Safe by His Side

He knew the hot water wouldn’t hold out much longer, so he stripped off his own shirt, pulled her against him and turned her back to the hot spray. She sucked in a sharp breath and clung to him helplessly. He bit the inside of his jaw to stifle the groan that rose in his throat at the feel of her firm breasts pressed into his chest.

Damn, this woman was going to kill him and she didn’t even have a weapon.

They stood in the steamy shower until the water began to cool and her shivers had subsided. Raine held her steady with one arm while he turned off the water. He guided her out and helped her dry. He focused intently on the job rather than the peach-colored skin flushed from the hot shower.

He used another towel to squeeze her long, thick hair dry. Neither spoke during the drying process. Raine refused to acknowledge how good her made-for-loving body looked. Curvy and firm, yet soft. Tall, but not too tall, with long, shapely legs. Chestnut-brown hair and dark chocolate eyes—eyes that would surely darken even more with passion.

When her hair was as dry as it was going to get without a blow-dryer, Raine wrapped a clean towel around her and tucked the corner beneath her arm. He quickly dried his chest and arms and tossed his towel to the floor, then swiped his wet feet.

She gazed up at him with those dark, shimmering eyes, a ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I feel much warmer now.”

Before he could respond, her knees buckled and Raine barely caught her before she hit the floor. He drew her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. After depositing her on the bed, he rummaged through the chest of drawers until he came up with a bulky sweatshirt. It would fit more like a dress on her, but it would have to do. Besides, he decided, beggars couldn’t be choosers. He looked at his unwelcome visitor as he retraced his steps to the bed. At the moment she didn’t look as if she cared about much one way or another.

“Hold up your arms,” he ordered. She obeyed and Raine immediately regretted his command. With her arms extended above her head, the towel fell away from her upper body, giving him another good look at her perfect breasts.

Raine shoved the sweatshirt sleeves onto her arms and then pushed the neck opening over her head with a bit more force than was necessary. She winced as the material slid down her face.

“Dammit,” he muttered. He’d hurt her, and all because he couldn’t prevent his body’s reaction to hers. Raine stepped to the side of the bed and drew back the covers. When he had readjusted the irritating bulge in his wet pants, he walked back to the foot of the bed and lifted the woman into his arms. She pressed her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes. He frowned when his heart skipped a beat or two at the feel of her soft cheek against his skin. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t usually get so worked up over a blasted female.

Raine placed her in the middle of the bed and covered her with every blanket and quilt he could find. He stalked into the great room, fingered the thermostat to a higher setting, then placed several logs on the fire. He stoked the blaze until he was satisfied that it wouldn’t go out for a while. Then he trudged back to the bedroom and adjusted the blinds to let in the warm glow from the sun that had finally broken through the thick clouds hanging in the sky. The rain had stopped.

The newscast had said that the temperature would reach a pleasant forty degrees today, if the clouds cleared. Raine blew out a disgusted breath and turned back to the bed.

There was no telling how far his mystery guest had walked before she had stumbled upon his place. Raine had picked this particular cabin because of its seclusion. With the high volume of tourists floating in and out of Gatlinburg, his was just another face in the crowd on the rare occasions that he went into town. The last thing he had expected way out here was company.

As soon as he was sure the woman was out for the count, he’d put on dry clothes and take a ride to check out her vehicle. There would likely be some form of identification in her car. He wanted to verify her accident story as well, for his own peace of mind. She certainly seemed harmless enough, but Raine hadn’t survived this long by letting his guard down—even for a beautiful woman in distress.

If she had merely had an accident and showed up at his door for help, she had nothing to worry about. He’d keep an eye on her and rouse her every couple of hours just to be safe. When she awoke, he would drive her into town and drop her off at the emergency room. He had enough medical training to know she would probably be fine, but medical attention wouldn’t hurt.

If anything at all appeared suspicious about her ID or the means by which she had arrived at his door, she wouldn’t need medical attention—she’d need an undertaker.

HER EYES OPENED and she blinked to focus. She stared at the white ceiling for a long time before it occurred to her to try to move. Her head ached and felt oddly heavy. She licked her lips. Her mouth was as dry as sandpaper and she could hardly swallow.

