Electricity arced between them when he touched his mouth to hers. It seemed like a lifetime since he’d tasted her, but kissing her now was worth every agonizing second of that wait. She made a halfhearted attempt to turn her head, but he redirected his aim and caught her mouth anyway. This time she gave it to him.
He hadn’t planned on things going this far. He’d promised himself it would be enough just to convince her he hadn’t used her. But once he’d touched her, once he’d kissed her, Jake couldn’t stop. It had always been that way between them.
He should have known she would come to her senses.
Without warning, she pulled away and scrambled to her feet. For several interminable seconds they stared at each other. Then Jake sat up, scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Leigh wouldn’t look at him. She had the blanket wrapped around her, as if it would protect her from him, and looked everywhere but into his eyes. “You shouldn’t have done a lot of things.”
“At some point we’re going to have to talk about what’s between us,” Jake said. “It’s not going to go away.”
Leigh wrapped her arms around herself as if from a sudden chill. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” She met his gaze. “I’m not going to let you hurt me again, Jake.”
Before he could respond, she turned away and walked to the hearth, where she sat staring into the flames.
LEIGH WASN’T SURE what woke her. One moment she was lying on her side in a state of exhausted slumber. The next she was wide awake.
Sitting up, she pulled the blanket around her shoulders and looked around. In the dim light slanting in through the window she could see Jake. He was lying on his side a few feet from the potbellied stove. She could hear his rhythmic breathing, and the sound was soothing. The wood in the hearth had burned down to embers, and the room was so cold she could see her breath.
Being quiet so she wouldn’t wake Jake, she got to her feet and padded to the woodpile he’d left at the door. If she couldn’t sleep the least she could do was toss some fuel on the fire. She picked up two small logs and started toward the stove. Through the frosted glass of the window, she could see that the snow was still coming down.
Leigh gasped and nearly dropped the wood as a shadow flashed past the window. Her entire body trembling, she set the wood down and darted to Jake.
“Jake!” she whispered.
He was on his feet in an instant, his pistol in his hand. “What is it?”
“I saw someone outside the window.”
He put his finger to his lips, then jogged silently to the window and looked out. “Put on your coat,” he said and went to the kitchen.
Leigh did as she was told and waited, scared through and through. She sorely wished she hadn’t left her pistol back at the motel.
Jake returned a few seconds later carrying a few supplies. “There are three of them in front of the house. We’ve got to go out the back.”
“What about the Hummer?”
“Can’t get to it.” He jabbed his arms into his coat and put the supplies in the pockets. “Go. Now.”
Leigh couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so frightened. They were outnumbered and out-gunned.
How had Rasmussen found them?
The next thing she knew, Jake had taken her arm and was shoving her into the kitchen and toward the back door. His hands were silent on the lock. And then they were out the door.
“I want you to run as fast as you can to the next farmhouse. Whatever happens, don’t stop running. When you get there, call the sheriff’s office. If anything happens to me, you keep running. You got that?”
Leigh nodded. But in her heart she knew that if anything happened to Jake she wouldn’t leave him. She glanced through the lightly falling snow at the faint lights in the distance. The neighboring farm had to be at least two miles away.
“Let’s go,” he said, and pulled her into a dead run.
Chapter Seven
Jake ran hard. He knew he was pushing Leigh to the limit of her physical capabilities. But he also knew what would happen if Rasmussen captured them. He’d seen the man’s handiwork, and he swore that was the one thing he would not let happen.
It seemed to take forever to reach the neighboring farm. They plowed through high grass and dry corn and snow. The frigid air burned his lungs as if someone had poured acid down his throat. He could feel Leigh lagging, so he took her hand and dragged her, praying she didn’t fall.
“What are we going to do without a vehicle?” she panted. “We can’t run like this much farther.”
“Let’s just hope we find one we can borrow.”
They approached the farm from the rear, running between the barn and grain silo. An old Chevy truck sat in the driveway. Not his first choice for a getaway vehicle, but then, he was in no position to be choosy. He darted to the truck. Relief poured through him when the door opened. He checked the visor for keys, found none and swore.
Nearby, a dog began to bark.
Jake used the butt of his gun to shatter the steering column. Kneeling, he found the ignition wires and touched them together. The engine groaned. “This damn cold isn’t helping.”