Vanishing Act by Liz Johnson

Author:Liz Johnson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-11-22T23:00:00+00:00

Nate rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, hoping the pressure would start to ease the pounding at his temples. Danielle—Nora—whatever she called herself, was going to get herself killed, and it was going to be on his conscience.

But she had him backed into a corner.

Resting his chin on his chest, he barely heard her stand. “May I use your restroom?”

He couldn’t even find his voice to respond, just pointed at the door next to the bedroom. Her feet shuffled unevenly across the carpet. His head snapped up at her uneven steps, and he caught her last limping movement before she disappeared behind the closed the door.

During their twenty-minute argument, he’d somehow managed to forget that she’d been run off the road and chased through the woods. Undoubtedly, this revelation of Danielle’s true identity added a whole new level of danger to that situation. She was probably injured and definitely in trouble.

And somehow she was the first person he’d met in Crescent City. It wasn’t a coincidence. Their paths had crossed for a reason. There had been a plan in place for Nate to protect Danielle from the beginning. And he intended to keep her safe. Regardless if she cooperated.

“Lord, save us both from our foolishness,” he muttered, pushing himself to his feet. Water ran in the sink on the other side of the closed door as he headed into the kitchen. He needed coffee. Maybe the caffeine would help his head feel more normal.

He’d just finished setting up the coffee maker, when Danielle hobbled into the living room, heading for the couch.

“Which leg hurts?” he called, up to his elbow in the pit of his freezer, looking for a bag of vegetables.

She swallowed quickly. “They both do.”

That brought a small chuckle. “Fair enough. Does one area hurt worse than the others?”

“My right ankle. I think I twisted it when I fell in the woods.” Her eyes darted around the room, anywhere but at him, as he returned to stand before her.

“Let me take a look.”

He knelt so he was practically sitting on his feet and slipped his hands around her right shoe. She winced slightly as he gently tugged. It didn’t budge, so he loosened the laces and pulled again. The shoe barely moved. Her foot was probably pretty swollen. On his third try it popped off, and Danielle sighed softly, leaning back into the flimsy sofa cushions.

But when he gently grabbed the hem of the leg of her athletic pants, her entire body suddenly tensed.

“Does that hurt?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, as she cringed. “A little.”

He looked up to meet her hooded gaze as he rolled her pant leg up several times. Danielle offered him a brave smile, and he returned a strong grin as he plopped the frozen peas on her ankle. Her eyes shot open and she yelped, kicking her left leg and catching his thigh.

He grinned, not offering any apologies.

Forehead wrinkled and hands clasped in her lap, she asked, “Are you angry with me?”

“Yes.

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