On her left, sunlight poured into the room from a large window, spreading its golden glow across deep green carpet. The bright light hurt her eyes, but at the same time felt good against her face. She was tired and it was quiet. Maybe she should just go back to sleep, she thought, her eyes closing of their own accord.

“How’s your head?”

She snapped her eyes open and jerked her attention to the right, toward the deep male voice. Every aching muscle in her body tensed, and her head screamed in protest of the sudden move.

He sat in a chair a few feet away, watching her. She blinked and then frowned. Did she know this man? He looked vaguely familiar. She inspected his features more closely. Blond hair, light blue eyes. His face was lean and angular, exceptionally handsome. He seemed tall, but it was hard to tell with him sitting down. Still, she couldn’t put a name with his face. What had he asked her? Her head…yes…how was her head?

“It…” She cleared her rusty voice and tried again. “It hurts.”

“My guess is that you have a concussion. You probably need to see a doctor. I’ll take you into town to the hospital.”

He didn’t sound as if he relished the idea. She wondered if this man had some reason to dislike her. She pushed up into a sitting position and the room spun wildly for a sickening moment. Her stomach roiled. She groaned and rested her head in her hands.

“Where am I?” she asked in a thready whisper.

“Don’t you know?”

She thought about that for a while, but no matter how hard she tried to form an answer she couldn’t. She had no idea where she was. She shook her head and immediately regretted it.

“Your license says Virginia. Is that where you’re from?”

Virginia? Was she from Virginia? She should know where she was from. If her license said so, then she must be. “Yes,” she finally told him for lack of a better answer.

He didn’t speak again for a while, but his intense gaze never left her. His close scrutiny made her uneasy. “Who are you?” she ventured hesitantly.

“What’s your name?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“What?” That was a ridiculous question. He’d seen her license, he should know her name without asking. She scanned the room once more. Besides, why would she be in a strange man’s bedroom? He must know who she was. He had to be playing a joke of some sort. Well, she didn’t want to play. Her head ached.

“Tell me your name,” he repeated sternly.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came. She frowned and snapped it closed. Her name…what was her name? She had to know her own name. Panic slid through her veins.

Everyone knows their name.

She threw the covers back and stood too quickly, only to plop back onto the bed. As soon as the dizziness had passed, she stood again, a bit more slowly this time. “I have to go,” she announced as calmly as she could. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. She had to get out of here. Away from this man. Away from his questions.

“Your name is Denise.”

She silently tested the name as she took another step toward the door. Denise. It didn’t ring a bell, but if that’s what her license said… “Yes, that’s it.”

He snagged her arm and pulled her around to face him. He shook his head and swore, an ugly four-letter word. “Then why does your driver’s license say Kate?”

How had he moved up behind her so quickly, so quietly? Why was he holding her arm so tight? “I…I don’t know,” she stammered, her voice faltered as fear mushroomed inside her.

He pulled something from his pocket and placed it in her hand. A driver’s license. “That’s you.” He pointed to the picture. “Kate Roberts.”

She stared at the picture, concentrating. Was that her? She suddenly realized that she didn’t know what she looked like. Hysteria bubbled up in her throat. How could she not know what she looked like? She jerked free of his grasp and half ran, half stumbled to the dresser. She peered at her reflection in the mirror.

Terror gripped her. She didn’t recognize the face staring back at her. She moistened her lips and swallowed tightly. She looked at the reflection again, mentally inventorying the details. Dark hair and eyes, pale skin. She looked at the picture on the driver’s license once more. It was the same face. Kate Roberts, she read. Kate. That sounded right.

“Your clothes should be dry by now. When you’re dressed, I’ll take you to the hospital.” He started toward the door.

“Wait,” she called after him. When he faced her, she asked, “Why don’t I know my name? Is there something wrong with me?” The panic tightened like a steel band around her chest now. She braced her left hand against the dresser for support. The license dropped from her slack hold as her right hand fluttered to her throat where her breath had caught.

