River Wolf (5 page)

Shock rippled through her ending in a laugh. The flush racing to her cheeks buried any chance of professionalism. “Okay, you’ll survive.”

“Yes,” he said, grinning slowly. “I will. You need to laugh more. It’s a beautiful sound.”

“The sooner I get rid of you, the better for me.”

“You wound me.” Sarcasm softened his words. “But I’ll grow on you. Don’t worry.” He resumed eating, his deliberate chewing getting him through the first burger and most of the way through the second by the time she stored the ice in a chest in the well behind her seat and got her food ready to eat. She wasn’t really hungry, but she didn’t like cold burgers and she’d eaten enough.

Once they were on the road again, she sipped her shake and kept an eye on Luc. He polished off four of the five burgers she’d purchased. Damn, the man could eat. With singular attention, he ate all the fries, too. When she held out her burger, her patient frowned. “You should eat.”

“I’m not really that hungry, and you’re starving.” Thankfully, he looked a little better. Maybe the combination of meds and food had done the trick. He didn’t argue any further. When he took the burger and began eating through it with the same relentless focus he’d directed to the rest of his meal, she sipped her strawberry shake and relaxed.

“Thank you,” he said after another hour. She’d thought him asleep, but apparently not.

“You’re welcome.” She nodded to the sign as they passed into New Hampshire. “We’re about halfway, and we have another couple of hours at least. How are you feeling?”

“Better.” He shifted in the seat then stopped with a grimace. “The food helped.”

She rested her hand against her own cheek until she acclimated to her temperature before reaching out to brush his face. His skin still seemed too hot to her. “We should change your ice pack.”

“Don’t take anymore breaks, Colby, not unless you need them.” He reclaimed his water bottle and finished it with a long drink. “The sooner we get there, the better it will be for both of us.”

“Yeah, I think it will be better for you.” Still not planning on staying longer than it took to get him into the care of medical professionals, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. His suffering wore at her. All she wanted was for him to feel better. She didn’t dare speed and risk a ticket, so she remained jammed between a rock and a hard place with several hours on the road in front of them. “When was the last time you were home?”

“Twenty years, maybe?” Luc exhaled the words, he definitely sounded drowsy. Maybe she should leave him alone. “I lost track.”

Twenty years before he couldn’t have been more than a pre-teen, if that. What had he done, run away from home? “Long time.”

“Yeah. It’ll be good to see everyone.” A yawn stretched out the last word. When he said nothing else, she spared him another glance. A light snore reverberated from his chest, and his eyes were completely closed.

Sleep was good.

Keeping the car straight and steady was good, too.

Her heart hammered double time. They needed to go faster.
I’ve done some dumb things in my life…why did I say yes to him?

Ten minutes later, she reached over and touched his wrist. His pulse beat steadily. Keeping two fingers pressed to the pulse point, she kept the rest of her attention on the road. “Don’t die on me, Luc.”

When he didn’t answer, she pressed the accelerator a little harder.

T
hree hours later
, she slowed to a crawl as she divided her attention between the directions Luc wrote hours before and the rain swept streets in front of her. She could barely make out the signs, not that she’d seen many since she left the interstate. Fortunately, most of Luc’s directions were based on landmarks like a water tower, a bridge, and the one she currently sought—an old-style gas station called Tony’s.

The directions said it was about ten minutes from the bridge, but she’d been driving for fifteen through the downpour and hadn’t spotted it yet. Next to her, Luc continued to snore. If she had to, she’d wake him. The fact his color had improved the more he slept made her disinclined to disturb his rest.

Sucking on her lower lip, she leaned closer to the steering wheel as if it would give her a better view. The gas tank ticked perilously close to empty and her car didn’t play games. When the dial hit E, the car stopped. No passing go. No collecting two hundred dollars. She had a gas can in the trunk for those occasions when she found herself screwed on the side of the road, but—a sign which read Tony’s loomed out of the rain, and she blew out a sigh of relief.

