I plan to release the second chapter of my novel entitled Secret Heart by June 10, 2016.
In the meantime, please feel free to look at the first two chapters of my already-published novel, Twin Creek Claim. A link to the entire book can be found under the Romance, Intrigue section of this website.
As always, please feel free to use the comment section at the left-hand side of this page. I welcome feedback.
One
Kayla Witherspoon wandered out of the attorney’s office in a daze. Stopping outside the brick building, she turned toward it and stared at the door, unsure what to do next. Three weeks ago she’d thought the most incredible thing had happened. Her birth father had found her—indirectly. Now it seemed as though that had been only the start.
What kind of man had Blaine Kindser been, anyway? He’d given her up for adoption when she was only two and a half years old, so he obviously hadn’t wanted her. Then he’d died and left her an obscure note:
Lander, Wyoming, holds a mystery for you. The first clue is this necklace. I’ve always loved you, and I thought of you every day.
Your natural father,
Blaine Kindser
Absently opening the door of her rented silver Dodge Caravan, she stepped into the driver’s side. With a heavy sigh, she closed the door and crossed her arms over the steering wheel. Then she laid her head on her arm as the faint beginning of a headache tugged at her forehead.
The pendant hanging around her neck caught her attention, and she toyed with it. The bauble had been enclosed in the padded envelope with the note and was apple green jade of the highest quality. The necklace had to have cost at least $150. And she had absolutely no inkling as to why he’d chosen the shape—a Roman numeral two.
Running her hands through her short hair, she sighed again, then lifted her head and started her van.
Stupid, arrogant lawyer, she thought angrily. He wouldn’t tell her anything except that he couldn’t tell her anything yet. He wouldn’t even say why he couldn’t or when he could. He had told her one thing, though, that bothered her tremendously. Blaine had died of a heart attack, but he’d told John Reynolds, his best friend and attorney, that a doctor had said his heart was in perfect condition only a couple of weeks earlier.
Kayla massaged her throbbing temple. Terrific! Her headache was getting worse. She needed a migraine as much as she needed this puzzle in her life!
Three weeks ago she’d been content in her geology professorship and summertime sabbaticals to mining fields. Then she’d received Blaine’s letter and the jade pendent. Now she was embroiled in some ludicrous mystery involving the necklace, her natural father, and a lawyer’s suspicions that Blaine had murdered.
Okay, Reynolds hadn’t actually said murder, but he may as well have. What else could he have meant by “something other than natural causes”?
The throbbing became a stabbing pain that shot over behind her right eye. There was a Safeway up on her right. She would stop and pick up some Motrin IB, along with a few other supplies she needed.
***
When she pulled her car into the lot, Jake Houston stopped his old, white sports car across the street. She would probably be in there for a while, so he could go around the block to assure himself that she didn’t know he was following her. As he waited for the red light to change, she got out of the van.
He pulled the Polaroid snapshot from the pocket of his blue knit shirt. That sure looked like the same woman, but he couldn’t be sure without getting a little closer. Both the brunette walking toward the store and the one in the picture were too far away for an absolutely positive I.D. And the one in the photo had shoulder-length hair—not the close-cropped style the live one had.
Jake slid the picture back into his pocket and watched the woman enter the store. The horn of the car behind him blared, and he noticed that the light had changed. Glancing in his rearview, he waved his apology. Then he saw the dark blue sedan two cars behind him.
Damn! He’d thought he lost them back in Rawlins. Instead of going straight, he careened around the corner. As he turned the second corner, he noticed the car behind him had stalled and the driver was trying to start it. How fortuitous. With a satisfied grin, he made his way around the block as quickly as he could without attracting attention. The blue sedan was gone now, so he pulled into the Safeway lot and parked near the street—in obvious view of his pursuers.
Getting out, Jake locked his car and hurried to the van. Those men were following him because he was after Kimberly Baldwin, and Kimberly would eventually talk. Besides, Slater was Kimberly’s lover. That meant his best protection from Slater was Kimberly herself.
Thank God, he’d learned that she had a bad habit of not locking doors. Hopefully, she hadn’t changed that habit when she rented the car. He grabbed the back door handle and pulled. It slid open, just as he’d hoped. So far, she was playing right into his hands.
Now all he had to do was convince Kim that she was better off with him than Slater. Otherwise, he could end up in jail himself—for imprisonment at the least, kidnapping at the most. Unfortunately, from everything he’d seen so far, she was devoted to Slater, and he wasn’t sure how he would convince her to leave the man.