He hesitated, seeming uncertain of how to answer. “You were in a car accident. It looks as if you hit a deer. I think maybe you bumped your head pretty hard.” He shrugged. “They’ll be able to help you at the hospital.”

She released the breath she’d been holding as she watched him disappear. She turned all the way around in the large bedroom then. Absolutely nothing looked familiar. She noticed the bathroom door open and walked slowly in that direction. At least she knew she had to relieve herself, that was something.

After she’d taken care of necessary business, she picked up a comb from the vanity and fought with the tangles in her hair. She stared at her reflection. “Kate,” she whispered. She looked like a Kate—didn’t she?

When she was satisfied with the state of her hair, Kate walked sluggishly back into the bedroom. She found that if she didn’t move too quickly, the dizziness didn’t overwhelm her. The man stood quietly waiting for her. He’d piled jeans, panties, T-shirt, socks, shoes and a wrinkled blouse on the bed.

“The sooner you’re dressed the sooner you’ll get the medical attention you need.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. Kate moved to the bed and inspected the stack of clothing. Were these the kind of things she liked to wear? She had no idea.

Kate heard the door close and she looked around to find herself alone. She pulled off the huge sweatshirt and tossed it on the bed. After donning the panties, socks and jeans, she pulled on the T-shirt. Kate reached for the wrinkled blouse, but thought better of it. She’d just keep the warm sweatshirt. She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged on the high-top boots.

Kate picked up the driver’s license and tucked it into the pocket of her stiff jeans. She looked at herself again in the mirror and summoned her courage. A doctor would know why she couldn’t remember who she was. Everything would be fine just as soon as she got to the hospital.

Kate firmed her resolve and went in search of the man who had promised to take her to help. She found him in the great room warming by the fire. He’d already pulled on his coat. He stepped to the sofa and picked up a parka and a small purse. “These were in your car.”

Kate accepted the items and draped the long, narrow strap of the purse over her shoulder, then pulled on the tan-colored coat. The sweatshirt hit the tops of her thighs, the coat only came to her waist. What a fashion statement, Kate mused. But at the moment, she truly didn’t care. Remembering the license, she stored it in the purse.

“Do you know what these are?” he asked, holding out what appeared to be an unlabeled prescription bottle for her inspection.

Kate took the bottle and twisted off the cap. She peered at the small blue pills it contained, then shrugged as she recapped it. “Are they mine?” She met his watchful gaze. Why did he look at her like that?

“They were in your purse, so I would assume they belong to you.” He plucked the bottle from her hand and jammed it into his coat pocket. “There was a duffel bag in the trunk, I’ve already put it in my Jeep. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” she told him, somehow as anxious to be away from him as he appeared to want to relieve himself of her. Though she didn’t quite feel threatened, something about him made her uneasy.

Katherine followed the man out into the cold sunshine. It looked to be late afternoon. The sun hovered just above the tops of the evergreen trees surrounding the cabin and the small clearing. A gravel driveway veered down the slope and off into the woods. Did she know this place? Had she been here before? With him? Her gaze darted to the handsome stranger who appeared to be her reluctant savior.

He reached to open the door of his Jeep, but hesitated. He cocked his head and listened, his gaze narrowed. “Damn,” he muttered and quickly shoved her against the closed door.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, frowning at the throb in her head generated by his sudden move. Then she heard it too. The distinct sound of gravel crunching beneath tires.

He spouted another curse and then turned to her, his gaze fierce. “Listen to me, Kate,” he said harshly. “If that’s who I think it is, we’re in deep sh—”

“I don’t understand,” she broke in, fear snaking around her chest and squeezing like a boa constrictor.

“Listen,” he growled, giving her a little shake. “They won’t hesitate to kill both of us, do you understand that?”

Kate nodded, ignoring the intense ache it caused. She couldn’t breathe…she couldn’t think. Kill them both? What was he talking about? Why would anyone want to kill her?

Call in…

The phrase flitted through her mind. What did it mean? Oh, God. What was happening? Her panic was complete now, fueled by her inability to comprehend the situation. She shuddered against it. Closed her eyes to make it go away.

