The Great Escape (13 page)

sweater. 'He certainly bled like a pig! I need another bath.' A hot one,

she thought longingly, and then her expression became more serious,

troubled, frightened. 'Mike, why—why do you suppose they attacked

me?'

His own expression changed, something dark showing before he

carefully masked his features. 'I can onlyguess,' he replied flatly,

running his hand through his hair. 'And I've been doing nothing but

guessing all morning. They couldn't have known who you really

are—the only people who know that are you and I, and of course your

guardians, whom I've kept up to date.' His hand left her shoulder. She

found that she missed its weight and she shied away from the thought.

'It could have certainly been a random crime, but they didn't take your

bag last night, so I'm afraid they must have had something uglier in

mind.' She shuddered convulsively, and his expression gentled. 'Don't

dwell on it, though! Nothing irrevocable happened, and you're safe

now. But, Dee, we need to talk. There are some things that I'd like to

understand better about you before we go anywhere or do anything

else. And I think we need to give you a little time to rest up and

recover a bit, and let your bruises heal. Can we call a truce? I won't

force you to go anywhere, and I won't get in touch with your aunt and

uncle for a while. In return, you won't scamper off the very moment I

turn my back! And we both know you could do it, too, and get away

with it, if only for a while. And we both know, don't we, that I'd come

right after you. Something's got to be resolved. Can we trust each

other for a while? Can we let things slide a bit?'

She dropped her eyes. His simple words shook her so, and she wanted

badly to do what he asked. She wanted to trust him. 'All right. What

are we going to do? I'd like to go back home . ..' At her choice of

words, his brows shot up and she knew he thought she meant

Kentucky.'. .. because I'll bet Mrs Gordon is going out of her mind

with worry. And I really should get in touch with my boss, at work.'

Mike had a strange expression on his face. 'Do you really consider

that place home?'

Her blue eyes rested on him with sombreness. 'Yes, I do. I've made it

my home. I've worked hard and I'd saved money, and I'd wanted to go

to college. I decorated that tiny little room with all of the colours I

love best . . . yes, it's home to me.'

He was silent for a few minutes, his brows drawn down into a frown

and his lips pursed thoughtfully. 'I talked to Mrs Gordon before I left

and told her you'd received some rather bad family news, and she

doesn't expect you back any time soon. I don't know what your

situation at work is like. What do you think you should do?'

'They aren't expecting me back any time soon,' she whispered, and

felt suddenly a heavy weight of depression settle on her. 'In fact,

Sammy isn't expecting me back at all. He knew the truth about me,

you know. When you showed up at the restaurant I wrote him an

explanation and said goodbye.' Her face crumpled up into tears as a

lost feeling gobbled her up and she said raggedly, 'I guess I don't

really belong there, any more. That's the problem, isn't it—I don't

belong anywhere— I don't fit in anywhere!' She tried to cross her

arms over herself, but was unable to do so, because Mike was there

and taking her gently, holding her against his broad comforting,

supportive chest. She succumbed to her own need and crept over to sit

on his lap, like a child, and her arms slid around the strong column of

his warm neck. She just hid her face in his sweater and cried.

After what seemed a very long time, her racking sobs stopped,

became controllable again, and her tears dried up. Her breathing

came unevenly, in little hiccups, but she was back in touch with

reality and no longer dwelling in a well of dark emotion. She felt his

hands rubbing her back gently, and his breath stirred her hair. She

was in a little cave, made up of his shoulder and neck, and his head

rested on the side of hers.

'I got you all wet,' she said, muffled against his neck, her cheek on

sodden material.

'I'll dry easily enough,' he whispered back. One hand came up to cup

her head, the fingers ruffling her hair and stroking the nape of her

neck.

'I'm sorry,' she choked, perilously close to tears again, and wavering

back and forth on that line of resistance. It was lamentably low. 'I'm

usually in better control than this—I hardly ever cry --'

'Everyone cries now and then, sweetheart. Everybody needs to. Don't

apologise for that. Nobody can be strong and tough all the time, not

even you, and not even me.' His voice rumbled in his chest, and she

could feel the vibrations in her own torso.

'I feel terrible, and I want a bath,' she muttered, taking a deep,

unsteady breath. 'And I probably look a horror.'

Mike's face burrowed into her fluffy hair as he chuckled, the

movement and the sound so very nice. 'You must be feeling better,

then. When a woman thinks of her looks, she can't be too devastated!'

A woman, Dee thought dazedly, he called me a woman. That more

than anything made her feel much, much better. She pushed against

his chest and surfaced back to the world, knuckling her eyes

childishly. Then she peeped out from behind her two hands at him,

the blue eyes bright again. That look, from under the golden tousled

hair, made her seem elfin, halfwild, and he grinned at the impression.

She in turn saw sparkling green eyes set under straight, heavy brows.

His hair was tousled as much as hers and the dark brown waves

enhanced his features', the strong, aggressive jaw, the hard crooked

nose, that wide forehead. 'If you don't mind, I'm going to take a bath.

And if you do mind, I'm going to take a bath,' she said saucily. 'When

are we kicked out today?'

'Several hours ago,' he told her, smiling at her look of surprise. 'I've

already paid for another day. You were so exhausted I didn't have the

heart to wake you earlier.'

