Bayou Heat (17 page)

“Yes, considering there wasn’t time for the aura to
dissipate any and the person was still giving off those feelings. Your system
simply couldn’t handle the overload. Now I’m still thinking there’s more to
this story?” Evelyn pinned Rob with a not-so-happy motherly look.

Rob turned away from Evelyn and looked at Eris. “Okay,
here’s the deal. This tall, lanky blonde was hitting on me. She wasn’t the type
to take no for an answer. So I told her you were my fiancée.”

For a total of three seconds the room was perfectly silent
and then her father busted out laughing. Eris shot him a glare and he managed
to contain his amusement to a small amount. Her mother had the graciousness to
smile sympathetically at Rob before standing and quickly ushering her husband
out of the apartment.

As the door closed behind her parents, Eris turned and
pinned Rob with a look that took most government-trained agents years to
perfect. Lord, he’d screwed up and he knew it. The words that were floating
around in his head didn’t sound sufficient enough to fix the wrong he’d done.

His cell phone rang and he answered it, grateful for the
momentary distraction. Eris continued to stare at him through the entire
conversation and it was quite unnerving.

“That was Magen, one of the waitresses from Mannies. She
would like to talk to us and asked that we be there at three when her shift
ends.”

Eris pushed back from the table. “What time do you want to
leave?”

“Two fifteen.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Eris walked to her bedroom door and then turned back to him.
“I know you didn’t know this, but I was engaged at one time. My fiancé Jeff
used me, and my family’s name, to open doors all over town for him. Ever since
then I’ve been very touchy about people using me for any reason.”

She entered the bedroom and closed the door so softly he wished
she’d slammed it. The silence that descended on the apartment was heavy and
depressing. Rob reached for the dirty dishes and made quick work of cleaning up
the table and kitchen. He then seated himself in front of his computer. He knew
by keeping busy, he could avoid thinking about the fact he hadn’t a clue how to
fix this mess.

* * * * *

“It’s time to go.”

Rob still held his cell phone pressed to his ear when he
looked up from the file he was scanning. Eris’ voice was as steely cold as it
had been hours ago. “I need to get going, Paul. Thanks for the information.
Later.”

He closed the laptop, grabbing his jacket as he crossed the
room to where she stood by the door. “If I’d known it was Goth Day, I’d have
worn black.”

“I have to close the store tonight for Mom and Dad, so I
dressed appropriately.”

“What time do you need to be there?”

“Eight.”

Rob closed and locked the door behind them. “That shouldn’t
be a problem.”

“Good.”

He followed Eris to his car and, despite his effort, his
eyes drifted to her form. Low-rise jeans, bright red hair and a skimpy tank top
which proudly said
PMSing and Packing. Approach at Your Own Risk
.

He had the feeling the outfit most definitely fit her mood.

The tension that filled the car was palpable as Rob turned
off the highway onto the two-lane road that would take them to Mannies. He
racked his brain for a way to break through the barriers between them but was
failing miserably. When her phone rang, he said a silent “thanks” for the
distraction and listened to the one-sided conversation.

Eris ended the call and, out of the corner of his eyes, he
could see she was scared. “Who was that?”

“My mom.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Rob turned into Mannies, parking next to a sleek black
sports car, and cut the engine as Eris opened the passenger door. He caught her
left arm, holding her in place. “I can tell everything isn’t fine. What did
your mother say? Has something happened? Is everyone okay?”

“Everything is fine.”

“Stop lying to me and tell me what your mother said that has
you so unnerved.”

Her face was ashen and her eyes haunted when she turned to
look at him. “She said you were going to die.”

Rob guided Eris to an empty booth and ordered them cups of
coffee. She scooted as far away from him as possible and clasped her shaking
hands tightly in her lap. He didn’t believe Evelyn’s announcement that he was
going to be pushing up daisies soon, but Eris had and it terrified her.

