Gift of Fire

think. Wool sweater.”
    “Dammit! Are you okay?”
    “I’m okay.” She was shaking but she was all right. “He’s getting away, whoever he is, Jonas.” She wrenched free of him and hurried to the window. When she peered out into the darkness at the street below she saw no sign of anyone.
    “He’s probably long gone, but I’ll take a look.” Jonas raced back to the bedroom and reappeared a moment later in his jeans and boots. He started down the stairs, taking them in twos and threes, and nearly collided with the manager and his wife.
    “What’s going on up here?” the wife demanded anxiously. “So much noise. Is everything all right?”
    “No, everything is not all right,” Jonas shot back as he bounded past them. “Some joker just tried to grab my wife. I’m going to see if I can find him. Call the cops.”
    The woman stared in confusion at Verity as her husband switched on the stairwell lights. “I beg your pardon, my dear. Didn’t realize you were married.”
    “A slight misunderstanding,” Verity murmured, not bothering to explain who had misunderstood whom.
     
    “This,” said Verity in an aggrieved tone an hour later, “reminds me of what happened the other night back in Sequence Springs. At least I was armed this time.” She hoisted the cane triumphantly. “And I didn’t sprain my ankle this time, either. For these small mercies, I am grateful. Boy, do I hate places where the bathroom is down the hall. You can have cute and quaint anytime. I’ll take luxury and convenience.”
    “I just wish to hell I could have gotten my hands on that creep.” Jonas was prowling the small room, pacing up and down in front of the window as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had not found the assailant in the wool sweater. Whoever it was had vanished into the cold, wet night.
    The police had been polite and efficient. They assured Verity and Jonas that they would check passengers on the ferries and keep their eyes open as they patrolled the island. They stood a good chance of finding the culprit, they said. It was a small community with limited access. Unless the guy had his own boat, he would have to use the ferry. Of course, there was always the possibility that the assailant was local. The police reluctantly admitted that there had been a similar situation just last month. A tourist had been raped at a resort on the other side of the island, and the man had not been caught.
    “So you’ve got some guy running around this place who likes to hunt lady tourists?” Jonas had challenged angrily.
    “I didn’t say that, sir,” the officer had replied very politely. “I just said there was an incident last month at a resort. It’s possible the two incidents are related. That’s all I’m saying at the moment. We’ll look into it.”
    “You do that,” Jonas had growled, with a menacing look. Verity knew he was furious with himself for not having caught the assailant.
    “I should never have let you go down the hall by yourself,” Jonas said now. “I should have walked you to the bathroom.
    “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jonas. There was no reason on earth to think I was in any danger just going down the hall. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    “That’s twice in a matter of days that you’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Jonas glared at her. “How come you’re so damn unlucky lately?”
    Verity unconsciously patted her still-flat stomach. “Good question.”
    Jonas was across the room in two strides. He grabbed Verity’s wrists as he crouched in front of her chair. “For Christ’s sake, Verity, I wasn’t talking about the baby.”
    She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Neither was I.” And she hadn’t been. Belatedly she realized what her protective little pat had implied.
    “Honey, I know it must have been a shock to discover you were pregnant, but it’s going to work out. You’ll see. We’re both adaptable. We can handle it.”
    “One of us doesn’t have much choice but to handle it,” she observed dryly.
    “We’ll both handle it.” His voice was flat, his words unequivocal. “Verity, we’re in this together, you and me. And don’t forget it.”
    She touched the side of his hard jaw and thought about the fact that he was the father of her child. She remembered how certain she had been of what she was doing that first time she had gone to bed with him.
    Intellectually she had known back then