Foot riding on the brake, she slowed and turned on her indicator. Swinging into the station, she parked next to the old pump, put the car in park and checked the station. Lights were on, but she couldn’t see anyone through the downpour. Next to her, Luc continued to sleep. After checking his pulse again, more to reassure herself he was actually alive, she twisted to check for her hoodie in the backseat but didn’t see it anywhere.

Oh, fuck it. If I get wet, I get wet.
Grabbing her wallet, she slid out of the car and raced for the door. Despite the little lip keeping the rain off the pumps, she still managed to get drenched on her way to the front door of the station. The cold air inside instantly sent goosebumps racing over her skin—of all the days to wear a white t-shirt with a black sports bra.

Embarrassment settling like a rock in the pit of her stomach, she glanced around the empty half-shop. It really was an old fashioned gas station. They had a soda machine and an old, peeling linoleum counter and it smelled like old car exhaust and oil. God, she hoped they had a bathroom and it didn’t come with another walk through the rain to some dirty pit only accessible with a key that had a forty-pound board attached to it.

A man sat in a chair behind the counter, his feet propped up and a baseball cap tugged over his eyes. Clearing her throat, she hopped from foot to foot. The man behind the counter didn’t move. Not even a twitch.

Oh come on. I already have one unconscious man in the car.

“Excuse me?”

Nothing.

Frustration growing, she raised her voice. “Excuse me? Hello?”

“Bell on the counter,” came the rough response.

Bell on the…?
Oh for the love of God.
She slammed her palm down on the unvarnished silver dome and it released a dissonant ding. The man in the chair nudged his hat higher as he stood.

“Afternoon, ma’am. What can I do for you?”

“I need twenty dollars in gas,” she said, sliding the bill across the counter. “And some directions to 115 Old River Road in…” Pulling the hastily written directions out from under her wallet, she frowned. “Somewhere around here I think, but I’m not sure the name of the town.”

The man didn’t take her money, but stared at her with a kind of assessment that left her uneasy. “Old River Road?”

“Yeah, 115…I have a delivery to make.” Maybe mentioning the unconscious man with the broken bones in her car wasn’t advisable.

A slow nod was his only response. With idle slowness, he slid the bill to himself, then lifted it. He squinted at the bill, then at her and finally past her toward the car outside. “I can come pump the gas for you.”

“I can do it.” She didn’t want him anywhere near her car. “Do you have a map?” Never mind the directions, she’d figure it out.

The man paused with his fingers on the keys of the register. “You’re safe, ma’am. No one’s going to hurt you here. It’s raining hard—and you look cold. Go get in the car, and I’ll pump your gas for you, then I’ll get you those directions.”

What was it with the men she kept running into? “Unless it’s against the law to pump my own gas,
I’ll
do it.” She locked gazes with baseball cap. “You can give me the directions now or leave me alone, but if you follow me out there, I’ll assume you mean me harm and I’ll defend myself. I promise you, you won’t enjoy the experience.”

Surprise flickered across his face and he raised his hands, palms forward. “Take it easy. No need to sharpen your claws on me. I was just trying to be courteous.”

Maybe she was overreacting. Folding her arms, she settled for a nod. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I prefer to take care of myself.”

“Understood.” After returning her nod, he struck a couple of keys on the old style register. It even made a ding when the cash drawer opened. “Go ahead and run your fuel. I’ll set the pump to stop at twenty.”

Since she’d bitten his head off, asking about the directions again…

“As for Old River Road, you’re a few miles off still, but the easiest way to get to that address is to keep going west out here, about two more miles. You’re going to cross three roads. At the fourth one, take a left. Follow it for about five and a half miles, it will dead end into Old River Road. You’ll want to take a right there and drive on to the end. You can’t miss one fifteen. Only three houses out that way. The one you want is the big white one all the way back.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

It wasn’t until she was back at the car that she remembered she’d forgotten to ask about a bathroom. Her damp hair clung to her cheeks, and she rubbed her arms as she stood watching the gas numbers turn. She kept glancing back at the office, but the guy inside stayed inside, fortunately.