The waitress delivered the mugs of steaming coffee and he
put one in front of Eris. “Drink, it’ll help settle your nerves.”

She looked vulnerable and fragile, so unlike the Eris he was
used to. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but he didn’t. The
truth was something bad could happen at any given moment to either of them and
they both knew it

“You must think I’m a fool.” Her voice cracked when she
spoke.

“No.”

“But you don’t believe what my mother said.”

He reached up and turned her face toward him. “I’d be lying
if I said I did and you know it. I
will
say I’m less of a doubter than I
was a few days ago, but believing your mother can see the future is a huge
stretch for me.”

When she would have started talking, Rob kept on, not giving
her a chance. “What I
do
know is, you trust your mother’s instincts and
that’s what matters here.”

Taking one of her hands, he laid it on his chest over his
heart. “I’m here and I’m healthy, nothing is going to happen to me or to you.
Got that?”

“Yeah.”

He could tell she didn’t believe a word he said. “After
we’re done at the store tonight—”

“Mom told me not to bother. Lance is in town and will handle
it tonight.” She talked right over his words.

“Then after leaving here we’ll grab some takeout, rent a
couple of movies and head home for the rest of the night. How does that sound?”

Eris gave him a wobbly smile as her hand dropped.
“Wonderful.”

He wished he had the time to convince her nothing was going
to happen to either of them, but it was straight up three and he wanted to get
this interview over with because her “wonderful” didn’t fool him one damn bit.

Eris watched as Rob grilled the truck stop owner one more
time about his employees. He leaned back against the seat and pinched the
bridge of his nose as the man walked away. Eris dug a couple of aspirin out of
her purse and placed them on the table in front of him. “You look like you
could use these.”

Without a word, Rob took the pills and washed them down with
cold coffee. “I hate being led on a wild goose chase. There isn’t a waitress
working here who goes by the name of Magen and never has been.”

“I’d think after all those years in the FBI you’d be used to
it.”

“I never got used to the waste of time, manpower or energy,
but I finally learned to accept it as part of the job.”

“Couldn’t you trace the number Magen called from?” Eris
asked.

“Already done and it came back to a pay phone in the Garden
District. I talked with LD and he’s sending someone over to check it out, but
I’m not holding my breath that anything will come of it.”

Eris was gaining insight into his job. “I’m beginning to
understand how frustrating this can be. What now?”

“We’re going to stick to our plan.”

“Good, but before we hit the road, I need to use the
facilities.”

Rob stood so she could get out. “Don’t touch anything in
there.”

Eris laughed. “Believe me, I’m not planning on it.”

She looked back over her shoulder toward Rob when she was
only steps away from the bathroom door. His head was resting against the back
of the booth and his eyes were closed.

In that split second she made her decision and a slight
adjustment to her course. Instead of entering the restroom, she entered the
storage room and kept on walking. The room wasn’t large but the outside door
was open and it was all she needed.

Fishing her phone out of her pocket, she flipped it open and
dialed. She darted across the gravel parking lot to a small group of trees,
hoping to be out of the general line of vision. As the phone rang, she
positioned herself out of sight from the road and the truck stop.

She let out a happy sigh as the phone was answered. “Nate,
can you come get me?”

Eris bit back a scream as the phone was jerked from her
hand.

Turning, she watched as Rob put it to his ear. “Cancel that
ride, Nate, I’ve got Eris taken care of.”

Rob ended the call then dropped the phone into his pocket.
Crossing his arms in front of him, he propped one shoulder against the tree and
glared at her. The look on his face was nothing but controlled anger.

“I was—” Rob held up a hand, silencing her, and Eris let the
words die on her lips.

“Did you really think I wasn’t watching you?”

“Your head was back, you looked to be asleep.”

“Well, I wasn’t, and at the moment I’m so angry words elude
me. I’m also fairly sure if I put my hands on you I’ll strangle you. I’m going
to make a wild guess and assume this has something to do with your mother’s declaration.”