***
Sliding in behind the steering wheel, Kayla opened the Motrin IB. First she fumbled with the resistant plastic safety band then the childproof cap. She groaned when she saw the inner safety seal and poked her thumbnail through it. Tearing it off, she pulled out the cotton. If anybody had tampered with this medicine, she thought wryly, it was at the factory.
Kayla dumped two pills onto her palm, then dropped them into her mouth and swallowed them. After putting the medicine in her purse, she popped the top of a Diet Cherry Coke and took several long swigs. Then she laid her head back on the seat.
One pill would probably have done the job, but two would do it faster, which was exactly what she needed. She had to be able to think clearly in order to decide her next move.
So John thought Blaine had been murdered. What did she care? She hadn’t seen her father in twenty-nine years. But deep in her heart she did care, probably because she was part of him. Besides, he’d willingly signed the adoption papers that had given her to a loving, generous couple in Maryland. Even though he hadn’t been there for her, he’d given her a very good life. She probably owed him something for that. The least she could do was investigate a little and see if it really had been a heart attack that killed him.
Jake was getting nervous. She should have gotten into the van and taken off. Instead she was just sitting there—probably drinking a soda by the sound of things.
Why wasn’t she starting the car? Was she waiting for her lover? What had he done by hiding behind the back seat?
That was a stupid question. He’d put himself in a damned trap, and he was going to get his butt kicked. Kimberly hadn’t done anything more than help steal a few jewels. Slater had committed murder, and Jake had no doubt that Slater would do it again to silence him.
When the motor revved, Jake released a silent sigh of relief. Thank God, she was leaving. That meant nobody was joining her—at least, not in the car. The possibility still remained that she would meet Slater later.
He knew he should be concentrating on catching Slater and his gorilla of a cohort, but he wanted Kimberly for two reasons. Her being a vehicle to get Slater was one, but the main reason was that she’d already gotten away from him on three robberies in two years. The first time he’d been standing right next to her in a dark, smoky bar, and she’d still slipped through his fingers.
Three hadn’t been a charm for him, but four would be. He had her now, and he had everything he would need to hold her under citizen’s arrest. Actually, that was probably the only way to keep her in custody without getting slapped with a warrant against him for kidnapping.
***
Kayla drove out of Lander just below the speed limit. This was only her second day in Wyoming, but she already loved it. There was so much nothing. Most of the terrain she’d seen so far was hilly, with lots of sagebrush and a smattering of trees. But there were also mountains with many trees, like the Laramie Mountains and its Medicine Bow National Forest. She’d traveled through there yesterday on her way from Cheyenne.
Today she decided to take Highway 131 south out of Lander. That would take her through the Shoshone National Forest. From there she would go to South Pass City and visit the historic site. Maybe a little diversion would clear her mind and help her decide if she really wanted to delve into Blaine’s mystery and his mysterious death.
She was a nice, sedate, law-abiding citizen who lived a very simple, very quiet life. Did she really need the excitement of tracking down clues and sniffing out information? Absolutely not! Kayla sighed. Well, maybe.
Larry had broken up with her six months ago because she was so normal. He’d claimed that the most risk she would ever take was forgetting to lock her doors. Oh, she occasionally remembered, but the chances of her doors being unlocked at any given time were about nine to one.
Of course, she could have worse habits—like drinking. According to John, if Blaine had died of anything, it would have been cirrhosis. Blaine had turned to the bottle for solace after her mother died in the car accident when she was sixteen months old. So why couldn’t a coronary have killed him? Alcohol could affect the heart as easily as it could the liver. But John had sounded so sure of himself. If only she could have convinced him to tell her why he felt so confident about his suspicions.
Out of habit, Kayla glanced in her rearview mirror. That was the dark blue car that had followed her out of the parking lot. What was he doing on this mostly deserted road? Why hadn’t he stayed in town, or at least taken the more popular U. S. Highway 287?
Kayla gasped in horror. Maybe the men in the car suspected that she knew Blaine hadn’t died of natural causes. Maybe they’d seen her come out of the lawyer’s office, or heard her talking with him. Maybe they even knew something that she didn’t. If that were the case, …
A violent shudder coursed through her. Panic swelled in her chest, constricting her natural breathing rhythm. They were after her. She could feel it in her bones. They were going to kill her. This situation wasn’t quiet or normal. Where was Larry when she needed him?
