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She stared at him, fear welling in her eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I did.” His voice was grim. “We need to get away from here. I don’t want to be around if those two come back to finish the job they started. Let’s get you to a hospital.”
He put the truck in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. He didn’t like the smell of this. His sister Matilda had been shot at and almost killed while she was on her honeymoon. Everyone had suspected Clint Lockhart was involved, but so far they couldn’t prove anything. He didn’t know if the attack on Willa was connected, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.
Even though Clint was Ryan’s brother-in-law by his first wife and therefore one of the family, he’d held a grudge against the Fortunes for years. He believed they had stolen his father’s ranch out from under him, taking advantage of his financial difficulties. His desire for revenge had caused him to plot with Ryan’s estranged wife Sophia in an effort to exhort money from Ryan. When things went sour, he’d killed Sophia. He’d escaped from prison several months ago, and the family had lived in fear ever since.
Yes, until he had some answers, he was going to stick close to Willa.
“Where’s the nearest hospital?” he asked her as he waited to turn onto the street.
“I don’t need to go to a hospital.” Her voice sounded stronger, and she touched the lump on her head. He saw her wince, even in the dim light. “It’s just a lump on the head.”
“You should probably get it checked.”
“I’m fine, Griff.” She touched it again. “They’ll just tell me to take two aspirins and call them in the morning.” She gave him a weak smile, and his heart rate increased. Even injured and frightened, she was able to make a joke at her own expense.
He didn’t want to go to the hospital, either, but for a different reason. He was afraid that the kidnappers would be expecting them to go to a hospital, and be waiting there for them. And he didn’t want to take that chance. With the medical training he’d had as part of his job he could probably tend to Willa’s injuries. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Positive.” Her voice was firm. “Let’s go call the police.”
He hesitated. “I’m not sure we should do that.”
“Why not?” She turned in her seat toward him, and he saw the bewilderment in her face. “Someone tried to kidnap me. Why wouldn’t we call the police?”
“I’m not used to relying on the police,” he finally said. “But maybe you’re right. We should let them know. The kidnappers might come back to your apartment. The police can at least keep an eye out for them.”
He pulled over to the side of the road and took his cellular phone out of his jacket pocket. He had to bend close to Willa to reach it, and her scent curled around him. It wasn’t the demure floral scent he would have expected. It was sharp and tangy, reminding him of wild, elemental things that he had no business connecting with Willa.
He leaned as far away from her as he could and dialed 9-1-1. When the police answered, he told them what had happened, gave them a description of the van and the two kidnappers, then told them he was taking Willa away to keep her safe. He didn’t tell them where he was going. Cutting off their sputtering questions, he snapped the phone closed and set it on the floor.
“Okay, we’ve called the police.”
Willa had leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes while he talked. Now she opened them and gave him a tiny grin. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind. You didn’t give them a lot to work with.”
“I told them as much as we knew.”
“Didn’t they want to talk to me?”
“They did.” He scowled at her. “But I’m not letting anyone close to you until we figure out who tried to snatch you, and why. Not even the police.”
Willa felt a soft warmth stealing over her as she looked at Griff. His hard face was even harder than usual, and his mouth was set in a grim line. He looked formidable and dangerous, and the wild part of him, the part that had drawn her from the first time she met him, was very close to the surface.
“Then what are we going to do?” She was amazed at how calm she sounded. But she trusted him completely, she realized. Griff would keep her safe.
“We’re going to leave,” he said slowly. “We’re going to go somewhere that no one will expect us to go. Somewhere far from College Station and your godfather’s ranch.”
“You don’t think Ryan has anything to do with this, do you?” She was horrified.
“Of course not. But that’s where someone would expect you to go, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” she said reluctantly. “He’s the only family I have.”
“Then we’re going in the opposite direction.” He glanced at his watch, then pulled the truck away from the curb. “Ryan told me about a little cabin in the mountains near El Paso that his sister-in-law Mary Ellen owns. Her son used it recently, and it sounded quiet and isolated—perfect for hiding. We’re going to try and find it.”
“El Paso is a long way from here,” she said faintly.