'Well then,' she said with satisfaction, swinging her legs out of the bed

and sliding off Mike's lap, 'that's settled for now.' She stood and

rummaged in her suitcase for a clean set of underwear and clothes,

then she headed for the bathroom, sublimely unaware of her bare long

legs, the incongruous nightshirt sticking out from a rumpled black

sweater. Her hair was ruffled wildly, and Mike's eyes followed her

out of the room, his expression strangely soft.

Dee gave a startled, muffled shriek when she saw herself in the

mirror. God, what a mess! Running a very hot bath, she sank into it

thankfully, bathing briskly and then rinsing with the shower for good

measure. She had to wash her hair because of the dried blood, and she

grimaced at the tangles that caught in her massaging fingers.

Afterwards she dried and dressed in matching blouse and slacks that

nearly caught the exact colour of her eyes. Then with her dripping

hair hanging down her back, she picked up her nightclothes and

padded into the bedroom, grinning at Mike in a mischievous way

before dumping her things on her open suitcase. Then she caught

sight of herself in the mirror again—and stopped in dismay. The

black and blue marks on her neck were appallingly apparent at the

open neck of her blouse. The bruise on the side of her head wasn't so

bad, for her hair covered most of it and make-up could conceivably

do the rest, but those bruises at her throat were shocking in daylight.

Mike was contemplating her with his arms crossed casually at his

chest. She noted that he had changed his sweater for a dry one. 'I'm

going to have to wear something besides this blouse,' she told him

ruefully, gesturing at her throat. 'I hadn't realised how noticeable the

bruises are.'

Something dark and violent showed fleetingly in hiseyes before being

wiped clean away. 'Yes. They're going to be noticeable for some time,

I'm afraid. At least the swelling has gone down.'

She rummaged around in her suitcase and brought up a turtleneck,

caramel-coloured sweater, waving it triumphantly at him. 'The

solution has been found! Lord, I'm starved—I'll hurry so we can go

and eat.' With that she sat off yet again to the bathroom, intent on

reaching privacy to change her top, and Mike shook his head

mockingly.

'Don't go to the trouble, sweetheart. It's much easier for me to turn my

back than for you to wear a path going back and forth to the bathroom

all the time.' With that he made good his offer and presented a large,

indifferent back for her scrutiny.

Dee hesitated only briefly and then was scrambling out of her blouse

and into her turtleneck in two seconds flat. 'Okay,' she mumbled, her

mouth hidden in the folds of the sweater, then she was posing in front

of the mirror to arrange the neck to her satisfaction. Lean hard fingers

came to the back of her neck and lifted out her damp hair, and she

muttered a thanks, grinning at how domesticated they looked.

'That's a very provocative grin,' he said in her ear. 'Do you want to

share the joke?'

'No,' she gurgled merrily. 'It's a private one.' A hand slapped her

bottom smartly.

'That has to mean that I'm the source of your amusement!' he growled.

'How long will it take you to get ready to eat? There's a restaurant

right across the highway—if you hurry, I just might let you join me

for lunch.'

A blonde brow cocked. 'That's mighty big of you. I'm so flattered at

that gracious invitation, I can hardly stand still in one place!'

'Well, so long as you're ready in fifteen minutes, then.'

'I'll be ready in ten.' And she was, brushing her hair one final time in

front of the mirror before turning decisively to Mike. He surveyed her

cheek, a forefinger under her chin and tilting it up.

'You did a good job with the make-up. It shows only slightly, and

only a very observant person would be able to tell there's a bruise.'

He opened the door and lazily lounged by it while she scooted by,

tucking her brush into her handbag. Then he was following her,

slipping the room key into his pocket.

They opted to walk across the highway instead of taking the car. Dee

thrilled to Mike's unexpected touch when he grabbed her hand to drag

her into a running dash across the wide stretch of asphalt. She was

laughing when they finally slowed on the other side, cheeks glowing

and eyes twinkling. For the rest of the walk, he casually draped one

arm around her shoulders and they joked and parried swift witticisms.

They were seated immediately and she looked over the menu

hungrily. When the waitress came back to take their orders, she let

Mike order for her, and soon steaming cups of coffee appeared in

front of them both. She watched with a wry lifted eyebrow as the

waitress lingered over Mike's cup, her appreciative gaze on him

suggestively. He took it very well, leaning back in the booth with a

lazy smile that treated the waitress with a warm friendliness that

somehow neatly destroyed any sexual connotation that could be

construed.

When she finally walked away, Dee raised her cup to him in a

mocking salute. 'Well, done, I say,' she murmured. Her hoarseness

had dissipated into a rather pleasing huskiness, and she found that

talking was no longer painful.

He grinned swiftly at her. 'I thought I'd handled myself quite well too,

thank you.'

'I'm sure you've improved with practice!' she retorted laughingly. 'Do

you get a lot of attention of that sort?'

'A fair amount,' he countered laconically, his green eyes vivid with

his own laughter. Finding him a comfortable and interested

companion, she was soon chattering away to him lightly as if she had

known him for ever. He was for the most part silent, watching her

keenly and shouting with laughter at some of the anecdotes she

related about the odd experiences one has when one works in a

twenty-four-hour restaurant. She liked to hear his laughter; it was a

very pleasing sound.

His attitude seemed to change after a while, and his silence began to

have a brooding quality that started to rub on her nerves. She ordered

ice cream for dessert and the waitress refilled their coffee cups. After

letting the silence fall over them again, Dee finally opened her mouth

to ask him about his strange mood when he spoke.

'Strange, isn't it, to be buying a cheap lunch for a millionaire heiress,'

he murmured, and there was something odd in his voice and eyes, but