“Mom told me the accident happens when we’re together.”

“And you figured if we weren’t together, nothing bad would
happen.”

“I was hoping that would be the case.”

“Did you ever consider I’d be in more danger running around
in a panic looking for you?”

“No.” Eris ran a hand through her short red hair. It really
irked her to be wrong about a situation and called on the carpet for it.
“You’re right. I didn’t think my plan through very well. It was a knee-jerk
reaction to what Mom said. After finding Orbit and the woman in the alley, I
don’t think I can handle another death. Especially if I know the person.”

“We’ve already established I’m a professional and this is
what I’m trained to do. Do you have some sort of freaky death wish you haven’t
told me about? Because if you do, I’m having you locked up tonight.”

Eris bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. “No, I
don’t want to die until I’m really old and really cranky.”

Rob rubbed his forehead. “Then what the hell got into you?”

Love.

That one little word almost made its way past her lips but,
thankfully, she managed to stop it before she made a total fool of herself. She
was one-hundred-percent certain this time she was truly falling in love even
though she’d been fighting it for days. Then this morning, when he’d so
casually used the word fiancée, hope exploded inside her.

It then took her the rest of the day to get her emotions
back under control. Over and over she’d repeated Nate’s words, forcing herself
to accept the fact Rob was not the type to stick around. There was no way Rob
Jackson would ever willingly spend a lifetime with her. Even knowing that
didn’t stop the love she felt or the fact she’d give her life to save his.

“I’m used to finding lost people or inanimate objects.
Certainly not dead bodies and especially not the bodies of friends, guess it’s
going to take a while to toughen up.”

Before he could say anything else she headed toward the car
because if he looked into her eyes, he’d know every word was a lie.

Normally the comfort of Rob’s car and the soft sounds of
jazz music relaxed Eris, but not this time. She watched as a black sports car
flew around them, almost clipping the front of the car. She sat stiffly and
silently in the passenger seat, counting off the minutes until they’d be safely
home. Questions tumbled through her head as they drove but she didn’t dare
distract Rob, not after what her mother said. Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw Rob glance in his rearview mirror before muttering a curse.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer but instead checked his side mirrors and
then the rearview mirror again. She watched as Rob’s demeanor went from relaxed
to full alert in a fraction of a second. She looked over at him and noticed the
tension that now radiated through him. She turned to look behind her. “What’s
going on, Rob? Talk to me.”

“Most likely nothing, but please face forward and check your
seat belt.”

She did as he asked then looked into the passenger door
mirror. Panic filled her as the front of a semi-truck blocked even the sky’s
reflection in the mirror. The truck continued to close in on them. “You might
want to go faster.”

“I can’t.”

She pulled her eyes away from the mirror to see why Rob
couldn’t go faster, only to find she was staring at the backs of two other
semis. Looking out the passenger side window, she noticed the large truck in
the lane next to her. “We seem to be boxed in.”

“I noticed.”

Tension filled Rob’s voice, causing her to wonder about how
much trouble they were really in. “Are there any exits up ahead?”

“I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t matter. All exits on this
stretch of the road are from the right lane only and I don’t see them letting
us over.”

Eris glanced in the mirror and screamed as their car was
tapped from behind. Instantly the vehicle started to fishtail wildly. To her
amazement, Rob brought them back under control. She grabbed for her purse.
“I’ll call 9-1-1.”

“Unless they’re right behind us, it won’t do us a lot of
good.”

She called and gave the dispatcher what information she
could, as she racked her brain for another option. “Can’t you drive down the
side?”

“The embankment is too steep. We’d roll and this car isn’t
made for off-roading.”

“That’s better than being turned into sardines.”

They were tapped from behind again and the car shot forward,
almost going under the truck in front of them.

Enough
, Eris thought as she leaned forward and
grabbed her purse. She wasn’t going down without fighting.

