Deadly Obsession. Elle James
door had been locked from the other side—and she had no idea how she’d gotten that way.
“Glad to hear you found a crew to work it. Let me know if you need anything.” Dave hugged her and kissed her forehead.
A rush of heat feathered across Chance’s cheeks. The longer Dave held Jillian, the warmer Chance grew. And his gut knotted. It was as if he was jealous of the other man. But then, how could that be, when he’d only known the pretty real estate agent for a few hours?
Dave glanced across at Chance. “Looking forward to that beer.”
Chance muttered something, but a second later couldn’t recall what he’d said.
Jillian led the way to a four-wheel-drive Jeep, opened the driver’s door and got in.
Chance slipped into the passenger seat, his gaze on Dave as the man strode across the dock and entered the houseboat. “Does he live there?”
Jillian handed the kitten to Chance. “The outside looks like hell, but he refinished the inside.”
Holding the tiny feline in his hand, he stroked its fur. “Are you two together?” As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he wished he could take it back. It wasn’t any of his business, nor did he have a stake in the Jillian game since he had no plan to form any kind of relationship with her or anyone else. Still, he had a burning desire to know more about this woman who wasn’t too terribly concerned about passing out on the floor of a basement.
She laughed. “Oh, goodness, no.” Jillian shifted into Reverse and turned the Jeep around. “He’s in love with Nicole Steele.” Jillian glanced across at Chance. “You might know her. She works for the same organization as you and Nova.”
“Ah, yes, I’ve run into her a couple times in the Virginia office.” He pulled his gaze away from Jillian and reengaged his brain cells. “I haven’t been with them long.”
“She’s supposed to come to the wedding. But, like you, we won’t know until she shows up.”
Chance snorted. “That about sums up my life. I’m glad I could be here for Nova.”
“I know he was sweating it. What about you? Are you bringing a date to the wedding? Do I need to set another plate at the main table?” She didn’t glance away from the road.
“No.” Chance hadn’t dated anyone on a long-term basis since he was in the army. Relationships didn’t last when one of the parties involved was deployed more than he was home. Since he’d joined SOS, he saw no need to change his single status.
Jillian smiled. “Good to know.” She navigated through Cape Churn, her confidence obvious in the directions she took and the smooth way she made the turns.
By the time they were on the highway to the McGregor Bed-and-Breakfast, Chance had settled back against the leather seat, his gaze straying to Jillian. “Have you always been a real estate agent?”
She shot a glance his way. “When I finished college with a marketing degree, the jobs just weren’t available in Portland. So I put my marketing degree to work on creating ads for a real estate firm. Did the training, got my license and voilà! I’ve been doing it ever since.”
“I’ll bet you’re good at it.”
She tipped her chin, her cheeks darkening with a blush in the light from the dash. “I am. I have a knack for finding just the right house for my clients. Granted, the market was much larger and more lucrative in Portland than in Cape Churn, but I like it better here.”
Once they left town, the road ahead climbed, twisted and turned around the cliffs hugging the coastline. When Chance had arrived earlier, he could see the water, the rocks below and the horizon. Now the darkness was also shrouded by fog, creeping in from the ocean.
Jillian slowed. “The fog’s getting thick. The weatherman predicted a devil’s shroud night.”
“Devil’s shroud?” Chance asked.
“That’s what they call the thick fogs that roll into Cape Churn. I think it makes it sound mysterious. Just another thing to love about this place.”
“You love a place that calls a dense fog the devil’s shroud?”
“It’s kind of creepy, but still adds to the ambience of the area.”
As that aptly named fog thickened, the Jeep careened around a bend in the road. Chance gripped the armrest with one hand, clutched the kitten with the other and dug his foot into the floorboard, aiming for a brake that wasn’t there. “Shouldn’t you go a little slower?”
“Oh, sorry. I know the roads really well, but the fog is getting pretty thick.” She eased up on the accelerator and continued through the haze.
At one point they rounded a curve carved out of the side of a cliff. Something big crashed onto the road and rolled in front of them.
Jillian yelped, swerved and slammed on her brake just in time to keep from falling off the edge of the road.
“Are you all right?” Chance asked, peeling the kitten’s claws out of his shirt and skin.
For a long moment, Jillian didn’t respond. Finally, she said, “I’m okay.” She turned to Chance. “What was that?”
“I don’t know, but let me take a look.” He climbed out of the Jeep and checked the road in the area. He found a boulder the size of big watermelon on the edge of the road ahead. When he got back to the Jeep, Jillian stood at the edge of the cliff.
Seeing her so close to the drop-off made Chance nervous. He circled her waist with his arm and eased her back. “Do you want me to drive?”
“I can do it,” she said, but her body trembled and her gaze remained on the edge of the cliff. “If we hadn’t stopped we’d have hit that boulder or...”
“But you did stop and we didn’t do either.” He turned her to face him and brushed a strand of her silky blond hair back from her cheek. “Come on. Molly was making fresh bread. I haven’t had fresh bread since...well, hell. I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh bread. Mom wasn’t much of a cook because she worked full-time.”
He guided her back to the Jeep and settled her in the passenger seat. Then he took the wheel and eased away from the cliff and back onto the right side of the road. The rest of the trip was completed in silence, with Chance focusing all of his attention on what little he could see of the road in front of him.
Devil’s shroud was an accurate description of the fog. But what had been the white aberration that had nearly caused them to fly off the edge of the cliff?
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