour last night in the middle of a snowstorm?”
Her eyes narrowing, she took a step away from him until her back flattened against the wall. “What are you talking about?”
“You left the cabin shortly before midnight and disappeared into the woods for over an hour. Then you snuck back in here, real quiet, and settled down for the night. Want to tell me where you went?”
“You were asleep at midnight. I checked on you.”
“You thought I was asleep. I wasn’t.”
A scowl creased her forehead. “You were spying on me?”
“You woke me when you started to leave. I got curious. You’re not the only one who spent the night with a stranger, you know.”
“You’re still alive, so I guess I’m not a serial killer.” She folded her arms across her chest, angling her chin at him. In her defiance, she seemed to glow like a jewel, all glittering blue eyes and ruby-stained cheeks.
A flush of desire spread heat through his body, making his knees tremble. He flattened his back against the opposite wall of the hallway and struggled to stay upright beneath the electric intensity of her gaze.
She was dangerous to him, he realized.
In all sorts of unexpected ways.
He pushed himself upright, willing his legs to hold his weight. “You know, I think I should call someone.”
Her suspicious gaze was as sharp as a blow. “Who’re you going to call?”
“You’ve got a sheriff’s department around here, right?”
Her scowl deepened. “They’re probably a little busy today. With the snow and all.”
“Not like it was a blizzard.” His legs were starting to ache, from his hips to his toes. He fought the urge to slide down the wall to the floor.
“No, but in this part of the state, people aren’t used to driving in snow.”
“But you’re going to, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going in to work aren’t you?” He nodded toward her bedroom. “That’s who you were talking to on the phone.”
“So you were eavesdropping.”
No point in denying it. “You can drive me into town with you. I’ll take it from there.”
Alarm darkened her eyes. “No. I can’t do that.”
The first flicker of fear sparked through him. “Why not?”
“You don’t want to go into River’s End.”
He urged his legs into motion, edging back from her. He hadn’t seen any sort of weapon in his limited exploration of the cabin, but he hadn’t exactly looked in every nook and cranny while she was gone last night. In fact, there were parts of the cabin that were still a complete mystery to him. She had already told him she had a shotgun. For all he knew, she could have a whole armory stashed somewhere in the back.
“Why don’t I want to go into River’s End?”
She moved with him as he stepped backward, maintaining the distance between them without letting him get out of reach. “Don’t be coy, Dallas.”
There it was again. He’d heard that same tone in her voice the night before, when she’d spoken his name while trying to help him into her Jeep. A flicker of knowing that hadn’t really registered in the midst of his stress the previous evening came through loud and clear this morning.
“You know who I am,” he said before he could stop himself.
Her expression shuttered. “Who you are?”
“Now who’s being coy?” A surge of anger eclipsed his earlier fear. She was lying to his face. Had been lying this whole time. “If you know who I am, then you know there are people who are looking for me.”
She dropped any pretense. “That’s abundantly clear from the bruises and scrapes all over your body. Which is why I don’t think you really want to go into River’s End this morning.”
His legs began to tremble again, aching with fatigue. “They’re in town, aren’t they?”
She didn’t ask who he was talking about. Clearly, she already knew. “Yes. And not just in town. They’re all over the place, Dallas. Everywhere you could possibly go.”
Damn it. Fear returned in cold, sickening waves, but he fought not to let it show. Those bastards who took him captive had worked damn hard to break him, but they hadn’t. He’d escaped before they could.
He wouldn’t break in front of this woman, either.
“Then let me call someone to come get me.”
The look she gave him was almost pitying. “I can’t let you do that, either.”
He forced a laugh, pretending a bravado he didn’t feel. “And you’re going to stop me how?”
Her response was a laugh in return. “You say that as if you think it would be difficult. I told you last night, in your condition, I’m pretty sure I can take you.”
He didn’t really want to test her theory, considering how shaky his limbs felt at the moment. “Okay, fine. I’ll stay put.”
Her eyes narrowed a notch. “I don’t think you will.”
Before he could move, she closed the space between them, grabbing both arms and shoving him face-first into the wall. Pain exploded where his bruised jaw hit the hard Sheetrock.
He struggled against her hold, but she was much stronger than he was at the moment, shoving him down the hall and into the kitchen. When he tried to turn around to fight back, she slammed her knee into the back of one of his, making his leg buckle under him. She released his arms just long enough to let him catch himself before he lunged face-first into the floor, but he still hit hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs.
The world went black around him for a moment, then started to return in flecks of light as he gasped for air. He felt movement, pressure and then a big gulp of sweet air filled his lungs. His vision cleared and all his aches and pains came into sharp, agonizing focus.
He was facedown on the floor, his hands twisted behind his back. He felt the weight of his captor settle over the backs of his thighs as she held him in place. The unmistakable sound of duct tape being ripped from its roll reached his ears a split second before he felt her wind the sticky tape around his wrists, binding his hands together behind him.
Nicki