“I’ve got your cell phone in my front pocket,” Rob stated as
the vehicle behind them closed in again.

Eris tossed her purse back onto the floorboard. “It’s not my
cell phone I want,” she responded as she chambered a round.

“Eris.”

“We don’t have a choice. Now drive and leave this up to me.”
She glanced at the speedometer as she lowered the window and unfastened her
seat belt. They were doing almost ninety and the wind whipped around her like a
tornado. The sound from the wind and trucks was deafening.

Eris turned so she was facing away from Rob and leaned out
the window. Rob’s hand grabbed the back of her jeans, restricting her movement.
“Let go!”

“Hell no!”

She got on her knees and stretched as far as she could.

“Get back in here!”

“No!” Two rounds were all she managed to fire before the
truck behind them slammed into them again.

The gun flew from her hand as the car swerved hard to the
left onto the bumpy shoulder and then back to smooth pavement.

Rob jerked hard on the back of her pants as she fell back
into the car. “Don’t you ever fucking pull a stunt like that again!”

He let go and put both hands back on the wheel. Rob swerved
to the left onto the shoulder before pulling back to the right. “Get your seat
belt on
now
.”

Eris scrambled to do just that. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a bridge up ahead.”

“We can’t go into the water. We can’t!”

Rob glanced quickly over at her. It was obvious he didn’t
miss the panic in her voice. “I don’t want to go into the water either but we
might not have a choice. You can swim?”

“I can swim.” She forced her voice to be calm and confident,
hoping to mask the fact that any water other than the crystal clear kind
terrified her.

He swerved to the left then back to the right. “Roll up your
window and brace yourself. There’s a short-paved shoulder just as we reach the
edge of the bridge. As soon as we reach it, I’m going to move over and lock up
the brakes. With any luck, the driver behind us won’t have time to respond
before he’s past us.”

She did as he said and prayed his plan would work. “I’m
ready.”

“Hang on.”

Rob jerked the wheel hard to the left but before he could
straighten the car out, they were hit hard from behind. The driver’s side door
slammed into a pole, sending the car into a skid. She watched him work to
regain control of the car and for the briefest second she thought he would win.
Then they were rammed from behind again but this time the truck didn’t back
off, it kept pushing them forward. The concrete railing was coming straight at
them and she braced for impact.

At the last minute, Rob pulled the wheel hard to the left
and the car barely missed hitting the bridge head-on. Metal ripped and the
mirror on her side flew off as the car scraped against the back side of the
railing. From the amount of noise, she thought her door might be torn away…

And then there was no sound as the car went airborne off the
side of the road toward the dark water.

She felt them tilt downward and closed her eyes and then her
stomach felt as if it were free-floating for about thirty seconds before they
landed hard. It reminded her of riding a roller coaster, except for the landing
part.

“Eris, you okay?”

Her eyes popped open at the urgency she heard in Rob’s
voice. Dark, murky water surrounded them and slowly crept its way up the hood
toward her. She scrambled for her seat belt latch. “We need to get out.”

“Not yet.”

“What the hell do you mean? We’re sinking!”

“This isn’t so deep we can’t swim to the surface. It’d be
better to let the car settle and then break a window. Then we’re not as likely
to have the car land on us.”

Eris watched in mounting horror as water covered the
windshield. She heard a noise and looked over at the passenger door window.
Cracks inched their way across the glass in a spider web fashion. Water found
its way in and small trickles quickly became larger streams. Panic gripped her
as water started to soak her shoes.

“God, we’re going to drown.” Fear made her teeth chatter.

Rob’s hand cupped her cheek and he forced her to turn and
look at him, not the water pouring in on them. “You’re the strongest, bravest,
smartest woman I’ve ever met. You managed to keep your head straight the other
night as you were about to be run over and just now hanging out of the car. You
are not about to let this swamp win. You can do this, princess. I know you can.
Now focus for me, okay?”