“What do I do?” she asked herself in a frantic mumble. “How do I get out of this mess?”
Without thinking, she pressed her foot harder onto the accelerator. The van lurched forward at the same time the paved road ended and the gravel road began. She glanced in the rearview again. The car was speeding to keep up with her. When she looked back at the road, she saw the rut, but too late to avoid it.
What was that noise? It didn’t sound like a tire had blown, didn’t feel like it, either.
Jake couldn’t stop the grunt that escaped him when his head hit the hard back of the seat ahead of him, but he stifled his irate expletive. What was that fool woman doing? The second she’d left the pavement she hit the pedal like an off-road racer.
He’d been able to balance well earlier, but now he was bouncing around like a crazed super-ball. It was all he could do to steady his head so he didn’t crack it again. Desperate to hold on without her seeing him, he pushed against the tailgate with his left hand and foot.
Driving recklessly along the winding road, Kayla kept glancing in her mirrors. The car seemed to be falling back, but she couldn’t slow down, despite her desire to regain better control of the van. Even though it was possible that they’d mistaken her for somebody else, it was much more likely that they were setting a trap for some reason.
She slid around a sharp curve, struggling to keep the car on the gravel that crunched and shot out from under the tires. One rock flew through her open window and almost hit her. Then she noticed a small road through the trees a few yards ahead. She glanced in her rearview again. The car hadn’t come around that last hill yet.
Determined to get away, she crammed the steering wheel to the right. Her van turned, tipping onto two wheels.
“Ow!” came a masculine cry from behind her.
Kayla screamed in fear. She didn’t know which was worse, impending death in a crash or facing the man rising behind the back seat. The van dropped onto all four wheels, and she slammed on the brakes as the man disappeared behind the seat again.
His head hit the wheel well cover with a loud crack that Kayla could hear from her seat.
“Damn!” Jake exclaimed as he rose to his knees again, this time clutching the back seat. “Are you crazy, woman? You’re going to get us killed.”
The van hadn’t come to a complete stop before Kayla jammed it into park. Gears ground. The van jerked to an abrupt halt, and the engine died. Pushing the button to release her seat belt, she opened her door then scrambled from the van.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” the man shouted as she stumbled into the surrounding forest.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw him jump from the van then sprint after her. Her heart raced wildly as she darted through the woods, but she was too afraid to glance over her shoulder to see if he’d spotted her. That would slow her down. But she knew he was close. She could hear it in his frantic, yet angry voice.
“Do you want to get lost?”
Anything to get away from you, she thought defiantly.
***
Jake scanned the trees as he chased her. There she was, to his left. If he was positive she was Kimberly, he’d call her name and throw a real scare into her. Unfortunately, if it wasn’t her, …
A shot rang out, and the bullet thudded into the tree beside him. The woman screamed in terror. Acting instinctively, he lunged for her.
Arms encircled her knees, and Kayla fell face down. Panic exploded in full force. She had to get free! She rolled onto her back the moment he relaxed his hold. Her mind only vaguely made note of his chiseled features—his strong, square chin, his tousled sun-streaked blond hair, his steel-gray eyes.
Her body reacted automatically, out of fear; her mind went blank. Her knee came up when he started to cover her with his body.
His cry of agony and distorted features told her that her action had the desired effect. As he dropped to the ground beside her, Kayla scrambled to her feet and raced away. His weak call for her to come back startled her.
Was he nuts? How could he think that she would obey after he’d shot at her then tackled her when he’d missed?
Another shot rang out, and Kayla ducked behind a large tree. Hugging the pine, its branches well above, with her back, she took a moment to collect her thoughts and catch her breath. That shot had sounded farther away. Surely, she hadn’t escaped that easily.
Her heart thudded in her chest as she clutched the tree. She scarcely noticed the sting of the bark scraping against her hands over the ache in her lungs as she panted for air. She needed to get away, but she needed to rest a few moments longer.
Good, Jake thought as he weeded he way around the trees. His plan had worked. He was luring the gunman away from Kimberly—if it was, in fact, Kimberly. His uncertainty was the only thing that made him use the diversion instead of capturing her for protection.
In some sunlight that filtered through the trees, Jake saw a flash and dropped to the ground as the shot rang out. The bullet whizzed above him. Crawling on his stomach, he circled around as noiselessly as he could.
