He paused at her statement, taking a moment to appreciate her tight body in the soft gray pantsuit. The woman had an ass he’d love to sink his hands into. The flash of lust rolled through him followed by unease. He’d just scared her, pretty much threatened her about the boyfriend, and now he wanted her naked. After a brief marriage, he’d abandoned her. What if he hadn’t had a good reason? Was there a good reason to leave his woman unprotected? Probably not.
Following her out, he quickly caught up to her, his gaze raking the sprawling parking lot. Quiet, peaceful, and nicely lit in the cold evening. Pine and the hint of snow wafted on the breeze. “You’re taking me home, angel?” He figured he’d have to cajole to end up at her place. He needed to crawl into a hole until his head stopped pounding, and then he’d figure out who’d jumped him.
Darkness and peace seemed more important than safety right now.
She sighed, yanking keys out of a monstrous purse and striding in pointy shoes toward the center of the lot. “Like it or not, you’re my responsibility right now. At least until you sign the papers.” She halted and flipped around so abruptly he had to catch her arms to keep from running her over. Her gaze met his. “Unless you’re full of shit. Amnesia? Seriously?”
She felt good under his palms. Ignoring the migraine, he stepped into her, truly enjoying the flare of awareness and then irritation filtering across her stunning face. “Have I ever lied to you?” The question held risk, considering he had no clue if he had lied or not.
Anger slammed the irritation out of the way, narrowing her eyes. “No. You just didn’t tell me anything.”
Oh, but he’d hurt her. The set of her shoulders, the line of her lips, told him he’d caused her pain. What kind of an ass was he to hurt such a soft little thing? “I’m sorry.”
She blinked three times and took a step back. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does. Whatever mistakes I’ve made, I’m sorry.” She was so tiny, her head didn’t come close to the bottom of his chin. Maybe he should take off by himself right away—leave her the life she’d built over the last two years.
But he didn’t want to. There was warmth buried in the woman, and he was so damn cold. She’d loved him once. Maybe she could explain why.
A humming set up at the base of his skull. He lifted his head to scout the parking lot, its quiet abundance of SUVs providing no answers. Someone was watching, though—of that he was sure.
The headache disappeared, shoved somewhere to be dealt with later. Awareness filtered through his brain that he shouldn’t be able to do that. His heartbeat slowed. His breathing calmed. He tucked Josie into his side, ignoring the pain of her shoulder meeting his bruised ribs, hurrying them both deeper into the lot. A cool breeze stung his face, and a van across the street caught his attention. Yep. “Where’s your car?”
The woman failed to shrug away his protective arm. “Right here.” She pointed a key fob at a black Toyota Highlander, its beep echoing through the silent area as it unlocked the doors.
Adrenaline flooded his system, somehow calming him more. That wasn’t natural. Should he be more scared of himself than his attackers? “You should’ve parked under a light.”
“Don’t lecture me.”
“Then you should be more careful.” He had a feeling he’d said those words to her before. Shoving speculation away, he opened the driver’s door, and she climbed inside. He followed, grasping her slender waist and lifting her over the center console, setting his own butt in the seat. Doubt tried to crowd his instincts, but his movements were graceful and trained—his muscles worked quickly as if separate from his brain. Pain began to well behind his eyes, and he shoved it away.
Josie tried to bound out of her seat. “Hey—”
“I’m driving.” He pressed on the brake pedal and pushed the keyless ignition button. Panic swirled in his abdomen, so he focused hard and fast, surrounding himself with calmness. Interesting trick, that. “Fasten your seat belt.”
“No—”
“Now.” He lowered his voice to pure command, cutting a gaze at her that even felt hard.
She arched her brows in surprise. With a huff, she rolled her eyes and yanked on the belt. Nope. Definitely not afraid of him.
For the first time since he’d regained consciousness, his body felt familiar. Calm, purposeful, alert. A threat existed in the blue van. He chose not to question his certainty of the fact. Not right now anyway. The vehicle sat across from the parking lot’s one exit as if waiting patiently, away from any lights. He glanced in the rearview mirror to the entrance on the opposite side. Perfect.
Sure movements had the SUV backed out and maneuvered around the rows of cars toward the exit. Pressing hard against the accelerator, he hit reverse through the entrance with a screech of tires.
“What the—” Josie hissed, clutching both hands at the dash as the attendant at the entrance jumped out of his booth, arms waving in the air.
Shane whipped the Toyota around and into traffic, pressing on the accelerator and zipping around several cars before yanking the wheel and shooting the car into an alley he followed for several blocks.
“What the hell are you doing?” Josie yelled.