Damn, she had to pee. Once the pump finished, she locked her tank up again, then slid back into the driver’s seat. Inserting the key into the ignition, she paused to push her wet hair away from her face.

“You should have woke me.” Luc’s growl sent a shock through her system.

“Don’t do that,” she snarled in response and turned the key. Her hands shook when she pulled her seatbelt on. At least with the windows closed, the interior of the car warmed up quickly and helped chase away her chill. With one last wary look at the office, she pulled back out onto the street. Fortunately, no traffic seemed to be filling their little two lane road, so she was able to head west without any issues. “Sorry,” she said after a mile or so. She’d passed the first of the three roads baseball cap mentioned. “The guy back there spooked me, and you’ve been sleeping.”

“He bothered you?” The question came out more animal than man.

“No.” She raised her hand to placate him. “He just creeped me out a little. I don’t like bossy guys. You’re all the bossy I can handle right now, and you’re helpless.”

“I am
not
helpless.”

Great, she’d insulted him and her patience ended. “Look, you’re not exactly dangerous at the moment. You’ve got two broken legs and a broken arm. You’ve been running a fever and struggling to be awake. You are not…creeping me out, but you are dancing on my last nerve with all the growly barking. So hush, rest and I’ll get you to your destination. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” At least the agitation vanished from his tone. “Sorry he bothered you.”

“It’s fine, I am more than capable of taking care of myself.” The third street came and went. Good. Even through the downpour, they continued to make good time. Next road, they’d take a left and she was that much closer to being on her way to Florida.

“So I see.” Admiration hinted at the edges of his observation.

“How are you doing?”

“I’ll live.” He chuckled. “I won’t be particularly happy about it, but I’ll live. Germans make their cars too small. You should have gotten a bigger model.”

“You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.” As rugged and good looking as Luc was, he made her feel old in some ways. It was like dealing with a teenager—or one of her ex-boyfriends.
Ugh.
Her exes had one thing in common. They were all assholes. She didn’t want Luc to be an asshole or a boyfriend. Win. Win. “Water?”

“Yes, please.”

She gave him the last bottle she’d tucked between the seats and he managed to open it without assistance. They followed baseball cap’s directions and when she dead ended into Old River Road, Luc released a long, almost relieved sigh.

“We’re close, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” Fresh eagerness infused his response. He sounded better than when they’d begun the drive. Maybe she hadn’t done irreparable harm after all. The rain continued to descend in sheets, not cutting them any breaks, and she white knuckled the drive all the way to the three houses at the end. The big white one sat on a hill beyond a gorgeous line of trees.

“We’re here,” she told Luc, more excited than she cared to admit. The drive was well-kept, and the gravel seemed to be embedded in the earth so at least it wasn’t slippery with mud. The mailbox close to the road declared the number correct, so she pulled all the way up to the house.

She’d kind of hoped for a town, but a house would do. “We’re here, Luc.” Putting the car in park, she glanced at her passenger. His eyes were closed and his head slumped. “Luc?”

No response.

Putting two fingers to his pulse, she found his heart still beating. He didn’t respond to the touch or to her repeating his name twice more.
Dammit
. Unbuckling her seat belt, she twisted to check the pulse in his leg. Right leg, she found it. Left leg proved harder with his cast in the way. She finally located the groin pulse, and one at the ankle. Finally, she checked his arm. Thready, but present. His skin was still hot to the touch, but he remained unresponsive.
Great.
Now she needed to find help.

“Stay here, Luc. I’ll be right back.”

Sliding out into the rain, she raced around the car and up the steps. Three knocks earned her no answer, nor did ringing the doorbell. He sent her all the way out here and no one was home? Frustration welled in her gut, and she tried the door handle.

It swung inward and she leaned in. “Hello?” The wide hall faced a long staircase heading up to a landing. A sitting room was to her left and a hallway heading deeper into the house to her right. Easing inside, she tried again. “Hello? I’m here with Luc Danes and he needs help.”

No answer.

Pressing her forehead to the door, she took three deep breaths. Okay, no one home. Luc out cold in the car. Those were the facts. She needed to find a hospital. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and scowled. It was dead.