His hands were under her sweatshirt, probing the waistband of her jeans. Kate snapped her eyes open. “What are you doing?” she cried, tears burning behind her lids.

“Kate, you’re our only chance at surviving this little party.” He captured her gaze with his, and the sheer determination there forced her to pay attention. “This—” he shoved something hard and cold that she somehow recognized immediately as a gun into her waistband. She instinctively recoiled, but he caught her by the waist and held her still “—is our only chance.” His cold blue gaze pierced hers. The feel of his roughened palm against her bare skin felt strangely soothing. “Just listen to me, and when the time comes, do what I tell you—don’t hesitate—just do it no matter what it is. Can you do that?”

Before Kate could respond, a car skidded to a halt right beside them. Two men jumped out of the black sedan, big, ugly guns in hand.

Oh, God. They were going to die. And Kate didn’t even know why. How had she gotten in the middle of all this? She lifted her gaze to the man standing beside her. What had this man done to deserve to be hunted down like this? Wary and uncertain as to how to react, she aimed her attention at the two men stalking purposely toward them.

“Well, well, Danny, looks as if we’ve found our man,” the larger of the two men said with a sneer. He waved his gun and added tauntingly, “And it looks as if he’s got the little woman with him, too.”

The man beside her shifted his body closer to hers. “She’s just a lay I picked up in town last night.”

Instinctively, Kate started to refute his words, but before she could speak, the goon with the gun moved closer.

Vinny grabbed her purse from beneath her jacket and looked inside, fishing out her license. “She looks a little worse for wear.” He winked at Kate and shoved license and purse back at her. “What’d you do, Rick, ride her all night?”

Rick… His name was Rick. Kate looked at the man standing next to her and tested the name. She frowned. He didn’t really look like a Rick. But what did she know?

“Maybe she’s still got a little fun left in her.” The goon moved closer, snagging Kate’s chin in his beefy hand.

Kate gasped. Rick pushed between them. “Don’t touch her,” he warned in a voice so deadly it sent shivers skipping down her spine.

“You ain’t in no position to be giving orders, Ricky boy. Pat him down, Danny,” he directed the other goon.

Rick stood stone-still while the man named Danny frisked him. The whole scene took on a surreal quality. It suddenly occurred to Kate that this was just like in the movies. Two big guys in black suits arrived in a black sedan carrying scary black guns and…she was going to die.

The urge to vomit burned at the back of her throat. Kate fought the impulse. She felt certain that such a move would not endear her to these men. If they thought she was sick they might just shoot her on the spot.

“That’s it, Vinny,” Danny announced as he handed the other man a gun that looked very much like the one they both carried.

Rick had been carrying that gun. Kate suddenly recalled that she, too, carried a gun. Did it look like that? She tried not to breathe too deeply now, remembering the cold steel object tucked into her jeans. Her head throbbed insistently.

“How the mighty hath fallen,” Vinny sneered, the words filled with sheer hatred. He stepped closer, until he was toe to toe with Rick. Vinny stood there for a long moment and stared before he spat in Rick’s face.

“You don’t deserve to live another minute. If I didn’t have strict orders to take you to Dillon, I’d kill you myself, right now.” Vinny’s mouth twisted in anger. “But the old man, he wants you to look him in the eye and tell him what you did. Otherwise I would do you right here.”

Rick rubbed his hand over his face to rid himself of the man’s spittle, then cocked his blond head. “What’s stopping you, Vinny? I won’t tell if you don’t,” he said in a patronizing tone.

“Shut up, you piece of crap,” Vinny bellowed as he shoved the tip of his gun barrel under Rick’s chin. “I might forget orders for once.”

Kate’s heart almost shuddered to a stop then, but Rick only laughed derisively. “Don’t kid yourself, Vinny, you’re a made guy all the way down to your Gucci loafers. You don’t take a piss without orders.”

“Get in the frigging car.” Vinny shoved Rick in the direction of the sedan.

Rick pulled Kate close to his side. She didn’t have time to decide if being near him was a relief or not. Gun barrels stuck in their backs, Kate and Rick were ushered forward.

“You, up front,” Vinny said, and propelled Kate toward Danny.