There he was—Lance Slater—peering into the woods in search of his quarry. Jake reached under his hunter green windbreaker and pulled out his .38 revolver. He waited until Slater’s back was to him then rose slowly. With the light steps of a tiger on the prowl, he made his way up behind Slater and brought the pistol down over the smaller man’s head.
Slater crumpled to the ground. Working quickly, Jake rolled Slater onto his side, took off his belt, then bound Slater’s hands behind his back. As an afterthought, Jake picked up Slater’s Colt .45 and stuffed it into the waistband of his jeans. Now to find The Gorilla before The Gorilla found Kimberly.
Kayla stood anxiously immobile against the tree, afraid to do more than breathe. It was too quiet. After the second gunshot, she hadn’t heard a sound. Maybe he’d stopped searching for her and gone back to hide in her car again. If that were the case, she might never get back to Lander without him accosting her again. But if he was looking for her, she might have a chance to escape.
What the heck! She had nothing to lose—except her life. But it would be a slow death if she didn’t even try to get away from him.
Steeling herself with a deep, shaky breath, she pushed away from the tree. She hadn’t run five paces when another tree stepped out in front of her. This one had a hairy chest that showed beneath his shirt. Kayla’s eyes followed the chest to the thick neck, which practically didn’t exist, that ended at a heavy black beard and dark hair with a bald top. Between the beard and baldness was a smirking mouth, partially hidden behind a mustache, and two evil-looking dark eyes.
Terrified, she opened her mouth to scream as the man raised his hand. The object in it snapped, and a long, sharp blade suddenly appeared before her eyes. They widened in horror, but the lump in her throat blocked off her scream.
Grabbing her arm, he spun her into his painful embrace. The next second she felt the sharp, cold blade against her throat. When he bent to whisper into her ear, his breath was hot against her skin, but the harsh, angry tone sent a chill up her spine.
“One sound and you’re dead. Let’s go.”
Two
Jake gritted his teeth and stifled his urge to attack that instant. But The Gorilla had the woman in such a position that one wrong move, one unexpected assault, would open her throat. That stint in the Green Berets had taught him a lot, and now was the time to use that knowledge.
When they came in his direction, he shrank back and carefully nestled himself between two bushes. The pair passed so close that he could see the pale green color of her eyes. He held his breath until they were about three yards away then released it quietly.
What was the best way to handle this situation? If that woman was Kimberly, this whole scene could be a set-up. But the look in her eyes was pure terror, so he was even less sure that it was Kimberly—unless she was a great actress. What the hell was he supposed to do if he didn’t know who was involved?
Frustrated, he watched the two disappear into the woods. If he worked on the assumption that she was Kimberly and he was wrong, he could get an innocent woman killed, so the best way to proceed was to assume that she wasn’t Kimberly. Once he got her safely away from The Gorilla, he would find out who she was. Right now, he had to think of a way to free her.
***
This wasn’t happening, Kayla told herself. She was just dreaming it. But the sharp, steel blade was vivid proof of reality. She’d never been so terrified in her life—not even when Larry had coaxed her onto that monster roller coaster.
She thought about that to take her mind off what was happening. He’d vowed that it was completely safe, that she wouldn’t fly out of the seat. When they were actually on the ride, she’d panicked to the point of paralysis. He’d kept telling her to scream, but it had been physically impossible. What seemed like hours later the ride had ended, and Larry had had to pry her fingers from the bar.
That ride had been terrifying, but at least she’d known that her life wasn’t at stake. She couldn’t say that about this incident. Come to think of it, she probably wouldn’t have been able to scream when this huge man had grabbed her, even if he hadn’t shown her his weapon.
Now she was even afraid to swallow in case his knife cut her. Not that she needed to swallow. Her mouth was parched with fear.
“Houston!” the man shouted.
Startled, Kayla gasped in shock.
He bent over and growled into her ear. “Careful, lady. Don’t want to hurt you—not yet, anyway.”
How had she gotten into this predicament? she wondered frantically. Three strange men were after her, and she didn’t even know why. Correction. Two strange men were after her; one had already caught her. Now he was calling to his partner.
“Houston! I have her!”
They walked out of the trees to the small road where the van sat with the driver’s door open. The tinny-sounding buzzer still rang, indicating that she’d left the keys in the ignition. Parked behind the van was the blue car that had been following her, both doors wide open, but the ignition made no noise. Apparently, somebody had taken the keys.
