LITMIR.BIZ

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not that, then why are you so afraid of being seen? And why did you practically beg me to hide your car while it’s in the garage?”

      “I did no such thing.”

      His grin was lopsided and his eyes bored into hers as if he was positive he was right and was gloating about it.

      “Don’t look so smug,” she added. “You don’t know anything about me.”

      “No, I don’t. But I’d like to. If I’m going to stash your car for you, don’t you think you owe me an explanation for why it needs to be kept out of sight?”

      “Absolutely not.”

      Seth’s eyebrows arched. “Okay. But if I had some idea of why you were in such a hurry to leave town, I might be more inclined to hurry the repairs.”

      “Are you threatening me?”

      With a nonchalant shake of his head he shrugged off her question. “Not in the least. I already told you it might take a few days to get the parts. Remember?”

      “Yes, but now that I think about it, you didn’t say you’d install them right away. Promise me you will.”

      “Why?”

      “Because I’m asking you to. And because there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is there?”

      “Of course not. We at Serenity Repair are always prompt and efficient. You can ask anybody.”

      “I’d rather ask you. Will you do the work in a timely manner, or are you going to stall?”

      “Now, why would I do that?” he asked, sobering and staring back at her as if he had suddenly discovered she had three heads or something equally as bizarre.

      Marie’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “I can see no reason why you should,” she answered. “I’m not looking for romance or a meal ticket, so if you’re trying to court me, you can forget it.”

      When he chuckled, she was taken aback.

      “Court you? Lady, that’s the last thing on my mind.”

      “Then why take us out to eat? And why all the questions?”

      “Maybe I’m just trying to be friendly.”

      She huffed in self-derision. “In that case, I apologize for misjudging you. I’m not used to men paying me this much attention for no reason. Just so you understand, a pizza and a little repair work on my car won’t get you anywhere with me.”

      Seth laughed again, this time more loudly and with evident glee.

      “I hardly think it’s that funny,” Marie insisted, scowling across the table at him.

      He managed to get control of his high humor and reduce his laughter to a wide grin before he said, “Forgive me. If you knew what I’ve been thinking you’d probably be laughing, too.”

      “Are you going to tell me?”

      “Nope,” Seth said, still smiling. “You’ll just have to trust me the way you want me to trust you. I have no amorous intentions. I promise.”

      She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not, considering the fact that he was practically insisting he didn’t find her attractive.

      Well, that was what she had wanted, wasn’t it? And since she’d had the opportunity to state her views implicitly, there was no way he could misconstrue her reasons for agreeing to let him treat her to supper.

      Still, there was something odd about the man, a hidden part of his psyche she’d only glimpsed in an occasional unguarded instant that came and went in a flash. Whatever that ominous-feeling insight was, it was too brief for her to interpret.

      Seth’s constant probing of her background was nevertheless unsettling. Granted, he might be no more than an interested bystander, yet he asked questions like a professional inquisitor, never missing the opportunity to slip in another query and never taking his eyes off her face when she answered. It was almost as if he knew more than he was letting on.

      Her breath caught. There was no way this man could be in cahoots with the people who were pursuing her, was there? Of course not. He might be nosey, but he wasn’t a dangerous criminal the way those other men were. No one could possibly have known she’d break down in Serenity and end up stopping at that very garage for assistance.

      She shivered as more of the truth settled in her befuddled brain. If someone had sabotaged her car, as Seth surmised, they had known she would have car trouble. It was only by the grace of God, literally, that she had made it as far as Serenity and had managed to find temporary sanctuary.

      Peering at Seth from beneath the brim of her cap, she studied him carefully. There was a hard edge to his personality, an undefined cautiousness, a strength that lay behind those smoky blue eyes no matter how wide his smile was or how casual his conversation might be.

      Was she imagining things because she was so tense? she wondered. Or was the good Lord enabling her to glimpse reality in order to know how best to proceed?

      She had trusted Roy once, and look where that had gotten her. She’d be twice the fool if she placed her future in the hands of a stranger like Seth. Then again, he did seem to care what happened to her, or he wouldn’t have taken it upon himself to keep her car where it couldn’t be seen in passing.

      The fact that he had done that, before she had asked, was the biggest puzzle of all. It was as if he had been on his guard all along.

      That was why she had felt such an immediate affinity for him, she concluded, shocked by the turn her thoughts had taken.

      Her eyes widened and she stared across the table. Of course. It was suddenly all too clear. Seth had empathized with her plight because he, too, was deathly afraid of someone or something.

      FOUR

      Roy’s head was spinning and his whole body throbbed from the beating he’d received. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he thought of Marie and his darling daughter. He must hold out long enough to allow them sufficient time to get away. If he was going to die—and he was pretty sure that he was—he wanted his death to be for a good cause.

      He wished he’d given Marie some of the stolen ransom so she’d have had traveling money. But it was too late now. He would probably never see Patty again. That was his punishment for trying to double-cross his three partners in crime, for hiding the whole ransom and trying to make them believe he’d never collected it. How was he to know they’d had a cohort on the inside who knew the truth? If he had it to do over again…

      Someone yanked his hair to raise his head. Through swollen eyes, Roy peered at Frank, the largest of his captors, while Earl stood back out of the fray, nervously cleaning his thick eyeglasses.

      “You might as well spill it,” Frank said. “Al’s already closing in on your girlfriend and her brat. If you don’t want this same thing to happen to them, you’d better tell us what you and she did with our money.”

      The portent of the beefy man’s words hit Roy in the gut like a sucker punch. It had never occurred to him that his former partners would think he actually had passed the ransom to Marie. His silence had not protected her, as he’d hoped; it had made her a target!

      The only thing to do was confess, he reasoned. Even if they killed him as a result, at least it would call the wolves off his little girl and Marie.

      Through split, bleeding lips he managed to croak, “I—I…”

      His response apparently wasn’t fast or lucid enough to suit his abuser. Frank’s meaty hand smacked him on the temple. His head snapped back and he doubled over. Blackness encroached. Flashes of colored light obscured his already blurry vision.

      Roy stayed conscious long enough to hear Frank begin to laugh while Earl’s squealing voice berated him for being so rough.

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