Danny half dragged her to the passenger side of the car and pushed her inside. Kate glanced at Rick in the back seat. She wondered if he had a plan. She hoped he had a plan. Was the gun in her waistband part of that plan?

Once Danny slid behind the wheel, they headed down the sloping driveway. Kate took one last look around her in hopes of remembering something, anything, but nothing came.

She studied the driver. He appeared young and almost innocent upon first inspection, early twenties maybe, but he looked as mean as a junkyard dog on closer examination. She listened to the heated conversation between the two men in back. Rick—the name still felt strange—goaded the other man unnecessarily, in Kate’s opinion. It looked as if he intended to get them both killed long before they reached a destination.

“How does it feel to know you slept with a killer?”

Kate jerked her head up and stared at the driver, Danny, who’d directed the question at her. “What?”

“Didn’t he tell you?” he quizzed with a widening grin. “Rick’s a cold-blooded killer. There’s no telling how many men he’s killed. Hundreds, I’d guess.”

Kate moved her head slowly from side to side in denial of his words. Why was he telling her this? She didn’t want to hear it.

“Well, it’s true.” He shot her a sidelong smirk. “But he’s going to pay now.”

Could she possibly believe anything this man told her? Who were these people? She closed her eyes. Maybe he was only taunting her, trying to scare her. He didn’t need to do that, she was already scared to death. God, her head hurt.

Call in…

The words skittered across her mind again. What did they mean? Call who?

“Too bad you had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, baby,” Vinny said as he kicked the back of Kate’s seat.

“Kate’s a lifesaver,” Rick remarked wryly. “She gave me a second chance.”

“A second chance at coming, maybe,” Vinny scoffed.

“Kate?”

Kate tensed at the sound of Rick’s voice when he said her name. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was about to happen.

“Remember what I told you, Kate. You’re my only chance,” Rick said slowly. “Our only chance.”

“Shut your frigging mouth,” Vinny commanded. Kate heard the grunt that followed a hollow thud, knowing that Rick had just been whacked across the abdomen by the goon in the back seat.

Kate’s head swam. What was she supposed to do? How could she save them? She could feel the cold steel jabbing into her pelvis. What did he want her to do?

And suddenly she knew.

Slowly, while keeping a close watch on the driver, she eased her right hand across her thigh and under her sweatshirt. With a swiftness that shocked even her, she drew the gun and expertly pointed it at the driver’s head. She even held it with both hands just as she’d seen in the movies.

“Stop the car,” she commanded in a voice she hardly recognized.

“What the hell?” Danny shouted, almost losing control of the speeding car.

“Give me that gun, bitch, or I’ll blow your man’s head off!” Vinny barked.

“Squeeze the trigger, Kate,” Rick ordered coolly.

Kate looked from Rick to the man driving the car. Was he insane? She couldn’t do that? How could she do that?

“Gimme the gun!” Vinny roared, pressing the barrel of his own gun hard into Rick’s temple.

Kate’s eyes darted back and forth between the men. What was she supposed to do? Everyone was yelling at once. Danny shot her quick, nervous glances, his knuckles white as he clutched the wheel. Vinny screamed vulgarities alternately at her and Rick. The car careened faster and faster down the winding mountain road, yet the events inside the vehicle seemed to lapse into slow motion.

“Squeeze the damn trigger, Kate! Now!”

The car suddenly swerved, Kate squeezed, the gun fired and all hell broke loose. She could hear the muffled curses and grunts of pain as Rick and Vinny wrestled for control of the gun. Danny struggled with the steering wheel, trying to pull the car out of its tailspin. A slim shaft of sunlight poured in through the small hole the bullet had made in the car’s roof. Kate peered at the perfect circle in total amazement and then at the man fighting the inertia pulling the car round and round.

As if she had done this sort of thing all her life, Kate pressed the barrel of the gun to the driver’s perspiring temple and said, “Stop the damn car or I’ll blow your head off.”

When the car skidded to a sideways stop in the middle of the road, Danny immediately stuck his hands up in the air. Just like in the movies, Kate thought again, a faint smile tugging at her trembling lips.