The man took her toward the car, and Kayla searched her mind for a way to escape. Then, to her amazement, he stopped about four feet from the door and turned around so they faced the woods.
Why was he stopping? Not that she was complaining, but why didn’t he force her into the car? Wouldn’t that be the thing to do if he was kidnapping her?
“I know you’re out there, Houston!” the man shouted. “If you don’t come out, she’s going to have another smile! And it ain’t one she’s going to be happy about!”
She knew what that meant. If Houston didn’t show himself, this man would slit her throat. It also meant that she was expendable, and Houston probably wasn’t connected with him. Houston must be the man in her van, and he must be the reason behind her predicament. If nothing else, this incident would teach her to lock her doors.
But being an innocent bystander didn’t lessen the danger. Besides, Houston could be as much trouble for her as this burly man was.
Another thought sprang to her mind. What if that hadn’t been Houston shooting at her? She’d just assumed it had been him because she’d been so frightened that she’d forgotten that a car had been following her. And if that were the case, he might never show himself. He might be dead.
Dear God, she prayed, please let Houston be alive and well.
“Houston!” the man holding her called. “This is your last warning!”
Jake made his way silently from the sedan and rose to his full height. In one swift movement, he put the barrel of his revolver against The Gorilla’s head and cocked the hammer.
“This is your only warning,” he growled. “Drop the knife, or you’re a dead man.”
The man moved slightly. The blade scraped across Kayla’s throat, and she gasped at the stinging pain it created. Warm liquid trickled down her throat.
“It wouldn’t take much to …” the man holding her started to say.
“By the time you even started to slit her throat,” the other man, apparently Houston, interrupted, “you’d be short one half of your head.”
To her relief, the man dropped the switchblade. Kayla sighed with as strong fingers encircled her left arm.
“Now let go of her.”
As the big man released her, Kayla felt herself being pulled around him. Numb from fear and shock, she let her rescuer move her until she stood behind him. Or was he actually her new captor?
“You okay?” he asked. Kayla nodded, too stunned to think that he couldn’t see her. “Lady?”
She forced the word out with great difficulty. “Y… yes.”
“Good. Okay, buster. Kick that blade away from us.” The larger man did as he was told before the other one spoke again. “Do you see where it went, lady?”
“Yes,” she answered nervously.
“Go get it. And don’t get any ideas about using it against me. I won’t hesitate to turn you back over to this gorilla.”
Kayla hurried over to the knife. As she reached down for it, she saw some red on the blade. She stopped instantly and put her left hand to her throat. When she pulled it away, she stared down at the blood on her fingers.
“Hurry up,” he demanded. “We don’t have all day.”
Even as she picked up the knife, she heard a muffled crack then a heavy thud. Afraid of what she would see, she rose and turned around slowly. The man from the van was standing before her, but all she could see was the gun in his large hand. And it was trained on her!
“Close the switchblade.” With shaking hands, she followed instructions. He took it from her and jammed it into his waistband. “Okay. Over to your van.”
Determination like she’d never known swept over her. If this man thought she was going to cooperate, he was crazy. With her gaze riveted on his pistol, she opened her mouth to deny him. Nothing came out! She tried again. To her amazement, her voice was only slightly louder than a squeaky whisper. “No.”
The man grimaced and shook his head in disgust. Sliding his gun into his shoulder holster, he grabbed her upper arm near the elbow and pulled her toward the van.
While she stumbled along to keep up with his long-legged, fast pace, Kayla stared at his hand. His long, slender fingers were wrapped so securely around her forearm that it would be impossible for her to get free, but he wasn’t hurting her. To her amazement, she found the contradiction curious. How could he be forceful yet gentle at the same time?
Then she saw the man who had captured her lying in a large, crumpled heap. She stopped short when she saw the blood on his head and stared down at him in shock.
“You killed him?” she asked.
“Naw,” he replied as the large man groaned, “just knocked him out. Damn it, he’s coming to, and there’s no way I can take him alone. Let’s get out of here.” His voice took on a harsh tone that Kayla couldn’t deny. “Now get in the van—passenger side.”
Kayla hesitated. She didn’t know this man who had frightened her so badly, but he’d saved her from the man with the knife so he couldn’t be all bad. Then again, he’d also been hiding in her car. Was it because hers was the only unlocked car he could find? Or had he chosen it because it belonged to her? Could she convince him to take her back to her motel and leave her there? Or would he insist that they stay together?
