Night Visions (Night Series) (8 page)

She patted her face dry with a paper towel as rough as sandpaper and took a deep breath. When Ian was around, she had a hard time controlling her emotions. He was like the static balls at the novelty shops in the mall. Electricity shot out of him every time they made contact.

Forcing the thoughts from her mind, she pulled a tube of lip gloss out of her pocket and applied it to her lips. Smoothing her hair, she yanked open the bathroom door and let out a gasp as she came face to face with one of the college guys.

“Oh you scared me!” she exclaimed
, fidgeting nervously with the cord on her sweatshirt.

“I apologize, I just wanted to come over and say hi.” The smile on his face didn't mirror the expression in his eyes. She saw his buddies nudging each other at the table as if they had a bet on whether he could score with her or not.

“Um...hi, now if you'll excuse me, I was just leaving.” She tried to skirt around him, but he extended his arm across the doorway.

“Well
, we were just getting to know each other. You don't want to be rude, do you?” he sneered, his lip curling back.

“Please let me by,” she said firmly, trying to keep her voice from shaking as she pushed past him.

He gripped her arm and wrenched her back into the corner, boxing her in. Her eyes wide with fear she shouted, “Let go, you're hurting me!”

“You heard what she said. Let her go.”

Sam would have slid to the floor in relief if the guy had released her arm. Instead, he tightened his grip, forcing a moan from her throat.

Ian's eyes flared red, a low growl emitting from him. His hand snaked out and wrapped around the young guy's throat
, lifting him off the ground.

Her eyes bulged as she held her throbbing arm, disbelieving what she was seeing. She'd never seen this side of Ian before. She'd never so much as heard him raise his voice in anger. While this side of him scared her, it also sent a surge of heat rushing through her body.

She took a step back, dodging the guy's flailing arms.

A chair toppled in the distance. Sam spun to see one of the college guy's friends coming to his defense. Without thinking
, she stepped in front of him before he could sucker punch Ian. The guy reached out to shove her out of the way.

Sam
swatted his hand aside, lifting her knee until it connected with his groin. As he bent forward she rammed the palm of her hand into his nose, hearing the satisfying crunch of bone breaking. She could hear the drip of blood as it splashed on the floor. Her adrenaline kicked into over drive, her breath came in quick gasps. She turned to see Ian staring at her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

When Ian let go of his guy, the jerk slumped to the floor. Taking her hand, he led her past the table of remaining college guys who wouldn't meet his gaze. Candy stood with a paper bag in her hand, her mouth hanging open. Ian handed her a wad of bills, snatched up the bag and stormed out of the diner with Sam in tow.

CHAPTER 7

Once they were back on the road, Ian looked at Sam with admiration. The fight could have had a totally different outcome. He was in such a rage over the kid putting his hands on Sam that he didn't even hear the other guy approach from behind.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?”
he asked her.

Sam swiveled in her seat so she faced him, tucking her feet underneath her. “Jace taught me. He was worried about his baby sister going off to college by herself
, so he taught me some self-defense moves. That was the first time I ever actually used it.”

A shudder rippled through Sam's body, draining her face of color. Guess the adrenaline had started to wear off. He turned up the heat and reached in the back for his jacket.

“Here, cover up with this.” He still couldn't believe that she brought that guy to his knees. He had to outweigh her by at least a hundred pounds.

Sam slipped his jacket over her shoulders, pulling it tight around her. "I've never been so scared in my life. When I saw the guy coming up behind you, I just reacted."

“Well, it's good to know that you have my back, I wouldn't want to confront you in a dark alley,” he winked. Thank God Jason had the sense to teach Sam how to defend herself. Ian hoped she wouldn't have to use those skills again. But it did relieve him to know she could handle herself if confronted again. Next time he wouldn't let his emotions get in the way.

"Do you think I broke his nose?"

"Looked like it, but that's probably the least of his concerns. I'm sure right now his buddies are giving him hell for getting his ass kicked by a girl." God knows he would be doing the same. Yet, a small part of him had sympathy for the guy. Granted, he deserved it, but after seeing Sam's moves, he wouldn't want to face off with her.

"I still can't believe I did that. Without even thinking." She shifted in her seat, her eyes moving past the steering wheel toward the empty highway. He could tell that she felt bad for hurting the guy. Not just because of the way her brows pinched. The far off look in her eyes spoke of remorse. Still, he didn't doubt for a second that she would do it all over again if faced with a similar situation.

She needed to keep that same determination, especially when he dropped the bomb on her.

He shook the thoughts from his mind, refocusing on the road ahead of them. "Don't worry about that guy. Seriously. He deserved it. Being a celebrity you must deal with guys like that all the time."

"A celebrity?" she snorted. "Not quite. But no, I don't deal with jerks like him. The security at my events is pretty tight."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." He'd read all of her books, the praise she received, definitely well deserved. To watch her evolve through television interviews and magazine articles, while he sat on the sidelines slashed at his heart. How he wished he could have been there to support her during her career. Now all of it may be for nothing.

"Is it wrong that it actually felt good when I hit him? What's weird is that I didn't feel like myself." Sam paused, as if rethinking what she said. "I mean I felt like myself, just different, like I was watching outside of my body."

Ian could feel her eyes on him. He glanced to the side waiting for her to finish.

"Does that make sense?"

He rested his hand on her knee, thankful that her body was no longer chilled. Color had begun to tint her cheeks. "It makes total sense. Whenever we are put in a position to defend ourselves, our primal instincts kick in. Self preservation."