He glanced over at her in the darkness of the truck. “Would you rather not go that far with me? I’d understand. You don’t really know me that well.”
She knew him well enough to trust him completely, she realized. She had no hesitation about going to El Paso, or anywhere else, with Griff. “It’s not that. I’ve just never taken off like this before, without planning ahead of time. I’ve never been a really spontaneous kind of person.”
“I’m sure I can think of somewhere else to go.”
“No. El Paso is fine.” A recklessness she didn’t recognize swept over her. “The farther the better.”
His mouth curled into a tiny grin. “For someone who’s never been a really spontaneous kind of person, I’d say you’re doing just fine.”
“You’ll keep me safe, Griff. I’m not worried about that.”
“What about your job? Don’t you have to teach at the university?”
“Classes are off for Christmas break. So no one will miss me. I can go wherever I want to go.”
“Being a loner isn’t always a good thing.”
She glanced over at him and his mouth was a tight line.
“If those two had succeeded,” he continued, “how long would it have been before you were missed?”
That was something she didn’t want to think about. “Are you saying I should be checking in with someone on a regular basis?”
“It wouldn’t hurt.”
“Who do you check in with, Griff?” Her voice held just the right amount of polite enquiry, she thought with satisfaction.
His mouth tightened further. “That’s different. I know how to take care of myself.”
“So do I. You probably don’t know it, but I traveled the world with my father while I was growing up.” She felt the same pull of grief and pain that always came when she talked about her father. “I learned very early how to take care of myself.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” His voice was rough. “I’m talking about protecting yourself.”
“I’ve taken a self-defense class. I know what to do.”
“It sure helped tonight, didn’t it.”
She looked away from him and stared out the window. Already the town was falling behind them, and the car passed rolling hills and open pasture. Her home and her job were behind them. And she hoped the kidnappers were, as well. “Now that I know someone wants to kidnap me, I’ll be prepared. I’ll be more alert.”
She heard him sigh. “Sorry, Willa. I didn’t mean to pick on you. And you’re not going to have to worry about being alone for a while. As long as those kidnappers are around, I’m going to be with you until we find out who they are, and catch them.”
A flash of pleasure warmed her, surprising her with its intensity. Willa tried to tell herself that it wasn’t a big deal, that Griff was just doing her godfather, Ryan, a favor, but it didn’t matter. The thought of spending the next few days alone with Griff Fortune made her blood heat in her veins.
But she wasn’t Griff’s type of woman, she reminded herself. Griff, she was sure, was interested in worldly, sophisticated women—the kind of women who traveled in the same circles as he did. Rumors in the Fortune family said Griff was some kind of secret agent. A man like that wouldn’t want to get involved with a quiet, homebody university professor like her.
And a quiet university professor shouldn’t be interested in a man like Griff.
The rebellious part of her, the part that wasn’t sure she liked being a university professor, yearned for the wildness of Griff’s life. The part of her that had loved traveling around the world, loved the adventure of life with her father, said Griff was exactly the kind of man she was interested in. But she ignored it. If she listened to that voice, it would be a betrayal of her father and everything he wanted for her.
“We have a long ride ahead of us.” Griff’s voice came out of the darkness again. “And you had a rough night. Why don’t you try to get some rest?”
“It’s hard to sleep in a car,” she said. “I always wake up with a stiff neck.”
“You can rest your head on my shoulder. That way I can check you frequently to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” He cleared his throat. “Go ahead and relax.”
“That would be uncomfortable for you.”
“I’ll survive.” There was a grimness to his voice she didn’t understand. “One of us might as well get some sleep.”
“I am a little tired,” she said, and she heard the weariness in her own voice.
“Then come on, Blue. Close your eyes.”
She curled up on the seat, adjusted her seat belt, and leaned against his shoulder. His muscles were tense and hard beneath her ear, and when she shifted around, she felt him tremble. But the rumble of the truck’s engine soothed her, and the warmth of Griff’s body surrounded her—she felt herself relaxing.
“Why did you call me Blue?” she asked, her voice sleepy.
“It’s an Australian nickname for someone with red hair.”