Confused and not knowing what to do, Kayla went with him to the right front door. At the moment, she was probably safer with him than on her own. He opened it for her, and she got in before he slammed it closed.
To her surprise, he didn’t hurry around the van and get in behind the wheel. Curious, she turned in her seat. He was opening the hood of the blue car! Why? She thought he was so anxious to get out of there—and now she was, too. Although, now was the perfect time for her to escape. But did she dare? That tree of a man was still unconscious, but for how long? Besides, Houston didn’t act like he wanted to hurt her, only help her. She may as well go with him until he had her safely away from the area. Then she would escape. She strained to get a better view of what he was doing.
He studied the engine for a moment. Then, with a couple of strong yanks, he tore two thick wires from the car, flung them into the woods and dropped the hood closed.
Dashing to the van, he got in behind the wheel and started it. While Kayla buckled her seat belt, he backed around the car and got back on the road. To Kayla’s amazement, he turned south onto 131. They were going the same direction that they had come.
As badly as she wanted to know where he was taking her, she was afraid to ask. She was afraid to do anything except sit there and stare straight ahead. This man, as attractive as he was, had a gun and a switchblade. That made him dangerous, even if she was reluctant to believe he would harm her after having rescued her.
Beside her, he shifted. Kayla watched him out of the corner of her eye as he pulled the switchblade from his waistband, ordering, “Put this in the glove compartment.”
Bending over, she opened the drawer beneath her seat and dropped the knife into it. She was just about to close it when, to her horror, he pulled out a second pistol.
“This, too,” he said, holding it by the handle. “Two fingers, by the barrel.” She stared at the weapon but didn’t move to accept it. Glancing over at her, he grumbled, “Women! Just take the damned thing. It won’t go off that way.”
Kayla took the pistol as he instructed and gingerly laid it in the drawer under her seat. Closing the compartment with her foot, she returned her gaze to the road. She was in more trouble than she’d thought. If only she knew how to get out of it. If only she’d escaped when she had the chance!
“That was really a stupid thing to do,” he said irritably, “running into the woods like that.”
“Stupid?” she repeated, shooting her startled gaze to his deeply tanned face. She could tell by the set of his jaw that his teeth were tightly clenched, but she refused to let him see how much he intimidated her. And she refused to let him think that she wasn’t angry about the trouble he’d gotten her into. Speaking sternly, she said, “Stupid is you hiding in my car and scaring the life out of me.”
He glanced over at her, obviously startled by her response. Apparently, he had just realized that she had enough spunk to cross horns with him if need be.
Then he jerked his head once, as if to rid himself of his thoughts. For a moment, Kayla almost relented because of his blatant expression, but she stifled the urge. She wasn’t out of danger yet, and she had to keep her wits if she wanted to get out of this alive.
A moment later, he spoke sharply. “In case you didn’t notice, I just saved your life. And what do I get for it? A stinkin’ attitude.”
Kayla stared at him in disbelief. He’d gotten her into this mess by hiding in her car, and he was accusing her of having an attitude? Furious, she declared, “You made it necessary by hiding in my car!”
“I still saved your hide, lady,” he proclaimed, “and all I’m getting in return is a lot of lip. Now shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”
Kayla stiffened in her seat and grasped the armrest. “Well, you’re going to hear it. First you scared me witless; then I got captured by a man the size of a tree who cut my throat. Now I’m stuck with a second captor who’s only marginally more civilized.”
The color drained from his face, almost as though he felt guilty about what had happened. Hopefully, he was angry with himself because he hadn’t been careful enough and she’d gotten hurt. If nothing else, it might teach him a lesson about accosting unsuspecting women and getting them involved in his problems.
A moment later, her suspicion was confirmed when Jake questioned her numbly. “You were cut? Is it bad?”
She studied him, uncertain how to react to his sudden change of attitude. Even though he wore that dark green windbreaker, she could see that he was very well built. And those faded blue jeans! They hugged his thick thighs so tightly that she was surprised the seams didn’t split.
She quashed the fantasy of those legs bared. How many men had she known who claimed to be legmen? Plenty. But she was the only woman she knew who preferred to see a pair of great legs on a man over any other part of his body.
With a groan, she turned her gaze out the passenger window. She had to get her mind off his physique and back onto trying to understand why she was there.
When she didn’t answer, he glanced over at her. He didn’t see any wound but that didn’t mean she didn’t have one. Still, he didn’t want to show her his concern, so he spoke irritably, “Well, answer me. Is it bad or not?”