A bead of sweat formed on his forehead. The car felt like a mobile sauna. Finally thawed, Sam tossed his coat in the backseat. Leaning forward, she turned down the thermostat. Her cheek met the headrest as she faced him, her feet still tucked under her. Something weighed on her mind.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his tone turning serious.

Sam unzipped her hoodie, tugging her arm out of the sleeve. A purplish bruise already began to form where the guy squeezed her arm.

A growl rumbled his chest when he saw the mark, his fingertips gently caressing her arm. If he didn't have to worry about the cops, he would have stayed and taught that kid a lesson. To never lay a hand on a woman, especially his wom–especially Sam. What limited restraint Ian had left, kept him from turning the vehicle around and beating them all to a pulp.

* * *

Sam regretted showing Ian the bruise. She wouldn't have shown him had she known it would be there. The moment his eyes swept across it, his jaw flinched. “I had a feeling those guys were up to no good, when I saw their attention focused on the bathrooms.” He finally released the wheel, picking up her hand, before he kissed her knuckles.

Flames licked through her body when his lips pressed to her skin. Her breath hitched. If he didn't stop, she'd let out a moan. God forbid. She wouldn't be able to face him for the rest of the trip.

“I'm sorry
that I didn't get there sooner.” His words vibrated her skin. Until his voice broke. She gazed over in time to see the pain in his eyes.

Then her phone beeped, breaking her trance. She picked it up from the console to see two missed calls and a text message. The call log showed the calls were from Scott. She checked the text.

Worried about you. Left a message at your house. Haven't heard back. Let me know you're ok. Scott.

“Is everything alright?” Ian asked.

“Yeah, I was supposed to have dinner with a friend tonight and I forgot to cancel. He's checking in to make sure I'm okay.”

“He?” Ian growled, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the wheel. If he squeezed any harder he'd snap it in half. “I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend.”

“I don't. He's just a friend." A friend who was probably calling in a missing persons report. She started to punch in Scott's number.

“You can't tell him where we're going,” he warned, his body growing tenser by the second.

Sam looked up from her phone. How dare he bark orders at her.

“What do you mean I can't tell him where I'm going? It's not like I'm in the witness protection program. He's worried about me. What am I supposed to tell him?” Her voice climbed with each word, pissed that he would try to tell her what to do.

“Tell him that you're going away on a much needed vacation and don't want to be disturbed,” he ground out.

“You gave up
your say in what I do six years ago. I don't even know why I'm going with you in the first place. Scott is a good friend and I don't want to lie to him.” The air was so charged it crackled between them. Sam clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to punch him in the nose.

“How do you know that you can trust him? What do you really know about Steve?”

“It's
Scott
and I've known him for years. How do I know that I can trust you? I'm traveling cross-country with you and all I have is a cryptic explanation.” She leaned on the armrest between them, gripping the edge instead of slapping him. “You were like a wild animal when you grabbed that guy in the diner. I've never seen you like that before. How do I know that you wouldn't do the same thing to me if provoked?”

Ian snapped his head toward Sam, hurt written all over his face. “How can you say that? I'm still the same guy that you grew up with. I would never let anything happen to you. I would die first.”

Sam's emotions warred inside of her. She didn't want to lie to Scott, but she also knew that she wasn't going to win this battle with Ian either.

“Fine!” she grumbled. “I'll make up a story, but once we get to Trent's, I will decide how much I want him to know.”

Her fingers tapped against the screen with Ian's explanation, adding that the stress of work and lack of sleep had taken its toll on her. Her apology for standing him up soured her stomach. She hated lying to Scott. His worry for her only fueled her anger at Ian. Focusing her attention on the scenery outside the window, she hoped her lie to Scott wouldn't jeopardize their relationship. He deserved better.

* * *

The gas gauge hovered above empty. Ian lifted his eyes to the rearview mirror, swearing under his breath. He knew this trip would be difficult. That they would face obstacles. But not like this.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

The black Suburban with limo tint windows behind them set his internal alarm on high. He'd tried several different maneuvers to lose the car, but it still tailed them. And soon they'd be running on fumes. A busy truck stop would be their best bet, but how could he convince Sam to stay close without alerting her?

"Nothing. Just running low on gas. Was hoping we'd make it to the hotel without having to stop." If he didn't lose this Suburban, then he would be forced to drive through the night. He couldn't chance an ambush at a hotel.

Ginger's restless pacing in the back fueled his anxiety.

"Something else is wrong. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I know this must not be easy having to chauffer me for Jason."

If she only knew the truth, she wouldn't be apologizing so quickly. Several times he'd caught himself on the verge of revealing everything. Ruining everything. They just needed to make it to Montana.

"No. It's not that. The SUV behind us has been riding my bumper."

Sam turned in her seat, craning her neck to get a better view out the back window.

"Ginger
, sit," she ordered, with a shake of her finger.

This had to be a coincidence. Ian had been careful to cover his tracks. If they were ambushed now without backup, he didn't know if he could protect Sam.

Repositioning herself in the seat, she turned her gaze to the side mirror. "They are following kind of close. Why don't they just pass?"

He'd asked himself the same question for the past ten miles. If only he could tell if there were passengers in the car. He'd debated pulling off onto an access road
and dealing with the problem. Three assailants he could handle. Would actually be fun. More than three would leave Sam vulnerable. Damn!

A dirt road came into view up ahead. Did he take his chances now or drive through the ni
ght? Ginger nudged his shoulder then gave him a lick on the ear.