His voice washed over her, and she snuggled closer. She felt him tense again, and then his hand stroked over her hair. “Go to sleep, Willa.”
“Keep talking to me,” she said, tucking her hand under his arm. “Why do Australians call people with red hair ‘Blue’? That sounds kind of contrary.”
“That’s because Australians are contrary.” She heard the smile in his voice. “Blue is also what we call an argument. I guess people think that redheads are more likely to get into arguments.”
“I think that’s unfair. I’m very even tempered.”
“Is that right?” He stroked her hair again, and she wanted to arch into his touch. “I’ll remember you said that next time you’re giving me grief over my protecting you.”
She imagined that he touched her hair again, very lightly, and she thought his hand lingered on her head. She wanted to beg him not to stop, but she clamped her mouth firmly shut. It was the blow to the head, she told herself. It was making her want things she knew she couldn’t have. It made her yearn for what couldn’t be.
Silence filled the car again. “Don’t stop talking,” she said, and her voice was drowsy with sleep. “I love to listen to you. Your accent is so musical.”
“I don’t have an accent, mate,” he said, exaggerating his drawl. “It’s you Yanks who talk funny.”
She smiled and allowed herself to drift to the place between sleep and wakefulness. “Tell me about your sister. I like her so much.”
“She’s something, our Matilda is.” Willa heard the love mixed with resignation in his voice. “She’s a handful. It took me and all four of my brothers to keep an eye on her.”
“I bet she loved that.”
“She’s a lot like you, Willa. She was sure she could take care of herself, too.”
“I know her well enough to know that she can.” She was too tired to rise to his bait. “Can you tell me about Australia?”
He hesitated, then he began speaking in a low, soothing voice, describing the beauty of his country. As she drifted off to sleep, she realized that he was deliberately lulling her, but she didn’t care. Her head still hurt, and she was exhausted. And although she was driving through the night to an unknown destination with a man she didn’t know all that well, she felt amazingly content.
She was with Griff, and that was all that mattered.
Two
“Wake up, Willa.”
The voice intruded on her dreams, and she closed her eyes more firmly and tried to hang on as the dream faded into the mist. She was dreaming about Griff, and his hand was drawing a long, lazy line down her back. She didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want the dream to end.
“Come on, Willa, it’s time to wake up.”
It was Griff’s voice, and his hand was touching her shoulder. Slowly she opened her eyes. She was lying on his lap, and his brown eyes were looking down at her, concern in their warm depths.
She scrambled to sit up. “Griff?” She pushed her hair out of her eyes and stared at him. “What are you doing here? And where are we?”
“We’re in El Paso—” he began.
“El Paso!” she gasped. “What are we doing in El Paso?”
He hesitated. “Don’t you remember what happened last night?”
Last night. Suddenly all the events of the night before came flooding back. “I had forgotten,” she whispered.
“How’s your head?”
She touched the lump on her left temple. “It hurts,” she said. “But I’m sure I’ll survive.”
He worked his jaw. “I’ll take care of it when we get to the cabin. I thought we’d stop in here first and get some groceries and other things we’ll need.”
She looked out the window of the truck and saw that they were in the parking lot of a store that advertised one-stop shopping. “All right.”
Before she could get out of the car, Griff laid his hand on her arm. Her skin heated and her heart raced, but Griff didn’t seem to notice a thing.
“I’m not going to say anything in the store,” he said. “We don’t want anyone remembering the bloke with the funny accent.”
Willa felt herself pale as she looked at him. “Do you think the kidnappers could have followed us from College Station?”
“No one followed us. I’m sure of that. But we don’t want to take any chances, so I’m keeping my mouth shut.”
He drew his hand away, and Willa felt bereft. She wanted to reach for him, but instead curled her fingers into her palm. She’d better get hold of herself. She was going to be spending a lot of time with Griff.
They went through the store quickly, loading their shopping cart with food and a couple of changes of clothes for each of them. Willa grabbed toiletries, as well as a handful of books to read.
In a half hour they were back in the truck. Griff’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he didn’t look at Willa. “I have to call Ryan and get directions to the cabin,” he said. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