“If it were, you stupid jerk,” she proclaimed as she dug some Kleenex from her purse, “I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you. What do you want with me, anyway?”
Jake stifled a grin. What had he gotten himself into? He’d just rescued her from a murderer, and she was giving him more back talk than any woman he’d ever known. Oddly enough, he liked her temper. It showed the kind of stamina she had, stamina that she might very well need before this was over.
“What do I want with you?” he repeated. “Your name for starters.”
“You just kidnapped me—at gunpoint, no less,” she countered, “and you expect me to tell you my name? You’re not only a jerk, you’re a moron. I wouldn’t tell you that if my life …”
“Get this through your head right now, woman!” he shouted. “I didn’t kidnap you; I rescued you from a man with a sharp knife at your throat. And, yes, your life just might depend on it.” When she gasped in horror at the truthfulness of his words, he laughed sardonically. “That’s right. Now what’s your name?”
Glancing over at her, he stifled a smile. Obviously, the fight was gone from her again. It was also obvious from her expression that she refused to let him know it. With a deep breath, she dabbed at her throat and replied, “Kayla Witherspoon.”
“Yeah, right,” he said sarcastically, “and I’m Robert Redford.”
“If you’d already decided not to believe me, why did you even bother to ask?”
“Why did you pick such a ludicrous name? The least you could have done was pick one that was real.”
“It is real, and it’s mine.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of such a name.”
“Tell it to my parents,” she shot back. “They named me.”
Jake glanced over at her again then returned his eyes to the gravel road. More than anything else, he wished he could decide if he could trust her. Even if he didn’t, though, he could at least be nice to her—just in case she was telling the truth.
When he replied, he forced a calmer tone into his voice. “You’re good, you know it? You almost have me believing you.”
“That’s because I’m telling the truth. My name is Kayla Witherspoon.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll call you Kayla for now. I’m Jake Houston.”
Kayla didn’t know what to make of this situation. He’d kidnapped her—or rescued her—or maybe even kidnapped her from a kidnapper. Whichever it was, she knew she wouldn’t be safe until she could escape from him. She needed to be very careful and keep her guard up until she could think of a way to accomplish that. In the meantime, she would treat him the same way he was treating her.
“At least, you picked a real name,” she returned sarcastically. But in her mind, she added, A real manly name that fits you perfectly.
Kayla sighed and laid her head against the seat. Why couldn’t she get his attractiveness out of her mind? Was it because what she’d heard was true? Danger heightened sexual arousal. At the moment, she could think of no other reason, because she certainly didn’t intend to consider him anything other than a kidnapper.
With Kayla facing the passenger window, Jake took a moment to examine her. She had a nice figure under the pink, long-sleeved Oxford shirt and white jeans. They used to be pink and white, anyway. Now they were covered with dirt and a few green stains.
She rolled her head so she was facing the windshield, and he looked back at the road. This woman who insisted she was Kayla looked an awful lot like Kimberly Baldwin. They both had the same small nose and almond-shaped, almost cat-like eyes—the same oval, slightly short facial structure. If only he’d gotten a better look at Kimberly in that bar. Then maybe he could be sure.
He stole another glance at the woman. Except for the bangs that came to the middle of her gently arched eyebrows, her brunette hair was very short, neatly trimmed in a pixie cut. The style was cute on her, even cuter than the shoulder-length style.
Absently, he glanced in the rearview mirror and ran the fingers of one hand through his wavy locks. Seeing her short style reminded him that he needed a haircut. It must have been two months since he’d had one, and it was really shaggy now. Even after his usual cut, though, his hair would still be longer than hers.
Another thought burst to the front of his mind. Both women’s names began with K. That was too much of a coincidence for his liking. Apparently, the best way to handle his confusion was to assume she was Kimberly unless Slater and The Gorilla caught up with them. If that happened again, he would assume that she was Kayla, an innocent bystander he’d dragged into the middle of danger. But even while he was assuming that she was Kim, he would have to make her think that he believed her. That way he would be protecting them both.
Kayla sighed again. This was crazy. She was sitting passively in her car while an armed man she didn’t know took her only God knew where. She shouldn’t be sitting here letting him do it; she should be trying to get away. Maybe if she befriended him, he would let down his guard long enough for her to escape.
“Won’t you please tell me where you’re taking me?” she asked as casually as she could.
