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As she started on the main road, Sera replayed the evening. The only reason she’d agreed to help Angus was that she had a whole four consecutive days off from her physical-therapy position. What was one Saturday night helping out a friend and former boss? Plus, she was paying off student loans, so she could use the extra wages and tips from a night moonlighting as a waitress, an aproned superhero saving innocent young women who were easy prey for—
Sera snorted. She should have known it wouldn’t be a simple favor. Of course Jordan would be there. Saying things she hadn’t expected him to say. Looking almost...normal...relatable. She couldn’t afford mixed feelings where he was concerned. Danica isn’t my type. It made her wonder who was—and that was the problem.
Sera flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. The last thing she needed was to be mooning over Jordan Serenghetti. She didn’t need to be wondering—mulling—what was on his mind.
Suddenly, she spotted a flurry of movement from the corner of her eye. In an instant, a bear appeared directly in front of her car. Sera sucked in a breath and then jerked hard on the steering wheel to avoid hitting it.
Then everything happened in a blur. Sera bounced around in her seat as the car went off the road in the darkness. She heard and felt tree branches hit the windshield and the car doors. Fear took over, and she hit the brakes hard.
An eternity later—or maybe it was just a couple of seconds—the car jerked to a stop, and the engine cut out.
Sera sat frozen with shock. What...? It had all happened so fast...
She threw the emergency break and then blinked at the debris marring her front window. Taking a shaky breath, she leaned her head against the steering wheel. Tremors coursed up her arms from her grip on the wheel.
Great, just great.
At least she hadn’t hit the bear.
Could this night get any worse? She wanted to cry but instead gave herself a scolding. After several moments, still shaken, she raised her head and stared into the darkness. It wasn’t safe to be a lone woman stranded by the side of the road at night. On top of it, she didn’t know where that bear was, but with any luck, she’d managed to frighten him off with their near miss.
Of course, she could use her cell phone to call for help. Dante or another relative would come if she called. Still, she hated being poor, helpless Sera again in the eyes of her family—which was how they would see it.
Suddenly, headlights appeared in her rearview mirror. Sera shook off the touch of fear. It was just someone driving by. Some
one who would most likely simply keep on going—because she didn’t even have her hazard lights on. Statistically speaking, it was unlikely to be an ax murderer.
But the car slowed down as it passed. Then, a few yards down the road, the driver pulled over.
When the person behind the wheel got out, she immediately recognized Jordan Serenghetti even with only the dim illumination of his flashlight.
Sera suppressed a groan. Not an ax murderer, but someone even more improbable. Jordan. Though she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, since he’d been at the Puck & Shoot, too, and the bar was minutes away.
Unsteadily, she got out of the car, determined to put on a brave front. His appearance just added to her turbulent emotions.
Jordan’s face was pulled into an uncharacteristic frown as he approached, looking from her to her car and back again. He even looked attractive with a scowl.
“Are you all right?” he asked, for once not displaying his trademark devil-may-care expression.
“Isn’t that my line?” How many times had she asked him the same thing during a physical-therapy session? She raised her chin, but with horror, she realized there had been a slight tremor in her voice. Not all right. Damn it. She cleared her throat.
He came close, and she’d never seen him appear more serious.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking you for obvious signs of injury. Relax. I’ll take it as a good sign that you were able to get out of the car under your own power.”
His gaze searched hers in the dim light. “Despite what you think of me, I like to give a hand when I see someone in trouble.”
She blinked. “Oh.”
“Anything hurt?”
“No.” And then she blurted, “What are you doing here?”
Jordan managed to look aggrieved—another new expression for him. “I decided to leave right after you did.”
“The fun was gone?” Impossibly, she was challenging him, even though she’d just been in an accident—maybe because she’d just been in an accident. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable.
