She leaped off the sidewalk directly into the path of an oncoming car and managed to jump back only a nanosecond away from being struck. The driver blasted his horn. It deafened her to the approach of the car that screeched to a stop within inches behind her, nearly shaving the jeans off her butt.

“Britt!”

She whirled around. Raley had pulled the car between her and the two men. Seeing the pistol aimed at them through the open driver’s window, they skidded to a stop. “Back up or you’re dead!” Raley shouted. They started yelling at him, but he was gunning the motor of the sedan to a roar while keeping his foot on the brake.

Britt scrambled into the passenger seat. Before she had even closed the door, Raley lifted his foot from the brake pedal and the car shot forward like a racehorse bounding out of the gate. He bumped over the curb and sped across the opposing lanes. Her teeth slammed together when he hit the median at about eighty miles an hour, then they were speeding away in the outside lane, their rear end fishtailing for several yards before Raley could bring the car under full control.

She glanced back. The men were running across the parking lot toward their now disabled car. Butch had been caught with his pants down. She got a fleeting glimpse of boxer shorts and well-toned legs before Raley took a sharp right turn that put the Holiday Inn out of sight. He turned left at the next opportunity, then another right.

He was cussing a blue streak.

Adrenaline pumped through her. His erratic driving was pitching her from one side of the seat to the other. She managed to fasten her seat belt, saying, “You can slow down. They can’t come after us. Even if they try, their tires will go flat before they can catch us.” She opened her fist. Her fingernails had gouged four half-moons out of her palm, but on it lay the four valve caps.

“What in the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking of slowing them down, preventing them from coming after us.”

“They didn’t know we were there! You could have got shot!”

“But I didn’t!”

“Shit!” He hit the steering wheel hard.

In his present mood, arguing was futile, so she said nothing more.

For anyone who may have wanted to follow them, it would have been hopeless. Even she had lost all sense of direction by the time they crossed the Ravenel Bridge. A few miles later, they arrived at the RV park.

Raley wheeled their car behind the cabin, got out, and stormed toward the door, but he held it open for her, keeping an angry bead on her as she walked toward him. Once she had cleared the door, he slammed it shut behind her and bolted it.

Coming around, he bore down on her. “That was a dumb, reckless stunt, Britt.”

“It’ll slow them down.”

“Granted.”

“So it wasn’t dumb at all, was it?”

“It wasn’t worth the risk.”

“I think it was. Anyway, it felt good to get back at them.”

“Felt good? They could have killed you!”

He looked ready to do that himself. A vein in his forehead was pulsing. His hands were clenched at his sides. In her defense, she said, “I needed to do something for myself, Raley. I feel dependent and useless, and I hate that. I needed to act. I’m tired of relying on-”

“Me?”

“Yes! On anybody. I’m not used to it. I’ve always taken care of myself.”

“Then be my guest.” He unlocked the door and yanked it open.

She stared into the rectangle of darkness, broken only by the flashing red neon arrow with Vacancy spelled out along its shaft that hovered above the park’s office. He’d called her bluff, and now she felt rather foolish. If she left, where would she go and how would she get there? She was without resources.

Her gaze moved from the flickering sign back to Raley’s face. His lips were white with anger. They barely moved when he said, “Already one woman died on account of me. I’d rather avoid that happening again.”

“You should have thought of that before kidnapping me.”

With an expletive, he slammed the door closed, bolted it, then plowed his fingers through his hair.

“That’s right,” she said, “don’t forget that it was you who dragged me into this mess.”

He lowered his hands from his head. Looking at her hard, he said in a soft, measured tone, “Wrong. You got into this mess by falling for Jay Burgess’s charm.”

She held his stare for several beats, then strode past him and snatched up the plastic bag that contained the clothes he’d bought her. Which was particularly galling at the moment. She carried the package with her into the bathroom and closed the door, making sure he heard the click of the lock.

When she came out ten minutes later, showered and shampooed, he was sitting on the end of his bed, staring into the TV. The sound was muted. He looked up at her. “Finished?”

She gave him an aloof nod.

He got up and, taking his things with him, went into the bathroom and closed the door. She lay down on her bed and tried to get interested in the soundless sitcom rerun, but after a few minutes got up and turned off the set, then moved restlessly around the cabin.

They had so little with them, there was nothing to tidy up, nothing to read except for the out-of-date telephone directory, a dusty copy of the Gideon Bible, and Raley’s files, and she had reviewed them so many times she had practically memorized the material. There was nothing to do except wait for morning, when they would drive to Columbia and Raley would accuse the attorney general of being a felon. And then what?

Less than a week ago, she’d had a great job, celebrity status, the respect of her peers, friends she could count on. Now she was a journalist whose credibility would forever be in doubt. She was the target of powerful men who would murder their own friend to keep their criminal secret intact. And she was a fugitive who, when caught, would face an indictment for murder. What could the future possibly hold for her? If she survived to have a future at all.

The bathroom door opened and Raley stepped out. His hair was still wet. He had on cargo shorts, no shirt. He dropped his dirty clothes and the duffel bag on the floor beside his bed. He ran his hand around the back of his neck, then propping his hands on his hips, he looked up at the ceiling and mouthed something that could have been either a curse or a prayer.

Only then did he look at her, and when their eyes connected it was with an impact that stole her breath. He reached her in two strides. Before another heartbeat, she was being crushed against him and his mouth was on hers. Their kiss was long and lusty and left her wanting more.

When his lips skated down her neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Not much, no.” He breathed the words against her lips before claiming them again.

His body was hard, his skin still damp and warm from his shower. When he spread his hand over her bottom and fit her against his lower body, she made a small, yearning sound. “Raley, about Jay-”

“Never mind.”

“It was a fling. Nothing more. A long time ago.”

“Okay.”

“And that night he died, I swear I don’t know what happened between us.”

“I don’t care anymore.”

“I can’t remember.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It didn’t feel-”

“Hush, Britt.”

“But you…” She rubbed herself against him. “You I remember. You I felt. I still feel you.”

A gravelly sound vibrated in his throat as he lifted her against him and carried her to the bed. “Take off your top.” Her mind was spinning because of what his fingers were doing inside the front of her pajamas bottoms, but she could think clearly enough to do as he asked. She pulled off her tank top and tossed it aside, then folded her arms around his head as he lowered it to her breasts. His mouth was hot and possessive.

The dual sensations of his swirling tongue against her breasts and his stroking fingers deep inside her, combined with the edginess of her emotions, rapidly brought on a shattering orgasm. But the release was momentary. When she coasted down from it, he was peeling her shorts down her legs, and once she was free from them, he kissed her softly just above her pubic hair. Gently, so that she barely felt the pressure of his thumbs, he exposed her to his tongue. The touch was feather light, but it sent an electric pulse of pleasure through her, breath-stealing in its effect, and the second orgasm, or maybe just an extraordinary aftershock of the first, radiated from it.