Emergency Contact. Susan Peterson
I thought she might be having a seizure.”
Concern ripped through Ryan. “And you let her just leave?” he demanded. “What’s the matter with you?”
Mrs. Mackie stiffened, her lips tightening. “I resent your tone, Doctor. She was angry, and I didn’t feel it was my place to wrestle with her. I notified the front gate as soon as she left. I knew they’d make sure she didn’t leave without prior authorization from Dr. Bloom.” She sniffed. “Besides, she’s your responsibility, not mine.”
“Damn right she’s my responsibility,” Ryan said, starting for the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Bloom. “If there was any question up to this point of who would be taking care of Tess’s case, I hope this settles it. It’ll be me!”
Bloom shook his head. “You’re losing your objectivity, Ryan. I can hear it in your voice. You can’t save every young woman who walks through the door as a way of making up for the mess in Boston.”
Ryan clenched his hands and fought against the swell of anger rising in the back of his throat. “My desire to help Tess has nothing to do with Boston.”
“Go ahead and tell yourself that,” Bloom said, “but you and I both know that you’re still battling intense feelings of guilt.”
Ryan pushed aside a twinge of self-doubt. “I don’t have time to argue. I’m going after her.”
He left, ignoring Bloom’s parting shot, “Don’t get in over your head, Ryan. I’ve already thrown you one lifeline. There aren’t any more left.”
LESS THAN A MILE down the road, Ryan spotted Tess. She was running. A wild, full-out run of pure, unadulterated fear. Her legs pumped madly, and her calf muscles stood out in sculpted relief, eating up the road with a long, graceful stride.
Slowing down, Ryan pulled up beside her, the passenger-side window down. “You always leave a place in such an all-out rush?”
She slowed and then stopped abruptly, her feet skidding in the loose gravel. He had to slam on the brakes to keep from sailing past her.
She bent over to catch her breath, thick strands of finely spun gold strands sliding over her shoulders to shield her face from him. She flipped it back and then turned her head sideways to glance at him. Tiny beads of sweat peppered her forehead and damped her hair along the sides of her face.
“Along with hating doctors, I’m not real partial to hospitals,” she said, her breath already calming. Ryan realized that she might not have any memory of who she was, but she was in phenomenal physical shape. A marathon runner, with perfect breath control and recovery.
“So pretend I’m a friend and I stopped to pick you up.” He reached across and opened the door. “Get in. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go. No need to hoof it.”
She didn’t move. The late-afternoon light hit the green of her eyes, making them sparkle and creating an odd tightening in Ryan’s chest. Damn but she was beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. The kind of beauty that took a man’s heart, squeezed it so tight it pounded in protest and never allowed it to return to normal. He felt as though she’d done that to him with a single glance.
Perhaps Bloom was right. Perhaps he was involved for no other reason than that he was attracted to her.
“I have no intention of going back there.”
Ryan sighed. “I’m not stupid, Tess. I definitely get the message that you don’t like hospitals. Personally, I think you’re making a mistake. But no one, least of all me, will force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
A tiny shimmer of relief flickered in the depth of her eyes, but it was gone almost before he’d noticed it. She worked hard to hide what she felt.
“Come on, get in. My place isn’t too far from here. We’ll go get something to eat,” Ryan urged. “We’ll talk. Figure things out.”
A small smile curled the corner of her mouth. “I’d like that. I’m starved.” She climbed into the car, folding long legs beneath the dash and snapping her seat belt on.
“I’m beginning to think you’re always hungry.” He put the car in First and hit the gas, making a quick U-turn.
She immediately stiffened beside him, her hand reaching down to unsnap her belt. Her other hand clamped onto the door handle. “I thought you said you wouldn’t force me to go back there.”
“Relax,” Ryan said as her shoulder went up against the door. He knew that she was two seconds away from throwing herself out of the car. He reached across and touched her arm, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the rush of heat that soaked through his finger and extended up the length of his arm.
“I said I wouldn’t take you back to the center. And I won’t.”
She shook his hand off, her eyes flashing distrust. “Then why the hell are we heading back in the same direction I just came?”
She shifted her body away from his and shoved the door open. Pavement rushed past. Ryan slammed on the brakes and the car screeched to a stop.
“Dammit, Tess, will you relax! I live on the same grounds as the center. I’m simply taking you to my house.” He leaned across, his shoulder accidentally brushing up against her breasts. He slammed the door, trying not to think about the fact that she was naked beneath the thin shirt and her breast had been pressed against his upper arm. He pulled back quickly. “When I said we were going to my house for something to eat, that’s all I intended. Wherever you go after that is totally up to you.”
Tess studied him, her expression wary. “You live here on the center’s grounds?”
Ryan nodded and eased his foot off the brake. He drove past the entrance to the center and headed for the row of houses farther down the road. “A lot of the staff lives here on the grounds. Dr. Bloom likes his people within easy reach.” He grinned, trying to put her at ease. “That way he can call us at any time of the day or night and he’s assured that we’ll be in our labs within minutes of his call. I was lucky enough to get one of the small cottages on the far side of the grounds.”
Tess was silent beside him, apparently willing to wait the ride out before deciding whether or not to trust him. Ryan noticed that she kept her hand on the door handle, her frame tense and her eyes watchful. He stepped on the gas, heading up the steep hill leading to his house.
WHEN RYAN CLICKED on his turn signal, Tess craned her neck and peered out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of where they were going. A sloping lawn led up to a neat Cape Cod–style house situated between two large oaks.
She glanced around. The only other house in view was another similarly styled cottage about a half mile down the road, screened from view by a stand of trees.
Ryan gunned the car up the driveway and rolled to a stop in front of the garage door. He turned off the engine. A single row of weed-infested petunias lined a small path leading to the front door.
He sighed. “I confess I’m not much of a gardener. But the lawn is mowed, and I promise that you won’t find any dirty laundry hanging on the furniture.” He opened the door and the car rocked slightly as he leveraged his muscular frame out. When she didn’t move, he poked his head back in. “If you sit out here in the sun all day you’re going to roast.”
Without waiting for her answer, he straightened up, nudged the door closed and started up the walkway. With a gesture of unconcern, he flipped his keys in the air and caught them in the palm of his hand. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard him whistle a bit before disappearing inside. He left the front door slightly ajar.
Tess gnawed on the corner of her lip, ignoring the building heat in the car. Where was her fear coming from? On one level, she wanted to trust him, but on another, the alarm bells were wailing so loudly her head ached from the sound of them.
She ran a finger along the warm metal of the door handle. Was she afraid he’d wait