Just Before Sunrise by Carla Neggers

Author:Carla Neggers [Neggers, Carla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: United States, West, Travel, Contemporary, Pacific, General, Romance, Fiction
ISBN: 0671883224
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2004-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Annie had to hustle to keep up with Garvin's long strides on their way back to his car, but she didn't let him get ahead of her. "You'll do anything to get what you want. Trod over anyone's sensitivities without any evidence, badger an old woman in her own home—"

"Sarah's not that old."

"Physically she is."

Garvin glanced at her, not slackening his pace. "You think I was too hard on her?"

"She's a tormented woman."

"You didn't know her five years ago."

"I know her now."

"Do you?" His voice was calm, deceptively so. "Annie, five years ago she was a compulsive gambler. She'd have sold her own soul for a good poker game. She didn't care about anyone or anything except her addiction."

"Maybe she's changed."

"Maybe she hasn't."

She clamped her mouth shut, standing back impatiently while he unlocked the passenger door. She could just walk home, she thought. It was a long way, but she and Otto needed the exercise.

Garvin pulled open the door, then swung back around at her. "Annie, look, I saw the woman you saw in there. I'm not heartless, but I need to keep an open mind."

"Sarah's not wanted by the police."

"That doesn't mean she told them everything she knows. They attribute her leaving to her family's ostracizing her because of her gambling and her relationship with Denardo, the tragedy she brought down on them. But I don't know. And I'm not sure it matters. If Vic's still out there, he's going to find her."

"She's in a horrible position," Annie said as she climbed in his car.

"We all are."

He shut her door. Otto barely acknowledged her presence and seemed eager neither for food nor a walk, no surprise to Annie. She breathed in, waiting for Garvin to get behind the wheel, not regretting her impulsive decision to drag him off. He'd wanted everything from Sarah now, without hesitation, and wasn't willing to get her story piece by piece or give her a chance to adjust to him.

"It's not as if I wasn't warned," she said. "Even Sarah told me you'd stomp on anyone to get what you want. Those weren't her exact words, but—"

"Is stomping on Sarah worse than badgering her?"

She shot him a fierce look. "Neither's commendable or necessary under the circumstances."

He met her gaze with a composure that would have defeated her. But his eyes glinted, gave away the intensity that lay behind them, despite his mild tone. "A good thing, then, that you intervened before I could whip out the thumbscrews."

Her shoulders sagged, and she sighed. "I suppose I'm being a little sanctimonious, and I've no place judging you after what you've endured. But you still weren't very nice in there."

"No," he said. "I wasn't."

She said nothing more as he negotiated the narrow, twisting streets. There was a turn taken too sharply. A hill too fast. Annie remained unperturbed. She stared out at the glittering skyline, catching glimpses of San Francisco's spectacular scenery. Up close, she noticed the plum trees with their pink and white blossoms, the rows of houses in pale pastels, deep browns, every shade of white.

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