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“I think that’s beyond you at the moment,” she said. “Diet Coke will do in a pinch.”
Before she realized what he was doing he’d crossed four lanes and taken the exit, amid screeching tires and honking horns. By the time they’d made it safely off the freeway and she’d caught her breath, she glared at him. “Do you have a death wish?” she demanded.
“I thought we’d already established that.”
“Well, don’t include me. I’m not ready to die.”
Again that small smile. “Glad to hear it. Otherwise it would be a waste of time and money to feed you.”
He was pulling into a drive-through hamburger place, one of the West Coast chains, and she looked at him suspiciously. “What about McDonald’s?”
“This is better. Trust me.”
“Trust you? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He said nothing, merely pulled up to the window and gave her order. He got the food, put it in her lap and drove away, into the night.
She was too busy wolfing down her food to pay much attention to where he was going. He hadn’t gotten back on the freeway, and the streets were darker, less busy, with only the occasional car passing in the other direction. She shoved the last French fry in her mouth and lifted her head to look around her. He’d managed to find a dirt road somewhere, and even in the midst of such a densely populated area there was no one around.
He pulled to a stop on the side of the road, killed the lights and the engine, and looked at her.
“What’s this all about?” she demanded. “Surely you didn’t go to all that trouble to get me out of there just for the pleasure of killing me yourself?”
“Tempting as the idea is, no. Unfasten your seat belt.”
“You’re abandoning me in the woods?”
“No,” he said, reaching over and unfastening her seat belt.
She hit at his hands to stop him, but he simply captured her wrists in one hand while he undid the belt. The he leaned over farther so that he was brushing against her, so close she could remember the familiar scent of his skin and soap. She felt dizzy, and she held her breath.
He pushed open the door, then leaned back, releasing her hands. “Goddammit, why are we here?” she demanded. The dizziness should have faded once he moved away, but in fact it was growing stronger, and her stomach, momentarily appeased, suddenly decided to move into overdrive.
“You’ll know in just a minute.”
It didn’t take that long. She had just enough time to get herself out of the car, on her knees by the side of the road, throwing up everything she’d just wolfed down.
And him! Damn him, he’d gotten out of the car, come around beside her and was holding her, holding her braided hair away from her face, supporting her as she puked her guts out. She couldn’t push him away, she couldn’t do anything but let him hold her until everything was gone, and she was racked by dry heaves. She wanted to die, both from misery and humiliation, and all she could do was let him hold her.
“Finished?” he asked in a kind, businesslike voice. He had a handkerchief with him—of course he did— and he wiped her face with it. His cold blue eyes were dispassionate as he looked down at her. “You’ll do. Get back in the car and we’ll find someplace to spend the rest of the night. I could have told you that death and fast food don’t mix but I didn’t think you’d listen.”
She wanted to protest, but she was too weak to do anything but let him bundle her back into the car and fasten the seat belt around her trembling body. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, stifling her instinctive moan of pure misery, and it wasn’t until he was driving again, back toward a more populated area, when his words sank in.
“Where did you say we were going?”
“We’re going to the cheapest, sleaziest motel I can. We both need to sleep.”
“I’m not sleeping with you!”
“I know this will come as a shock to you, but I don’t find someone spewing their guts out to be a particular turn-on. I certainly didn’t rescue you for the sex, which, while pleasant enough, was nothing special. I assure you I can do better without half trying.”
The words stung. Why did they hurt, and why had he said them? “Then why did you?”
“I told you, a favor for a friend.”
“That’s what Takashi said. You couldn’t both think you’re just helping each other.”
“He told you his real name? That surprises me. He’s usually a better judge of who to trust.”
