“Jewel?” His voice seemed to come from a long way off. “Are you all right?”
She blinked, realizing she’d been staring, and felt her face color. “I’m fine,” she said, feeling as though she were lying again.
“Then you’ll stay with me?”
“I—” Maybe she was making too much out of this. A simple offer of friendship could be that, and nothing more.
Partly because she was exhausted, and partly because she knew he was right, she found herself nodding. “Thank you, I will. I appreciate the offer. It means a lot to me.”
His smile warmed the cold core inside her. “Great. Are you ready to go?”
She nodded, swaying again on her feet. This exhaustion, brought on by her failed attempt to change, always came after the raging sexual need. “I’ll stay with you for a little while, until I figure out what to do.”
He took her arm. “You look about ready to fall over.”
Stifling a yawn, she lifted her chin. “I am. This…illness takes a lot out of me.”
To his credit, he didn’t ask. Instead, he helped her onto his boat, untying the anchor before jumping onboard himself.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to keep you safe,” he said, touching her arm. “What I don’t understand is, if this is Leo’s work, why is he having this sort of thing done? Cutting brake lines and setting fires? I’d think if someone like him wanted to kill you, there’d be much more efficient ways to do it.”
Startled, she shot him a glance. Fiddling with the ignition blower switch and other gadgets on his console, he wasn’t watching her. Without even knowing her or Leo, Colton had somehow arrived at the truth. A car accident wouldn’t have killed her, unless the car had burned. A fire would have; indeed a combination of the two had ended her adoptive parents’ lives.
“Torture.” She kept her voice emotionless, not wanting to reveal too much. “Leo thrives on tormenting me. He wants me to know he’s found me and plans to make sure I suffer before I die.”
Colton’s narrow-eyed look contained rage. “What kind of man—” He broke off, visibly collecting himself. “You need protection,” he said again.
She thought for a moment, unsure how to respond to the understatement of the year. Deciding a brusque, businesslike approach would be best, she nodded. “I agree. Since I can’t leave town without transportation and money, I think I need to learn how to protect myself. I’ve got to arm myself and learn how to use a gun.”
Whatever answer he made was lost over the sound of the boat engine roaring to life. She had to shout to be heard over the noise. “While I’m staying with you, maybe you can teach me how to shoot.”
His hands stilled on the wheel. Narrowing his eyes, he studied her. “You’re serious about that?”
“I am.” She yawned again. “Though not right now. Now, I need to rest.”
“All right, then.” He used reverse to move the boat back into the water. “Have you already purchased a gun?”
“Not yet.” Comfortably seated, she brushed her hair back from her face and looked out over the water shimmering in the moonlight. In another life, she might have found this place beautiful. But not today. Definitely not today. “I’d like you to help me choose the right one, if you don’t mind. I’d like a pistol, a revolver, I think.”
One hand on the wheel, he guided the boat with a quiet competence. His gaze was cool and clear and gave none of his thoughts away. “Why not an automatic? They’re much easier to use.”
She gave him the only explanation she could—the truth. “Because silver bullets don’t come in cartridges.”
Though she could see he wanted to ask, he only shook his head.
He had a boat dock at the edge of his property, and after guiding the boat into the slip, he led her up the path to his house.
At the back door, she stopped, fingering her wolf necklace. “I don’t have a change of clothes or a nightgown. Hell, I don’t even have toothpaste or deodorant.”
After a startled look, he touched her arm. “You’re right. Let’s make a quick run into town.”
Still she balked, not wanting to take even more charity from him, but knowing she had no choice. “I don’t have any money.”
He brushed a quick kiss on the side of her cheek. Though he’d no doubt meant the kiss to bebrotherly, she felt the touch of his mouth all the way to her toes. “This one’s on me,” he said, leading the way to his truck. “Come on.”
By the time they made a stop at Wal-Mart to buy her a couple of changes of clothing and toiletries, including a new contact case and new solution, she felt like a refugee. Since cleaning out her modest checking account before Leo closed it, she’d had to pinch pennies, but she’d never been completely, utterly broke before.
She hated to rely on anyone but herself.
