She glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry I was such an ass this morning.” He had a sheepish expression on his handsome face. “If it helps, Donovan denied threatening Teresa and insisted the restraining order was just Teresa’s way of trying to get money out of him.”
Yeah, I know. She didn’t voice the thought. Finn had no clue that she’d gone to Cole’s anyway, despite his order to stay away from the man, and she wasn’t about to start another argument.
“Thanks for letting me know,” she said.
With a quick goodbye she left the office and crossed the bullpen toward the lobby, hoping that Finn didn’t suspect she’d gone to Cole’s against his order. He’d be pissed if he found out.
Not that she was pleased with her actions, either. Again she had to berate herself for losing control like that. She was thirty-two years old, yet she’d acted like a reckless teenager back at Cole’s house. She’d worked so hard all of these years to be treated like a professional, and in one crazy moment, she’d nearly slept with a man who was the focal point of her investigation.
Sighing, Jamie put her inner turmoil to rest as she got into her car and typed Parker Smith’s address into the GPS. She had to quit stewing over this. She’d come to Serenade to help Finn with a case, and it was time to focus on Teresa Donovan instead of mooning over Teresa’s ex-husband.
Unfortunately, it was difficult not to think of Cole, especially when the route to Parker Smith’s house took her right past Cole’s house. She kept her foot on the gas as she passed the familiar turnoff, determined not to make another last-minute turn and get herself in trouble.
The GPS instructed a left turn and she followed the directive, reaching the top of a high slope lined by tall redwoods and flowering shrubs. She eased off the gas and moved her foot to the brake pedal, but when she applied some pressure, the car’s speed didn’t change.
Frowning, Jamie pressed harder. The vehicle stayed at the same pace, then picked up momentum as she barreled down the hill toward the sharp curve at the bottom.
Fighting a jolt of panic, she pumped the brakes, but yet again, nothing seemed to happen. Her heart thudded as the car hurtled toward the curve below. A hundred yards and she’d hit the turn at full speed, which would undoubtedly cause the SUV to flip over into the menacing-looking trunks of the redwood trees.
“Damn, damn, damn!”
Her hand trembled as she reached for the handbrake. She pulled it hard, praying it would stop the vehicle, but it didn’t, and suddenly the nasty curve got closer and closer, and her pulse shrieked between her ears, and with terrifying clarity she realized there was only one thing she could do.
As the road came mere yards from ending and the thick tree trunks taunted her with imminent collision, she yanked on the door handle, tucked her head in her arms and launched herself out of the speeding car.
Chapter 9
While her heart raced in panic, Jamie curled at the exact right moment, the wind hissing in her ears as she flew out of the car. She somersaulted onto the grassy shoulder of the road, miraculously dodging out of the way as the car whizzed past her, tipping, as she’d expected, at the bottom of the hill. It flipped over once, twice, then crashed into a tree with a resounding metallic boom.
As she rolled her right arm bounced against the ground with a bone-jarring thud, and she clenched her teeth so hard she now tasted blood in her mouth. She saw stars for several long moments as she clutched her right arm. Gasping for air, she shook the dazed dizziness from her head and blinked wildly, orienting herself, then quickly examining her body for injuries.
Aside from the throbbing arm, her right leg ached and her body felt winded, but considering her daredevil antics, it was better than she’d expected. As far as harrowing vehicular escapes went, she knew she was pretty lucky to survive with nothing but a bruised arm.
She struggled to sit up and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Coppery blood poured out of the lip she’d bitten during the fall, staining the thin material of her shirt. Slowly she moved her arm, flexing a tiny bit to make sure it truly wasn’t broken. Relief flooded her body when she was able to move the limb without any pain.
“Lucky girl,” she muttered to herself.
Her gaze moved to the totaled SUV at the base of the slope. Well, maybe not so lucky.
“Ms. Crawford!”
She turned at the sound of the unfamiliar male voice, then fought another head rush. When her mind cleared, a wave of apprehension rose inside her belly. Joe Gideon was rushing toward her, a rifle slung over his shoulder and his eyes awash with worry.
“Are you all right?” he demanded as he reached her. “I saw you fly by me and knew something was wrong.”