He shot her a suspicious glance then returned his gaze to the road. “Back to Lander.”
“Lander?” she repeated, stunned. “Don’t you know you’re going to wrong way?”
“Of course, I do. I’m not an idiot.”
Kayla stifled her anger at his sarcasm. “Then why are you going this way?”
Jake shook his head. “Because I want to take you straight back.”
This guy’s a nutcase, Kayla thought. But aloud she asked, “Then why not do it?”
“Slater and his gorilla aren’t going to be out forever. When they come to and find out that I ripped the spark plug wires out of their car, they’ll be furious. The first place they’ll look for us is back in Lander.”
“You know them?” she asked in amazement.
Jake glanced at her suspiciously again. Realizing what he was thinking, she maintained her surprised expression. If nothing else, maybe she could get him to at least believe her.
“I assume you’d rather not talk about it,” she said congenially when he didn’t answer. “Okay, I’ll let you get away with it—for now.”
“How kind of you,” he snapped.
“You’re not even going to try to be friendly, are you.”
“Don’t see much sense in it under the circumstances.”
Again Kayla fell silent. Striking up a friendship wasn’t going to work.
She gazed over at him. Both of his large hands were on the wheel in a stiff 10-and-2 position. All of the men she knew drove in a more casual one-handed position. Jake’s broad shoulders were thrust back, and he sat ramrod straight on the seat. That was the body language of a very tense man, and she needed to be extremely careful until she escaped—or relaxed him.
Yeah, she could do that. She could massage those shoulders, work his obviously muscular body with caressing fingers and hands. Then she could seduce him and escape while he slept.
Jake glanced over at her then, stunned by her expression, took a second, longer gaze. The heated look in her green eyes, the soft smile playing on her lush lips, showed what was on her mind.
As he rounded another curve, he wondered if he should see how far he could get. He wouldn’t mind a little pleasure with his business at all. Kayla was really quite cute, no raving beauty but very pretty.
What was he thinking? He never went to bed with a woman unless he was sure it would be a long-term relationship. In all of his thirty-five years, he’d only known four women intimately. But something had gone wrong in every relationship, and he’d never married. When three hadn’t been a charm, he’d vowed to try one more time. After the fourth failure, he’d promised himself that he would never let a woman near him again. Oh, he dated, but never long enough to establish anything permanent. He’d been hurt once too often.
Glancing over at Kayla, he noticed that she’d stopped looking at him and again peered out the passenger window. Thank God, he couldn’t see her face. One more look at that sensual expression might have been his emotional undoing.
Actually, it was better that he didn’t try a one-night stand. If this woman was Kimberly, she would probably go to jail, anyway. And if she wasn’t Kimberly, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him when all this was over.
“If they find the parts you took off their car,” Kayla asked, startling him, “will it take them long to fix it?”
“Probably not,” he replied.
“Then shouldn’t we go straight back to Lander where the cops are?”
“That’s exactly what they’ll expect us to do. We’re going to circle around and go down to Rawlins. We’ll get some dinner there then we’ll go back up to Lander. That should put us into town around dark if we eat slowly. They’ll be expecting us to go to the grocery store where my car is.”
Kayla sighed. “Why do I have a feeling we won’t be doing that?”
Even though he wanted to chuckle at her sarcasm, he couldn’t show that he enjoyed her fluctuating moods, so he forced a disinterested tone to his voice. “You’re finally catching on. We won’t be doing that. We’ll be going to your motel instead.”
She visibly tensed, tightening her hold on the armrest and straightening in her seat. He shouldn’t have said anything about knowing that she was in a motel. From her expression, she realized that he’d been watching her. Still, she didn’t respond to his admission.
“Assuming that you really are Kayla Witherspoon,” he explained when she didn’t complain, “we’re in danger together now. But I’ll tell you something straight. I don’t believe you, and I have every intention of cracking your cover.” Damn! He’d wanted to keep his suspicions to himself and had failed. Now that he’d mentioned it, he may as well make everything clear to her. Although, that was probably good. Now he could cover himself in case she had the notion to get away. “You’re officially under citizen’s arrest, ma’am. I’m going to put you away for as long as I can.”
Kayla gasped in horror. Citizen’s arrest? she thought frantically. Put me away? Why? What had the woman he’d mistaken her for done to deserve such cold-hearted revenge?
Whatever it was, she refused to be prosecuted for it. Citizen’s arrest or not, she was going to escape the first stop they made.