Silent Run
his head, staring straight ahead now. âThe attraction is gone. Youâre not going to seduce me into forgetting what you did to me, so donât even try. Iâm in charge now. Iâm calling the shots."
âThen why canât you look at me?â she asked. Heâd wanted this moment between them. In fact, heâd demanded it. Yet, now that it was here, he couldnât look her in the eye. Was he afraid of what he might reveal?
âBecause I canât stand the sight of you,â he replied.
Was that the truth? Or was he trying to cover up the fact that his feelings about her were nowhere near as clear as heâd just stated? She sensed that he was far more conflicted than he was willing to let on.
Turning the key, Jake gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking spot with a squeal of tires.
She grabbed onto the armrest to steady herself. âI can see that youâre in complete control,â she said sharply. âWould you slow down?"
âIâm in a hurry to find my daughter. Then the two of us will be done."
They wouldnât be done; theyâd just be beginning. Because there was no way she would let him walk away with Caitlyn without a fight. She knew she had a good reason for taking their child. She just had to remember what it was.
Jake slowed down as they passed through the small downtown area of Los Olivos, where a large banner on Main Street announced an upcoming wine festival. As they left town, heading toward the mountains that would eventually take them to the coast, the landscape grew more rural. They passed vineyards, olive groves, horse farms, and even a few celebrity ranches. The scenery was lush and calm, sunshine bathing the rolling hills in a peaceful light. It was hard to believe that just two nights ago sheâd been running for her life on these very roads. Actually, according to Deputy Manning, sheâd been driving in from the coast, so maybe there was no reason why sheâd recognize the scenery. Sheâd gotten into her accident long before sheâd reached this stretch of road.
As they turned off the main highway onto a much less traveled route, Sarahâs tension began to grow. The road began to climb, winding through the mountains, the area becoming more desolate. The canyons off to the side were dark and deep.
âThe accident scene is just up there,â Jake said, consulting the notes heâd jotted down earlier. âDylan said that coming from this direction thereâs a turnout about a quarter mile after the point where your car went over the side. We can park there."
Sarah didnât bother to reply. Her gaze was focused on the fluttering strip of yellow danger tape that clung to the edges of the smashed guardrail on her side of the road. From what everyone had told her, sheâd been coming from the other direction. Sheâd taken the turn too fast, crossed the highway, and gone over the side, narrowly missing a car coming from the direction she was currently traveling.
Jake slowed down as they drove by the spot where her car had plunged off the side of the cliff. It was a steep descent down to the bottom of the canyon, the hillside filled with rocks, boulders, trees and other brush. He continued down the road until he could pull over at the turnout.
As soon as heâd parked the car, Sarah got out and walked over to the edge of the road where a waist-high rail prohibited her from slipping down the hillside. As she gazed into the canyon, she couldnât help wondering how on earth sheâd survived the accident. She closed her eyes, trying to find some memory of the road, the canyon, the crash, of being trapped in the car.
âSarah.â Jakeâs voice interrupted her thoughts.
âIâm trying to focus,â she complained, keeping her eyes closed.
He didnât reply, but she could hear his breath coming in impatient bursts, disturbing her concentration. She opened her eyes. âYouâre not helping. Youâre too close to me."
âDonât you remember anything?â he asked, his gaze boring into hers.
âJust give me a minute.â She closed her eyes again, trying to at least relive the dream sheâd had just before sheâd woken up in the hospital.
There had been a car in the rearview mirror, the lights drawing nearer. Sheâd pressed her foot down on the gas. She was running somewhere, looking for safety. But the rain was coming down
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